Encouraging God's Gifted People

I have had a very busy week. One of the highs was yesterday when we celebrated the 80th birthday of a friend with whom I worked for many years. Lois Dunn was a fine artist who was well known in our community for drawing a wonderful portrait of "The Head of Jesus". Almost everyone had it in their homes.

Just after I finished a Doctorate and was trying to implement its findings by teaching the skills I had discovered at College Hill Presbyterian Church I needed someone to illustrate my writings. Lois had no experience in commercial illustrations. To make matters worse, we were just moving from fine art to computer art and Lois had never touched a computer let alone one that had drawing software.

The church bought her a computer and software and paid for her to attend classes. The rest can be found in books, articles and all sorts of graphics. She was a tremendous support for us when we developed what is now ministering and training in some 75 nations as Equipping Ministries International (EMI). Thanks Lois.

I am a visual learner and wanted to use good illustrations to enhance my teaching. Lois enabled me to do that as we wrote and published Apples of Gold and Rational Christian Thinking. She designed the art work and took us to a new level of self publishing and communication.

It takes the talents, gifts and love of many good people to take an idea and launch it into an international ministry that touches thousands. Most of them are behind the scenes and are largely unknown to the general public. However, the words of I Corinthians 12 about the need for every part of the body to work together are absolutely true and amazing. They are especially remarkable when one considers they were written in an era of complete dictatorship.

⁴ There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them. ⁵ There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. ⁶ There are different kinds of working, but in all of them and in everyone it is the same God at work.

⁷ Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. ⁸ To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, ⁹ to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, ¹⁰ to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,^[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.^{[b] 11} All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

Unity and Diversity in the Body

¹² Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ. ¹³ For we were all baptized by^[c] one Spirit so as to form one body—whether Jews or Gentiles, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink. ¹⁴ Even so the body is not made up of one part but of many.

¹⁵ Now if the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁶ And if the ear should say, “Because I am not an eye, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason stop being part of the body. ¹⁷ If the whole body were an eye, where would the sense of hearing be? If the whole body were an ear, where would the sense of smell be? ¹⁸ But in fact God has placed the parts in the body, every one of them, just as he wanted them to be. ¹⁹ If they were all one part, where would the body be? ²⁰ As it is, there are many parts, but one body.

²¹ 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!” ²² On the contrary, those parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, ²³ and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor. And the parts that are unpresentable are treated with special modesty, ²⁴ while our presentable parts need no special treatment. But God has put the body together, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it, ²⁵ so that there should be no division in the body, but that its parts should have equal concern for each other. ²⁶ If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.

²⁷ Now you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it. ²⁸ And God has placed in the church first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then miracles, then gifts of healing, of helping, of guidance, and of different kinds of tongues. ²⁹ Are all apostles? Are all prophets? Are all teachers? Do all work miracles? ³⁰ Do all have gifts of healing? Do all speak in tongues^[d]? Do all interpret? ³¹ Now eagerly desire the greater gifts.

We established EMI in 1978 to "Equip God's people to do His work" and this passage was a basic reason and answer to the vision. My Doctoral studies about Counseling effectiveness confirmed God's Word as written here about ministry. All people can minister and use their gifts. Neither the Church or Clinic ought to be restricted to Professionals. To restrict Ministry to the Clergy is heresy and contrary to the effective work of God. To restrict Counseling, Healing and Caring to Professional Clinicians is arrogant and contrary to outcome research from the past 50 years.

Both limit the enormous good that would come from unleashing all God's people to care, pray, preach and love. We did that and taught how it can be done at EMI and Lois was a very important part of the leadership team.