Nurturing & Developing Gifts In The Body Of Christ

I want to share some food for thought. You may want to have your Bible handy. I will be giving different passage references. I will be doing that for space sake. I mentioned in a previous post the idea of having an unscripted meeting, similar to the one that Paul shares with us in 1st Corinthians 14. Some people will refer to them as open meetings. The idea is to allow the Spirit of God to lead individual members of His Body moment by moment, through the whole meeting. Everything is handled in a very orderly way. But the main focus of the gathering is to help identify different peoples Spiritual Gifts and help them to grow and mature in those Gifts by learning to edify others with them.

In order for this to be an edifying experience there are several things that need to be present. First off there needs to be an older brother present that can moderate if it is needed. When I say older I am referring to “Spiritual years”. Not a brother that is seventy that has only been saved a year. But someone that has been walking with the Lord for decades and has the fruit of that walk. He has to be someone that can be firm, but loving, in dealing with situations that may need correction. Not someone that is going to fold under pressure.

Another thing that has to be present are believers that believe that the Lord does want to speak to individuals and lead them personally. When someone learns how to hear the Lord’s voice during a meeting, where the Spirit is really flowing and using one individual after the next, it is a great way for them to become more confident in day to day life that they truly are hearing His voice. Then as they become confident in their daily relationship then it gives them more confidence during a meeting. This begins to build on itself in the believers life.

This meeting is not intended as an evangelistic outreach to the lost. This is intended to focus on making disciples. Now if there are children present, hopefully there are, then there may be those that do not know the Lord. It would be fine if someone with an Evangelism Gifting were to share the gospel, that is not what I am getting at. So many congregations today, with a Baptist or Evangelical bent, Sunday after Sunday focus on the Gospel. While people that have already believed are starving to be fed something more discipleship focused. I have heard this from people many times. The Evangelists Gift is primarily for outside the Churches meetings, not always, but it can’t dominate every time the Church assembles or people will not grow as they ought to. It is an important Gift, but not more important than other Gifts. For everyone to be properly nourished spiritually, there has to be a balanced meal of all the Gifts.

The most important thing though is for everyone to have a humble loving spirit. This is a learning process and everyone should feel like they can share without others being harsh in some way. Learning to discern the Lord’s voice has a learning curve to it. We don’t always get it right, and as young believers are trying to learn, they should be encouraged and not have cold water thrown on them.

I would encourage this meeting to be in stages. The way those stages unfold will be up to the group that is meeting and how they feel the Lord would want them to proceed. One of the things that is important is that the sisters have the opportunity to learn to use their gifts and be able to share, but also that they can learn to be silent and allow the brothers to lead at certain points. This is totally possible if these different stages are walked through.

The first stage could be to have a meal together. This helps to accomplish a few things. Some of the Bodies Gifts are very much active during a fellowship meal. Sisters and brothers can have the Gift of Hospitality, and the Gifts of Service. If it is a large gathering then sisters or brothers with organizational and administrative Gifts could be very useful. Remember the point of these meetings is to help identify and develop different peoples Gifts.

Another reason having the meal first can be a blessing, is for those that are not able to be there right at the beginning, especially those sisters with larger families that might feel challenged to be exactly on time. This takes a lot of pressure off of them. If the meal time is very laid back and lasts for at least an hour or so then it isn’t a problem at all for them to arrive fifteen minutes late. In fact they really are not late at all.

Some groups may choose to have Communion at the end of the meal. That will be for each group to discern.

When the meal is finished everyone should pitch in and help clean everything up and to set up for the next stage of the meeting. In this stage of the meeting it will be encouraged for everyone to begin fellowshipping in small groups. This is not the time to sit and talk about the farm. This is iron sharpening iron time. This time is not so much for the brothers, as it is for the sisters. In fact I would encourage the brothers at this point to take responsibility for as many children as they can. One of the reasons that so many sisters in the church struggle with the idea of them having to remain silent is because they often don’t get time when they can really fellowship with other sisters and utilize their Gifts. When Paul said they were to remain silent, it was a time in the history of the church when believers were in each other’s lives on a daily basis. Everyone is so isolated today compared to the closeness they had back then. They were forced to walk, therefore they were forced to live close to one another. Today people frequently drive hours to get to their assembly. That does not allow for the sisters to really be in one another’s lives the way the Lord intended, especially if the husbands are looking at their watches and worried about missing a sporting event. A whole post could be written on the importance of living in community.

This stage of the meeting is spent in small groups. Small is a relative term here. One older sister may be teaching a group of younger mothers how to love their husbands and children in practical ways (Titus 2:3-5). It will be an opportunity for those younger sisters to ask questions as well. But the older sister should keep a sharp ear open for other sisters that are younger that do exhibit the Gift of Teaching and the Gift of Exhortation. Another sister may be one on one with a sister that is struggling through some issues in her life. The main thing is that each sister is given an opportunity to receive and give nurturing as their Gifts begin to develop. Remember all of this is done in a humble loving way. If someone is harsh and unloving they need to be spoken to. If after being reproved they continue to dominate and make others feel pushed aside they should be asked to remain silent. This may sound harsh but one rotten apple can spoil it for everyone. If these individuals are not dealt with then younger sisters that really do need this time in their lives will stop coming. That is why older sisters need to moderate and make sure things are being handled in a loving edifying way.

The transition into the next stage of the meeting needs to be determined by the older brothers that may be leading and moderating. I would encourage a meeting like this to be very flexible time wise. We are talking many hours. In other parts of the world the church meets all day. They don’t do one of these quickies where everyone is looking at their watches twenty minutes into the sermon, thinking about the football game they may be missing. Those are not the kind of “believers” you will want to encourage to come to these meetings. These meetings are for spiritually hungry people that want to grow in Grace, and experience what it is like to have God flow through them in mighty edifying ways.

When the older brothers have prayed and determine it is time for the next stage to begin then everyone should be encouraged to help setup for a more formal meeting. I would encourage the chairs to be setup in a circle. As many rows deep as they need to be to accommodate everyone. If there is still a sister that is ministering deeply to another sister they should be given the liberty to take the conversation into another room so the Spirit can continue to meet that need. But everyone else should be encouraged to come sit as families in the chairs. Children should be present. They are being discipled as well, as they are taking this all in. This is prime time to teach a child to sit still and pay attention. It won’t hurt them. I raised eight children and there is a time for a child to be wild and running around playing a game, and there is a time for them to learn to sit quietly and respectfully seeking to learn what they can. Even at a fairly young age.

I would encourage single sisters that do not have their family present or widows to sit close by a brother that they feel has good discernment. I will explain why here in a moment.

This stage of the meeting is the training ground for the different brothers that are present to develop their different Word Gifts. This is where the older brothers that have established Word Gifts will need to be careful they don’t totally dominate the meeting. Younger brothers should feel very welcome to share what they feel the Lord has been saying to them.

I would encourage one of the older brothers to open the meeting with a prayer of acknowledgment that apart from Christ we cannot accomplish anything. Invite the Holy Spirit to use each of the Gifts that are present to edify everyone. Obviously that individual should pray how the Lord guides them to pray, but you get the idea.

Once a meeting like this starts, I like to be in a very prayerful state. I tend to have my eyes closed and I am seeking the Lord offering myself as an empty vessel for Him to use and fill to overflowing. What each brother is seeking to do is to discern if the Lord has something He wants them to share. One brother may be led to ask for a certain Hymn or Spiritual Song to be sung. This is where having someone, or several people, that are capable of leading a song is very helpful. If you know a certain brother is strong at that you could address them and say “John would you lead us in Amazing Grace” If hymnals or song books would be needed they could be passed out before the meeting begins. After that song has finished another brother may feel led to read a certain passage of scripture. If this is a good size gathering I would encourage brothers to stand up before they say anything. One of the disciplines that needs to be learned is how to wait on the Spirit in such a way that there are no interruptions. If everyone just remains seated then someone is having to start to speak when someone else may be as well. This can be off putting to a young believer that was not so certain that they were supposed to interject something into the meeting at that moment. Someone rising to their feet gives everyone notice of their intentions. This is why having the chairs in a circle helps, everyone can see everything that is happening. As you mature in this process you will begin to see a very wonderful edifying tapestry that starts to come forth. One brother was sensing the Lord speaking to him about the very passage the other brother just read. Now the Lord encourages that brother to share some teaching or an exhortation based upon that passage. Once those that are present become more confident of the Spirits leading your faith is going to begin to grow rapidly.

Sisters this is where your faith can really grow too. My wife is very at rest to trust the Lord to lead the brothers. She will often have a song on her heart that a brother will call out during the meeting That has happened many times. The reason I encouraged single sisters and widows to sit close by a brother they trust is so they can give a note to them requesting a song. I often have had certain older sisters do this with me. Once I receive the note, I will pray first of all if it is the Lord’s will to interject it into the meeting, and if yes, when. Very often one of those sisters in particular was very discerning. But she submitted that discernment to a brother she trusted. It was always a great blessing to her. This is why sisters are not to teach or even ask questions (1st Corinthians 14:34-35). Whenever someone is interjecting something into the flow of the meeting they are directing its course. In a sense they are usurping the Brother’s authority when they start to direct the course of the meeting (1st Timothy 2:11-12). Even a question can totally change the flow of the meeting. God desires during a formal meeting where brothers are leading for the sisters not to interfere with that flow. When a sister shares through a note something that is on their heart, then the brother can take responsibility to discern how it is to be handled.

One of the things the brothers will learn, is how to hold a word till the proper time. Just because you get a word does not mean it is to be shared at that moment. Many years ago I was in an open meeting and even before the meeting started the Lord gave me something to share and it just didn’t make sense at that moment. In fact I ended up holding that particular word until almost the end of the meeting. The brother sitting next to me shared something he was struggling with and the Word I had received an hour earlier was exactly what that brother needed at that moment. I spoke it and he just broke down in repentant tears. Had I shared the word at the beginning of the meeting when I had received it everyone would have look at me like I was strange. It would not have made any sense early on in the meeting. The Lord does this to teach you patience. So you not only need to discern if it is the Lord’s voice, but also just as important is the timing of when it is shared. It takes time to mature in this patience. I believe that this is what Paul is referring to in this verse. Romans 12:7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;

So the meeting is a tapestry of different brothers sharing passages of scriptures, songs and hymns, teachings, exhortations, testimonies, what about speaking in tongues? For those of you that did not read my previous post about speech several posts ago I would encourage you to go read it. I dealt with this topic in depth there. Just like I shared before we are not to forbid speaking in tongues (1st Corinthians 14:39), BUT every spirit that manifests in the meeting in a supernatural way has to be tested. I don’t care if it is one of the older brothers that has it manifesting in him. Everyone needs to be humble enough that whatever spirit is speaking through them can be recognized for what it is. An older brother that has some experience in dealing with demons needs to ask the spirit “if Jesus Christ came in the flesh”. If it is the Holy Spirit it will acknowledge you immediately to the affirmative. If the Spirit ignores your question then you need to decide how you are going to proceed. If families are present it may not be a good idea to cast a demon out in their presence. Also a demon should not be cast out if the individual is not certain they want to be set free. You can make their lives much worse if they do not have the Holy Spirit take up residence in the demons place (Luke 11:24) . Like I said, if you are not familiar with what I previously shared, go find it and read that section. But if the spirit avoids the question, the person needs to be asked to remain silent.

So if the Spirit that is speaking through them, answers yes to your question, the next thing you need to discern is if someone is present that has the Gift of Interpretation. The scripture does say that the person speaking can give the interpretation themselves when they are done speaking (1st Corinthians 14:13). This manifestation of the Spirit could be valuable for discerning if the Gift of Interpretation was present. How will someone that has that Gift know unless they are exposed to the genuine Tongues Gift by the Holy Spirit? It would obviously be nice if someone that was mature were present with the Gift. It would be a way for younger believers to discern if they have the same Gift. I explained this in a previous post but will again for those that missed it. Let me explain.

Individual Spiritual Gifts are like radio frequencies on the radio dial. If you turn the dial to a different frequency you get the information being broadcast there. Someone that has the Gift of Interpretation has been gifted with the ability to hear in the Spirit what is being transmitted in regards to the speaking of tongues in the spiritual realm. That is why when a young person is listening to a more mature person exercise their gift they are like “that is just what I heard”. Now they are learning to build confidence in their ability to hear properly. This is very important for young prophets. I am sure when Agabus was prophesying to the church there were younger believers present that would not have had the confidence he did to foretell events like the “dearth that was coming on the land” (Acts 11:28). It says let the others judge, how are they able to judge? (1st Corinthians 14:29) They heard the same things.

Another thing the Lord will test you with as a group will be a long period of time where He just remains quiet. In our modern culture of rapid small sound bites this can be really hard for some people. I have been in meetings when everything is really flowing and very edifying, then there is a ten to fifteen minute lull that takes place. Just rest in the Lord at that time. Don’t assume the meeting is over, just spend that time praying for what ever the Lord is laying on your heart. There may be someone present that needs to repent of something and this time of quiet is really working them over.

Something else you need to realize is that the Lord may guide one meeting totally different than a previous meeting. He may have you sing praises to Him for most of the meeting. In another meeting there may be very few songs and much more teaching. The Lord knows what is needed to build the church in the most beneficial way. So many revivals died because men got a temporary glimpse of how God chose to move at one particular moment in time and they developed an entire “form” around that “way” of doing things. The Father led Christ to heal people almost always in a different way. He did this to show to us our continual need to look to Him moment by moment. He is not going to hand you a blueprint that you can just take and ignore His leading. It will be the very opposite.

The next thing I need to share with you is the necessity of identifying who your young Pastors are. Look at this passage of scripture.

1st Corinthians 11:19 For there must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you.

As you are allowing the Spirit to lead each member of the Body, it is important that you remain very diligent and discerning about false doctrine. Wolves that are not able to hijack your typical meeting are drawn to a meeting like this. It gives them an opportunity to begin to sow seeds of deception. At first it can be very subtle, to try to test the water to see if anything will be done about it. The Pastor is the under Shepard of the Lord, the gift He will use to deal with such things. Because these meetings are ment to help to see who is gifted in what ways, as a group you should discuss ahead of time how this should be handled. In fact this discussion may inform a wolf that this is not the flock to try his tactics on. The brother that is moderating, if needed, would ideally have the Pastoral Gifting. When something is being shared in the meeting that is not sound doctrine the Pastor should prepare to do something, but should wait just to see if another brother is Gifted to deal with it first. All bothers should be told to be seeking to discern if something false is shared. If they discern something false they should humbly stop the speaker and proceed to lovingly share from the scriptures what the actual truth is. This is a touchy sensitive situation that the older Pastor has on his hands. He needs to let other brothers develop their Pastoral Gifts, but this could quickly get out of hand if those involved are not humble and loving. If a brother, even if he is right, becomes heated or unkind, he should be asked to stop addressing the assembly, by the older Pastor. If need be the older Pastor should then lovingly but firmly show from the Word what the truth actually is. Obviously if the older Pastor is not sound in his doctrine you have a real mess on your hands. That is why it is important that whoever this group is looking to, to lead and moderate if necessary, needs to be sound in their doctrine and faith. They need to posses the ability to be firm, loving, yet authoritative. If you do not have someone that can fill that role then these meetings are going to be next to impossible to conduct. A wolf will sense right away the vulnerability of the situation, and before you know it the wolf will dominate the situation and will be in control, because they will present themselves as being full of knowledge, and they will come across as authoritative. That is why brothers must:

2nd Timothy 2:14-15 Of these things put them in remembrance, charging them before the Lord that they strive not about words to no profit, but to the subverting of the hearers. 15 Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

All brothers should be studying the Word with the Great Shepard. If a wolf can easily come in and deceive everyone it is because the brothers have not learned to know the heart of God. Remember “must be also heresies among you, that they which are approved may be made manifest among you” God will see to it that this will be allowed to happen so He can show who His under Shepards are. If no one has studied to shew themselves approved you have a real problem on your hands.

So I am going to assume you have a brother that is an experienced Pastor, that doesn’t mean he graduated from a seminary, that means he has shown himself to be able to protect the flock properly. He needs to allow younger less experienced brothers to try to deal with anything false that is shared in the meeting. If no one presents themselves, then he must lovingly, but firmly, do it himself. His example will help teach younger brothers with the Pastoral Gift, that may not have had the faith to try to properly deal with the situation, and to speak up. One of the ways a Pastor could defuse a possible bad situation would be for them to ask a question that would draw out the truth. A question that would show how illogical the false idea was. Jesus was very adept at using questions in difficult situations.

If this meeting becomes known there are many people that would want to attend. Seek the Lord to know how to proceed. I have seen these things become derailed because Satan will PANIC if this really is directed from the Lord in a powerful way. He does not want this to get out of his control. Satan will send all sorts of different people into these meetings to try in anyway possible to get them to get off course. My advise would be once you have an established group that is really flowing in the Spirit and people are really being edified and discipled, that when other people come and want to take part, the Older Pastor should take some of the younger Pastors that have been identified and have separate meetings with the new comers. Other brothers with distinct mature Gifts like Teaching and Exhortation should be present as well, if possible. Older discerning sisters should be encouraged to be there. Then these new seekers can have an edifying meeting that allows them to take part, but it gives the older more discerning members of the Body a chance to see if the new seekers are truly humble loving individuals that would be a real blessing to the larger gathering. If you did encounter a wolf then it would be much easier to deal with them firmly and lovingly and not have the confusion in the main gathering. This would also serve as a great training ground for these younger Pastors to prepare them to lead larger gatherings on their own. If any Gifts are present like Tongues or Prophesy that a spirit is supernaturally speaking through these new seekers, it will allow one of these younger Pastors to test the spirit to see if it demonic. If the seeker is prideful and is offended that their spirit is being tested that will be a good indication that you don’t want that individual fellowshipping with the main flock of believers. This would also give you a chance to see if a certain sister is not at rest to allow the brothers to lead. If she insists on being vocal during the more formal teaching time that the brothers are to direct the flow of the meeting, it would be a good place to teach them the Lord’s heart. If they reject the truth then once again you have avoided having to deal with it in the larger assembly. These small meetings to test to find out where people are in their walks with the Lord are not to sift and reject people, but to have an opportunity to see if they are teachable and try to disciple them. If they are resistant to being discipled then you obviously know that they would not be edifying to the larger gathering.

The larger group of believers meeting like this could start with a doctrinal statement that is not set in stone. It must be able to be challenged and changed. We live and grow and the Lord teaches us more about His Heart. The doctrinal statement should never be challenged before the main meeting. If someone knowingly is teaching in the meeting contrary to it, they should be asked to remain silent. Anyone that humbly wants to challenge something in the doctrinal statement, should present what they believe before a brother’s meeting, where single sisters should be allowed to listen to what takes place. Remember only by pride cometh contention. If contention arises someone is speaking from the place of pride. Someone that may be right, could be the prideful one. Anyone that is being prideful, regardless of who they are, should be ask to remain quiet. If eventually they are able to compose themselves they can attempt to share their heart again. These meetings should be very loving and edifying. Anyone should be given the opportunity to challenge something that is in the statement in a loving way. If the Brothers discern that the change is legitimate then the statement should reflect the truth. If some kind of division is created because of doctrine, don’t shy away from it. Lovingly consider the situation. If a certain group of brothers feel very strongly that a change needs to be made but there is no consensus then just humbly let the brothers go and start another meeting. If there is pride and divisiveness involved, these brothers leaving may be a good thing. If the pride is in the brothers in this main meeting then the brothers that feel the change is necessary should humbly leave and allow the Lord to use them to establish a different meeting. Good splits, because of growth, and bad splits because of doctrinal differences are going to occur. If you have been very careful to only allow humble loving individuals into these meetings these splits can be much more edifying. Remember each person is coming with their own set of religious baggage. When you start to disciple someone that has already been taught by someone else you are building on someone else’s foundation they have laid. That is why the doctrinal statement is just a flexible tool to allow you to understand what kind of foundation they have. Each person that wants to attend should be encouraged to read it and to share any concerns they may have with what it says. If someone remains silent in the beginning about how they see things differently but begins to try to direct the meeting in a different direction, you have a wolf on your hands.

As the Church grows, and it will if the Lord is truly the Head that is directing everything, then all these believers that have been growing in their Gifts can begin to have other large gathering as well. If there are truly Pastors that have what it will take to protect the flock then these meetings should divide. In fact you need to “mark” the Pastors that have been a good example (Philippians 3:17). That is what an ordination really is, is a public marking of them. The “seminary” that a young Pastor needs is to be trained in these kinds of open meetings. If you were to visit a open assembly like this and you didn’t know anyone, and no one had told you who the Pastors were, you shouldn’t be able to tell who they are because they dominate the meeting. No a discerning Shepard is going to be just another anointed brother using his gifts during the meeting. The way you will find out who he is, is when a wolf presents themselves, that is how you will know. They will have a true anointing of the Lord to deal with them. If you have certain brothers that have consistently shown that the Lord anoints them in this way, then they should be publicly marked and recognized.

As the church grows you should have a proper “church split”. You will find there is a “sweet spot” size wise where there is a good balance of all the Gifts being able to be exercised. The meeting can get too large for everyone to be able to use their Gifts. The Lord will show you all things. He is the Head. He will direct you. Be careful trying to make certain people attend certain meetings. Each person needs to be able to be led in how the Spirit wants to use them.

I see the Church in a certain area as being very fluid. In a certain city the Church may grow to have dozens of these larger meetings taking place. Each individual believer needs to be discerning as to where the Lord desires for them to go to use their Gifts. The Lord may give a Prophet or Exhorter a specific message for a specific one of the meetings. In many Churches today if someone does not show up for services, at a particular meeting they generally attend, everyone may assume something bad. In these fluid, Spirit led assemblies, if someone is not present, that generally is, people should assume that the Lord had them attend a different meeting and needed their particular gift present there, and pray for them that God would bless and anoint them. I long for the Church to mature in these ways. So many people are content to let the “paid professional” deal with all of this. They just want to occupy a pew for a few hours of the week and be satisfied they fulfilled some kind of religious duty. Oh the Church is so much more. It lacks a true anointing and power among all the parts of the Body because people are totally ignorant of what their Gifts even are, let alone how to use them in the flow of the Spirit to build up and edify the Body with those Gifts.

To some of you all these thoughts are very new. To others you have longed for such an assembly to meet with. Remember

Matthew 18:20 For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them.

This can start very small. Do not try to grow and just get people to come. You have to start with a core group of believers that are capable of hearing from the Spirit. Just add to that number as the Lord truly makes clear. If you don’t have an older Pastor don’t let that stop you, just really be careful and let the Lord be your only Shepard at first. In time the Lord will raise up an anointed Pastor that has a passion to protect the Flock. Until He does just rest in Him. You are much better off with six brothers and sisters that truly are being directed of the Lord, than to take on a large group of interested people that don’t really understand what is truly happening. If you are just a small gathering just invite seeking families one at a time to see how the Lord will potentially use them. But don’t be afraid to exclude someone that Satan just wants to use to derail or dominate the situation. Hopefully someone among you will have the Spiritual strength to lovingly lead during those times.

I am not writing this to get people to leave the assembly they now attend. Meetings like this could be held any day of the week. The early Church met daily. A larger established Church may choose to conduct a separate meeting like this to help develop Gifts. The Lord can use these thoughts in so many ways.

There is so much more I could share. But I sense the Lord saying some of it will be for another time. I hope these thoughts cause you to seek the Lord, and desire to use your Gifts in a humble loving edifying way. God bless you!