THE MOTIVATIONAL GIFT OF TEACHING

". . . if it is teaching, let him teach."  (Romans 12:7b, NIV)

The Motivational Gift of Teaching is a bit different than some of the other gifts because it's a little more quiet.  By "quiet" I mean that you probably won't run the risk of becoming a workaholic and neglecting your family like with the gift of Serving; and, you probably won't make people mad like with the gift of Prophecy.  There are a couple of things to watch out for with this gift, however.  1) You do run the risk of boring your listeners to death with all your knowledge -- too thorough, too detailed, concept beat to death, class overwhelmed with too much information and everyone bored.  And that is truly one of the difficult things about this gift, the possibility of being a real bore.  2) More importantly, this gift comes with a hefty warning from God.  "Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more harshly." (James 3:1, NIV)   It is a highly important gift because it aides in helping the church to understand God's word correctly.  This gift is meant to help bring God's word to life, to help clarify the truth found in Scripture and to do so without compromising the mystery and integrity that lies within the life-giving, life-changing pages of the Bible.

If you scored high in the Motivational Gift of Teaching here's a few things you might recognize about yourself.  You love God's word and it drives you crazy when a verse is taken out of context and used incorrectly or paraphrased to the point of losing it's proper meaning and application.  You love to study and research a word, a passage or a concept from the Bible and see how it works in to the rest of God's word.  You feel comfortable behind a podium.  You would never consider teaching on anything unprepared.  In fact, you over prepare.  You want what you teach to be clear, concise and understandable to your listeners.  This is also your greatest fault.  You can beat a concept to death.  You can become so detailed in your explanation and application that you lose your listeners.  You can monopolize the conversation in an effort to get your point across.  As I mentioned earlier, you can become a bore.  (Sorry.)  I know because this is my gift and I've been there.  Now, those who know me probably would not say that I monopolize a conversation, but that's only due to the fact that I'm fairly introverted and a little shy.  My problem comes when I write.  I've been told that what I write is too long (I believe the term was "long-winded") and that I run the risk of losing the interest of my readers.  The problem isn't writing about my subject.  The problem is going back through and knowing what to chop out because it ALL SEEMS SOOOO IMPORTANT!  The comfort zone of teaching will vary from person to person.  You might enjoy one on one time as opposed to a classroom full of students or you might love a lecture hall where you can have undivided attention from people who want to hear everything you have to say on a subject.  Or, you might love the quiet work of writing.  Personally, I love a classroom and a podium (provided I am thoroughly prepared), but I have most recently found a love for writing Bible studies.

A friend of mine who clearly exhibits the Motivational Gift of Teaching is a lovely, loving, warm and highly intelligent person who is always thorough in her subject matter and I can count on her to give me a clearer understanding of the topic than I had before.  She has one problem, though: when she invites questions during her teaching time it is always towards the very end of the class time after she has realized she has (and apologized for) taking up too much time.  Then, when a question is presented she spends what little time is left and beyond addressing it and leaving no time for anyone else.  This is simply due to the fact that she has spent so much of the class time making sure the material is understood . . . thoroughly . . . from every angle.  Again, I've been guilty myself.  This is clearly an example of what not to do.  The person with this gift, however, has the incredible opportunity to make a huge difference in his/her listeners just by establishing a few simple classroom rules and learning a few simple teaching techniques.

Although it varies from person to person, some other things common to those with this gift is a love to read and a love for charts, graphs and lists.  You will probably find yourself questioning others who try to teach you and pick apart their theology.  It's possible that you love the research more than the teaching but teach you must because nobody else will teach it is well as you.  The telling of any account must be factual and not exaggerated.  You are concerned for the truth of God's word and once convinced of the truth you are not easily swayed.  You are more apt to want to help build up believers than to help make new believers.  In other words, you typically do not enjoy evangelism.  You would rather teach Discipleship 101 to new believers than to share your faith with someone who is not a believer.  Don't worry.  This does not make you heartless.  It's not that you don't want to see people get saved.  On the contrary, you want those who love evangelism to evangelize so that you can fill up your Discipleship 101 class with new believers and help them on their way to deeper truth.

Let's look at an example from Scripture: Luke, the quintessential teacher.  The Book of Luke is the longest of the four gospels.  Luke wrote his gospel so that the full truth might be made known.  "Therefore, since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus, so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught." (Luke 1:3-4, NIV)  I don't know about you, but I can just feel Luke's need to make sure that a factual account was being given.  He is oozing with accuracy in the telling of his account, plus he carefully investigated it.  Bless his heart.  He made sure that no important facts were being left out or exaggerated causing the account to lose credibility.  He researched it, told it straight, backed it up.  It was very important for Luke (a physician by trade) to include as many facts as possible, and so his account is longer than the accounts of Matthew, Mark and John.  Plus, we also give him credit for the writing of the Book of Acts which is a thoroughly informative account of the formation of the early church.

Now . . . about that warning.  Some things cannot be known.  Regarding some concepts, no amount of research is going to give you an answer.  Just because you have this gift doesn't make you 100% correct about everything.  In Matthew 23, Jesus severely judges the Pharisees and teachers of the Law for not handling God's word correctly.  He accuses them of keeping His people from finding Him -- the very thing they were supposed to do.  They were haughty with knowledge and pious without understanding of the spiritual disciplines of grace, mercy, forgiveness, compassion and love, to say the least.  Micah 6:8 is applicable here for the teacher: "He has showed you, O man, what is good.  And what does the Lord require of you?  To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God."  Look to and trust the Spirit of Truth who "will guide you into all truth!" (John 16:13)  So, do not be afraid to teach for teach you must, but do your homework and walk humbly.  A little trepidation is healthy.  It is no small thing to handle the Word of God.

If you scored high in the Motivational Gift of Teaching, here's what you need to do.  First, learn to recognize when you have monopolized the time and/or conversation, but, more importantly, learn to avoid it in the first place.  In a lecture style environment this is fine, but in a Bible study or Sunday school class it's not so fine.  People want to be invited to add their own thoughts and questions to the mix.  Learn to listen as well as you talk.  Be willing, in fact, be expecting to learn from your students.  (Remember: humbly.)  Second, create a learning environment wherein your students feel free to share and are safe from ridicule.  Establishing some classroom rules like, "Everybody has a voice here," and "There are no dumb questions," make it easy for you and your students to learn.  It's more important for your students to find their own way to the truth than it is for you to share all the minutia of detail on your subject, so create a joyful and safe path for them to do so.  Students will learn better if they can figure some things out for themselves.  Third, keep it simple.  If you are the kind of teacher that LOVES research and needs answers then know this: some questions are unanswerable, some topics are going to be controversial, and some people are going to remain unconvinced.  By all means glean all the information your little heart desires on a subject but do not expect everyone else to be as interested or as convinced as you.  Being too detailed and too technical is no way to influence your listeners.  Accuracy is good but not to the point that you are dwelling on the trivial.  Fourth, you must leave room for the mystery of God.  Mystery begs for the space to just be -- to just mysteriously be enjoyed -- to remain a mystery, and God is FULL of mystery!

Humbly,
Kerry

NOTE:  The description of each gift is based on the highest score possible for an individual.  You may find that only certain things are true for you and the rest is only true to a certain measure.  We are individuals created by an infinitely creative God.  We do not fit any certain mold.  These descriptions help you to understand why you see things a certain way, why you act a certain way and why some things are more important to you than other things.  Most of us will score fairly high in 2 or 3 gifts and how these gifts rank and what God has you involved in at the time will determine how well these gift descriptions speak to your individual personality.

THE MOTIVATIONAL GIFT OF SERVING

". . .if it is serving, let him serve." (Romans 12:7a, NIV)

I love Servers!  I do!  I love them!  They do everything I am unlikely (sometimes unwilling) to do.

The word Server comes from the Greek word "Diakonia" which means "service."  It's where we get the word Deacon (1 Timothy 3).  Other words used for this gift are "helps" and "ministering."

If you scored high in the Motivational Gift of Serving, here are some things you might like to know about yourself.  You are practical in the way you approach life.  For you, if something needs fixed or cleaned up you are quick to respond.  You are happiest taking care of the behind the scenes tasks like tightening screws, cleaning up after a meal, changing light bulbs, taking out the trash.  You typically do not like being in the spotlight.  You would rather take care of all the menial tasks there are to do than to just sit and visit with those around you.  (That does not mean you are unfriendly!)  You find it hard to say no when asked to take care of something that needs fixed or cleaned up.  You could easily be a workaholic.  Servers sometimes feel they are insignificant in and unappreciated by the church (and even at home) because they do not always get a "thank you" or "well done" for their work.  We take you for granted.  It's true.  For my part, I apologize!  You are VERY appreciated and your significance is unmatched.

God has gifted a lot of people with this motivation -- probably because there is always so much that needs to be done.  God understands about the details of life.  I have known many Servers in my life, but one in particular stands out.  A long time friend of ours, this man was seriously, deliriously happy taking out the trash or fixing a squeaky hinge.  One time after a meal at our church I was helping to clean up in the kitchen (serving is not my gift but I was trying to exercise it *smile*).  I went to throw something in the trash and realized that it was so full it had become unusable.  I shouted out to no one in particular, "Someone needs to take out the trash!"  It didn't occur to me at the moment to take it out myself.  My reaction to the full trash can comes from a different motivation.  I didn't mean to be rude, I was just trying to help by letting someone know that this needed to be done.  (See?  I'm not a Server.)  Our friend came running, sorry that he hadn't noticed it sooner, and rushed it out to the dumpster, but not before putting a new bag in the can so that we could continue or work.  Servers are great people!

Do not confuse this Motivational Gift of Serving with a gift for hospitality.  They can differ.  I should know because although Serving is not my gift, there is nothing I love more than being a great hostess.  I love to make people feel exceptionally welcome in my home.  I spend hours setting the table just right, picking out just the right color of napkins and napkin rings.  When I have overnight guests I want the sheets I put on their bed so fresh that they still smell like soap!  I am adamant about going last in the serving line for a dinner in my home. I always seat myself very close to the kitchen so that I have quick and easy access to the food and drinks.  And I hate it when people feel that they need to help me clean up.  When they're in my home I just want them to sit and relax and enjoy!  Servers are very uncomfortable with the idea of just sitting like this.  This is not to say that a person motivated to serve cannot have a gift for hospitality, it just doesn't always go hand in hand.

Let's look at an example from Scripture: Martha, the quintessential server.

As Jesus and His disciples were on their way, He came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to Him.  She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord's feet listening to what He said.  But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.  She came to Him and asked, "Lord, don't You care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?  Tell her to help me!"  "Martha, Martha," the Lord answered, "you are worried and upset about many things, but only one thing is needed.  Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken from her."  (Luke 10:38-42, NIV)

No matter how you've read this passage in the past, it is NOT a passage about how Mary is better than Martha because she was sitting at Jesus' feet instead of helping her sister.  It is not about Jesus being disappointed in Martha because she was neglecting Him for all the details of serving guests.  On the contrary, this passage points out the necessity of what both Mary and Martha had to offer.  Mary loves to worship.  She has one foot on earth and one foot in heaven.  Max Lucado says these are the people you want praying for you.  Martha, on the other hand, is motivated to serve.  It is how she does life.  I think that Max Lucado has it right.  In his book Cast of Characters, listen to what he writes:  Every church needs a Martha.  Change that.  Every church needs a hundred Marthas.  Sleeves rolled and ready, they keep the pace for the church.  Because of Marthas, the church budget gets balanced, the church babies get bounced, and the church building gets built.  You don't appreciate Marthas until a Martha is missing, and then all the Marys and Lazaruses are scrambling around looking for keys and the thermostats and the overhead projectors.

Mary and Martha just do life differently.  (But this, my friends, is exactly what I'm talking about when approaching the subject of spiritual gifts!  One body, many parts.)  Mary is seated, worshiping Jesus.  Martha is angry because she thinks that everyone should have the same priorities as her.  There's a hundred things that need to be done in order to feed their house full of guests.  And, all these things really do need to be done.  Martha sees Mary's actions as impractical, inconsiderate and a little lazy so she complains to Jesus, "Tell her to help me!"  Her issue at the moment is that she has forgotten to serve the Master.  She has forgotten that her service to Him is in serving His guests.  This is her personal act of worship.  Jesus is not condemning Martha for not sitting at His feet.  He understands the details of life.  Instead He's reminding Martha to choose what is better: worship Him in her service.  If we were all like Mary instead of Martha, life around us would become the equivalent of a dump.  Does any of this sound familiar, dear Server?  It's hard for you to understand why others aren't as practical about the details of life as you.  For you, the practical needs easily trump the spiritual needs.

If you scored high in the Motivational Gift of Serving, here's what you need to do.  First, know that it's OK to say "no" once in a while.  It's not going to feel good and you'll most likely feel guilty for saying it, but it's OK!  Do not allow yourself to be a workaholic around the church or around your home.  Stop.  Rest.  Ask God to help you become conscious of overworking and then to give you the wisdom and strength to say "no."  Second, remember that your family needs you.  Your children won't remember you for all those jobs you did around the church.  The rest of us might, but your children won't.  Third, and this cannot be overstated: DO NOT NEGLECT YOUR SPIRITUAL NEEDS!  Even though for you straightening things up or making sure tomorrow's list of jobs is already written down feels like a spiritual experience, it DOES NOT take the place of time spent in prayer, in quiet, in reflection, in the Word.  Even though this is when you feel the least productive, it is when you are actually the most productive.  Fourth, remember Whom you serve!  It is not the church, it is not the pastor and it is definitely not me.  You serve the One who gifted you with this unique and special motivation.  Your reward is from serving Him and Him alone.  Fifth, be merciful with those who do not jump up to take out the trash!  Instead, invite someone whom you suspect does not have this particular gift to grab a bag of trash and join you in the experience.

Serving Him,
Kerry

NOTE:  The description of each gift is based on the highest score possible for an individual.  You may find that only certain things are true for you and the rest is only true to a certain measure.  We are individuals created by an infinitely creative God.  We do not fit any certain mold.  These descriptions help you to understand why you see things a certain way, why you act a certain way and why some things are more important to you than other things.  Most of us will score fairly high in 2 or 3 gifts and how these gifts rank and what God has you involved in at the time will determine how well these gift descriptions speak to your individual personality.