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God’s Gifts: Our Strengths
1 Corinthians 12: 1 – 11; Romans 12: 1 - 8

Spencer C. Lawrence, Church of the Cross, Hoffman Estates, IL, June 10, 2007 

Over the past three weeks I have focused on our identity as Christians – what we believe, what’s important to us, what our moral values should be, in short, who we are. I have talked to you about the important role of Scripture in discovering our identity. Presbyterian Christians are people of the Book. We are also people energized by the Holy Spirit. Through the Spirit we are transformed and empowered to bear the good news of God’s love where we live and work. Last week I urged you to grow into the image of the Triune God who possesses perfect integrity and who lives in perfect harmony. This, of course, is not all that can be said about Christian identity, but they are things worth saying.

Today I will begin talking to you about the value of staying connected. One of the risks we run as we discover who we are is that other people may disagree with us. In fact, they may not like it at all. That’s where going out of our way to stay connected with them comes in. These next two sermons focus on staying in contact with others.

Paul in his first letter to the Corinthian church tells them that they are the body of Christ. The church is like a body, he says, because it is one thing, and also because it is made up of many different parts. And all the parts of the body are connected to one another. When one part of the body is not working so well, and if it is sick then the whole body feels the pain. But when every part of the body is healthy then the whole body feels great. So the church is a body in the sense that it is connected to Jesus Christ. We who trust in Christ are all connected to him. We are also connected to each other, but we are different from one another. Paul says that we have been given special abilities for ministry and service: e.g. some people are good at believing God for things; some are good at praying; some are great teachers; some can sing; some are good at helping others; some are good at organizing and leading and so forth. That we are different is a good thing. We use our individual gifts to strengthen the whole of Christ’s body.Of course, our gifts may be at different stages of development; some can do more, some less. Spiritual gifts are like teeth. Teeth are gifts from God. Most of us have pretty good teeth and we can chew pretty much what we want to chew. Some of us have bad teeth or not as many as we used to have. And some of us just have a few teeth with the sure hope of getting more in a few months – like my grandson Daniel. He has two little nubbins in the lower gum of his mouth. He’s not going to be eating a porterhouse steak soon, but he will. He is pretty good at grinding up mushy peas, but some day he will eat corn on the cob. If you feel you don’t have much to offer remember that like teeth our spiritual gifts need time to grow and mature.  

The net effect is that if God has given each of us a gift for service, then we ought to using it. It may feel like a burden, but really it is liberating. Once we discover what our gifts for ministry are, then we don’t have to do what we can’t do. If you have a gift for teaching children, then don’t let anyone try to talk you into teaching adults. If you have a gift for teaching adults, then don’t let anyone talk you into teaching Kindergarteners. In other words, do what you’re good at not what you’re bad at. The end result will be that the work – whatever it is – will be done better and you will be a whole lot happier. But what if it’s a really important job and no one is stepping up to do it?  And the pastor looks so sad that he/she can’t find anyone to fill this slot. My counsel?  Don’t give in. Don’t cave. Once you discover your gift for ministry stick with it until you’re pretty sure that you have a new gift. If it’s a job that God wants done, then God will find someone to do it.

If you’ve been coming here awhile, you have heard all this before. It’s not new. But the context is new. Discovering your gifts for service is an important way to stay connected to one another in times of increased anxiety that always comes with change.

Discovering and using gifts for ministry is not an optional thing for followers of Jesus. Sure, there are extenuating circumstances like illness or age or having a baby. But for most people there is nothing that’s standing in the way of using our time and abilities to serve Jesus Christ both inside the church and outside it. So I challenge you, if you haven’t done so yet, to set out on the adventure of finding out how God has equipped you to serve.

How do you do that, you ask?  Well, consider what you like to do. Think about what you do best. If you’re not sure what those might be you can ask two or three people who will give you an honest answer and not just one that will make you feel good. Then give something a try. See how you do with it. Do people seem to be helped by your efforts?  Is it something that brings you a sense of joy?  Is it something you look forward to doing again and again?  If you can answer “Yes” to questions like these then you may have discovered how God wants you to serve right now. It may change down the road, but right now you can be pretty sure that this is the way you can build up the body of Christ.

A jigsaw puzzle has many different parts. Each one is different – many of them have very odd shapes, but when they are connected in the right way, they create a beautiful picture. It is only when each piece is in its proper spot that the picture is complete. So it is with the church of Jesus Christ. As Christians we are each part of the body of Christ. God has given us gifts for service. When we use our gifts we are filling our God-given role. We are connecting with other Christians. We are helping the church be its best.

I want to shift gears from thinking about individual gifts to thinking about the gifts of this congregation. Thinking about your gifts as a congregation is focusing on your strengths. It would be easy in this in-between time when you will soon have an Interim Pastor to think more about what you don’t have than what you do have. I will be gone, you won’t yet have an installed pastor, nothing much new will happen until you get one, all making the future seem uncertain. You may want ask, “What’s the point?”  Thinking about what you don’t have can sap your courage and reduce your energy. It may make you feel like giving up. Instead, remember what you do well, focus your strengths, and then do what you can. Maybe you can’t do everything, but you can do something.

Let me tell you some strengths I see.

I see a church that isn’t afraid of change. Some churches tremble and become reactive when a change is proposed. That’s not to say you have liked everything I have tried to do, but on the whole you have responded well. Even when you didn’t like it you didn’t get all worked up about it. And if it worked you embraced the change smoothly. Some churches fight over practically everything. But you haven’t. You may not think that’s much of a strength, but trust me, it is. Churches that can adapt to change in healthy ways are churches that not only survive, but also grow. Not fearing change is one of your strengths.

I also see a church with a strong education program. First, through Jan Rosson’s and now Dorothy Sonntag’s leadership our Christian education program with young children is continuing to grow. Add to that what Pastor Dawn has been doing with midhigh and high school young people and you have a more complete picture. The Christian Education Ministry team is planning for a midweek program set to begin in the fall that will include children from this church and children from the community. Besides these, there is VBS. Dozens of people have volunteered to help with it. On top of that, COTC provides a strong program for children and young people at Summer Escape. Church of the Cross has a capable staff and a committed core of volunteers. What I have said about children’s Christian education applies to adults as well. The church’s education program is a strength.

I see a growing music ministry, too.  The choir under the direction of Duane Fenn continues to provide meaningful music during worship and on special occasions. He is assisted of course by others who lead on occasion and by Judy Stevenson who plays the keyboard. Add to that the development of our band these past few years. The band has grown in instrumentation and singers and in its repertoire. Our band adds a lively creative spark to our worship. The recent development of a music ministry among the Deacons which has carried the Good News to nursing homes and rehab centers is exciting. This is a third strength.

I see a developing drama ministry as one of the most exciting ministries here. As far as I know, we are the only Presbyterian church in this presbytery to consistently use drama to enrich our worship of God. It began several years ago as an experiment. There were times when we weren’t sure it would take off, but through the strong efforts of Kara Wilkins and the commitment of many of you it has become a staple here at Church of the Cross. Nearly every week a little drama sets up the sermon. Two or three times a year Kara writes dramas especially for Church of the Cross; they become worship services. This summer drama will be used in Sunday School for children. The drama ministry is a strength.

I see a growth in the use of technology. I know not everyone is excited with this, but it seems to me that we need to be able to use the latest available tools to communicate the Christian faith. Friends, when I came here we were keeping the books by hand. Now we have special financial software programs as well as a dedicated computer to track our giving and spending. We have a wireless Internet network within the church so staff and other leaders can access the Internet from almost anywhere in the building. More recently we have installed additional computers as well as projectors for use in worship. These things have happened because Jim and Scott and Chrity and Shawwn are committed to Christ and his church and love doing this stuff. These people, their skills and the new tools are strenghts of this congregation.

I see a church with a great potential for giving money. Not only do we have excellent management of our funds, not only do we have a sizable investment account that helps pay our bills, we have the potential for being extremely generous givers. Over the years I have been here when you have been informed of the need you have consistently given generously. I remember one December when it was becoming clear that our faith estimates of giving were going to fall considerably short for the coming year the session asked us to give extra. We needed additional pledges of $25,000 to make the next year’s budget. You gave over $29,000. Church of the Cross is not a poor congregation. As I have said before the average household income in zip code 60169 is nearly $90,000 per year. With everyone tithing on his or her income this church could have a budget of $900,000.00. I could be done. I know it’s hard to part with money, but remember, God loves cheerful givers.

I see many more strengths than I have time to talk about today: evangelism with Alpha and ESL, mission with its contact with missionaries and opportunties to serve in Habitat for Humanity, the deacons and their caring for the needy, the trustees in their maintainenance of the building. Another time, perhaps, but, then again, probably not.

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Church of the Cross
475 Higgins Road
Hoffman Estates, Illinois
 (847)885-1199