Finding Your Place
1 Corinthians 12:12-27
Paul Fritz writes, One afternoon, one of my seminary students took me to the Jos Museum. He said, ``Sir, I want to show you something my father made!’’ Naive as I was in those early years of being in Africa, I thought he would show me a clay pot, a drum, or a sculpture his father had constructed. When we arrived at the Museum, he directed me to a special glass case where he pointed to a juju mask and proudly announced, ``My father made that mask which allowed him to assume the roles of the spirit of traveling.’’ When he told me this I thought. Oh, he is probably referring to traveling in a taxi or bus. But, the student went on to explain, ``After my father donned the mask, he would assume a new identity. He was instantly transformed into somebody else. He acquired new powers above and beyond those of a mere mortal man. At a moment’s notice, he could fly great distances between villages, appearing at special sacrificial ceremonies. People feared my father and gave him great respect when he wore his mask, but ignored most of the other times. However, when I became a Christian I knew that wearing the mask would be wrong, even though it would have been my right as the first born son. Still, I feel something missing. What can I get so as to gain the respect, power, and freedom that my father experienced with his mask.’’ And then he writes, The student was looking for something that he could use to transform himself! After I thought about that incident, it struck me that everyone looks for masks that can miraculously change their identities. Some are looking for masks to be able to hide their inner sense of inadequacies. Others are looking for masks that can make them into the cultural image of someone great. Still others are looking for identities that will make themselves acceptable in the eyes of their culture.
And some of us may bring the very same expectations to this whole topic of spiritual gifts, thinking that our spiritual gifts and passions might change our identities, hide our weaknesses or gain us greater acceptance from others. That is, until we get to today’s topic which is your personal style. God has given you a unique personality. He has wired you with a unique personal style which he doesn’t necessarily want to change but to use for His kingdom work. We are concluding a four-week series of messages from the Bible, entitled “A Servant’s Heart,” a series based on our firm conviction that it is possible for all of us to have fun and find fulfillment by serving others in the name of Christ. And the way to do that involves: • finding your passion, Passion is the God-given desire of the heart to make a difference somewhere, • finding your spiritual gifts, spiritual gifts are special abilities distributed by the Holy Spirit to every believer according to God’s design and grace and • finding your personal style. Personal style answers the question of how we are designed to serve.
There are two elements to your personal style. The first is how you are energized. This determines how you receive and focus your emotional energy and the way in which you prefer to interact with your environment. People fall into one of two categories: they are either task oriented or people oriented. Task oriented people are energized by doing things. They prefer to relate to people by sharing a commitment to working on a task together. Task oriented people are often uncomfortable with a lot of relational activities. They measure results by what they accomplish. Those who are people oriented are energized by interacting with people. They measure results in terms of relationships and often prefer to work with people in a team setting. That is not to say that people oriented folks are not concerned with task accomplishment or that task oriented people aren’t concerned with relationships. It’s more a matter of priority than approach. A people oriented person will spend more time visiting and getting to know someone before they start a task. The task oriented person on the other hand will start on the task and get to know the person afterward. Neither is right or wrong, it’s just a matter of preference. If you are task oriented, the primary content of your ministry should be accomplishing tasks that serve people. If you are people oriented, the primary content of your ministry should be relating to other people. Both value developing relationships, but each has a primary and secondary means of accomplishing them.
The second key element to your personal style is how you are organized. Some people are unstructured and prefer lots of options and flexibility. They tend to enjoy moving between a variety of activities. Unstructured people say, Pack the car, let’s go and then make plans after they arrive or even moment by moment. Structured people prefer to make plans and work within guidelines and clear directions. Structure people have to go to AAA, do research, find all the historical sights and recreational activities, make reservations and have everything planned out before they leave. If you are an unstructured person, you should have a ministry position generally described and have lots of spontaneity and flexibility. If you are a structured person, you need to have a ministry position clearly defined and have consistent relationships and responsibilities.
If a person is going to make a difference in their life they need to get a good, solid grip on on his or her passion and spiritual gifts, but also their personal style. These keys will help them figure out what areas of service to God intersect with those things, enabling them to find the place where you can have have fun and feel gratified and fulfilled because of the ease and effectiveness you’re experiencing in what you’re doing for God.
In the beginning of 1 Corinthians chapter 12, Paul tells us that all spiritual gifts are from God and they are given for the common good, that is, the good of others. He also says that every believer is given at least one spiritual gift. There are many different spiritual gifts, In fact, 23 are mentioned in Scripture. And then in our Scripture today, Paul uses the analogy of the body for the church. Every part of the body is critical for the whole. Each plays its function and without it playing its role, the body cannot perform at its peak. Though there are many parts, there is only one body working toward one goal.
There’s a Critical Place for You (vv. 14-20) Whether you are right-handed or left-handed, blonde or brunette, male or female, short or tall, married or single, you have a spiritual gift and there is a critical place for you in the body of Christ here at Pearl River United Methodist Church. God has arranged a place for you in the body of Christ, in the family of God, that is unique to you, and it’s a place that corresponds to your passion, your spiritual gifts, and your personal style. . . . and to the needs of this church and community. And God knows just how and where you fit in, because he’s wisely and lovingly designed you according to his grace. And He’s arranged for you to fulfill his design in a way that pleases him, fulfills you, and benefits every one of us. We cannot be the church God intends us to be without you. The eye cannot say to the hand, "I don’t need you!" And the head cannot say to the feet, "I don’t need you!....Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it (1 Corinthians 12:21-27, NIV). We are mutually interdependent on each to accomplish the purposes of God in our midst and to honor and glorify Him in our life together.
Dizzy Dean was one of the greatest-- and most colorful-- baseball pitchers of all time. He once won 30 games in a season. He and his brother, who was nicknamed Daffy, each pitched two victories for the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1934 World Series, which St. Louis won, 4 games to 3. One day earlier that season, Dizzy Dean swaggered into the opposing team’s locker room and told each hitter exactly how he would pitch to him, and then went out and pitched a shutout, winning 13-0. But one day in 1937, Dizzy hurt his big toe-- a minor injury, nothing important. After all, it was only a toe, you know? But it was important. He began favoring that toe, which affected his pitching motion, which affected his arm. And by the time he started to consider that little toe to be important, took his injury seriously and started to treat it, his pitching arm was so severely affected that his career was over. Because, you see, the pitching arm cannot say to the big toe, “You’re not important; I don’t need you.” And just like in the body of Christ, every person here, every passion, every gift, every personal style, is not only important but absolutely critical for the church to be all God intended it to be.
No matter what your passion is or isn’t, no matter what your spiritual gift is or isn’t, no matter what your personal style is or isn’t, you are nonetheless important, significant, and “indispensable,” to the body of Christ. Whether your passion is working with kids or computers, helping the poor, or helping with worship; whether your gift is preaching or hospitality, leadership or mercy; whether your style is structured or unstructured, task-oriented or people-oriented, every Christian here is crucial to the smooth and effective functioning of this group, this church, this Body of Christ.
You are important, and the place God has arranged for you is an important place. . . and each of us needs what all the others have to offer. Let me put it this way: Sarah Griffin, you need what Lois Jarvi has to offer; Lois, God intends for you to benefit from the gifts he has given Gary Manka; Gary, your life would be poorer without the things Margie Tankersley adds to this family; Margie, God has placed Steve Woodburn in this family for your benefit, Steve, you’re much better off because Karen Montani is part of this church, and Karen, Mike Johnson’s passion, gifts, and style are crucial to your well-being, and on and on and on and on . . . . You--every one of you--are the Body of Christ, and there is a critical place and role for you here in the ministry of the church. In fact, we can’t be the church without you.
