Life-long servants understand and reflect their Servant Profile. They express their God-given passions, Spiritual gifts and personal style. The result is a faithful, fruitful and fulfilling ministry through servanthood.
Passion
Passion indicates "where" you should serve. Your passion is a God-given desire to make a difference in some area of ministry and involves your greatest emotional energy. You might think of it as a burden, dream, vision, or call. Sometimes your passion does not make logical sense, it's just something you deeply care about and which spurs you to serve. Passions are sometimes described in terms of people groups, issues or causes, and roles. If we all cared about the same thing, then most needs in the Church and world would go unmet. But God has put into the heart of every believer a passion, intended to direct him or her to a special area of ministry. Our passion will act like a magnet, drawing us to our place of ministry.
Spiritual Gifts
Your spiritual gift indicates "what" you should do. Your spiritual gift is the God-given ability to serve others competently. Your spiritual gift indicates what you should do in ministry. There is no right or wrong gift, each is just different. "[God] gives [the gifts] to each one, just as he determines" (I Cor. 12:11). We often tend to confuse our passion with out spiritual gift. You can have any passion with any spiritual gift. But the two are quite different. If a Christian expresses fervent emotional energy (passion) toward those who don't know Christ, his role may not be to serve as an evangelist (spiritual gift), but as someone who organizes an outreach (gift of administration). When we stereotype a passion with a gift, or a gift with a style, we greatly limit the potential for ministry God has intended for His people. Spiritual gifts are divinely given task abilities for effective ministry.
Personal Style
Your personal style indicates "how" you can best serve. Your personal style is the God-given way you respond to the world and those around you. It is the personality or temperament God created you with. It is how you relate to others. Some of us make decisions better by looking at the facts, others by intuition. Some are energized by people interactions, others by task accomplishment. What's important is discovering and delighting in God's unique design for you. Serving according to your personal style will enable you to serve more confidently.
Getting the right people ...in the right places
...for the right reasons ...at the right time!
Those who are serving in ways that are consistent with their Servant Profile are finding that ministry gives them energy. Is ministry giving you energy? Do you know your Servant Profile?
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