There is a tendency to make Christian roles, or positions, synonymous with gifts. If someone does well in a leadership role, for example, it is assumed that we are seeing the gift of leadership in action. The most misunderstood role in this sense is teaching, for it is a role that can accommodate any gift—some better than others—but any gift can be expressed through the position of teaching. Teaching is then the best example to illustrate the distinction between roles and gifts.
Take, for instance, a church that has no one with the gift of teaching. Because there are several other gifts that do very well teaching biblical concepts, this church has no trouble finding a qualified person to fill the position. In this case a man with the gift of wisdom (INTJ). If someone with the gift of teaching were to now enter the picture it would not be necessary to remove the first person from the teaching role and replace them with the teacher, because the teacher’s gift can be expressed through vehicles other than just the position of teaching, and the position of teaching can convey gifts other than teaching quite well. It may seem then, that teaching is an easily replaceable gift, when the truth is just the opposite.
Using the above example with the INTJ in the teaching role, we tend to look at the results and say that this is an expression of teaching, but that is our word for anything that is conveyed through any medium that resembles a classroom setting. From a gift-type perspective it is an expression of the function of wisdom through the role of teaching. The function of teaching will lack expression until it is transmitted by an ENTP with the gift of teaching.
We derive benefit from the function of a gift more so than any particular role which the gift might be functioning through. Although certain roles may be excellent vehicles for the transmission of specific gifts, it is most important that the function of every gift be expressed in some manner or another. The most overlooked method being simple fellowship—any extended interaction with other believers. The benefits of any gift can come through in the attitudes, perspectives, and insights that are part of ordinary interactions with fellow Christians. As Frederick Bruner writes of I Corinthians chapter 14, “It appears in this chapter that Paul sees the highest expression of spiritual gifts in the free, helpful discussion of Christians together and their contribution in thoughtful speech to each other[1].”
It is understandable and desirable, though, to seek a more specific application for our gifts, and the gift-type theory can give us a perspective on the search for a role in the local church. The picture that emerges is one of significant overlap in roles, but extreme specialization in abilities. A gift serving in a specific role can typically be replaced in that role without a great loss to the church, but if that gift were removed from the Body of Christ entirely, no other gift could come close to replacing the missing abilities, and the loss would be immediate, obvious, and crippling.
OVERLAP
The overlap in roles does have its limitations, and some roles are more flexible than others. The position of deacon, for example, is so well suited to the gift of service that the self-selection ratio of one type, ISTJ, seeking the position, is higher by far than for any other match of gift and role. No other position has even a majority of a single type seeking or holding the role. For most positions, however, there are a variety of gifts that bring different strengths to it, and we should not confuse our concepts of the roles of leading, teaching, or preaching, with the different gifts that find expression through them.
SPECIALIZATION
The focused abilities of every gift are impressive enough to provoke a “wow” response when they are understood. If there is no such response then the gift is likely not fully understood. One gift that illustrates the principle of specialization is service, because servers’ particular abilities are often underappreciated.
The gift involves skills as unique and interesting as any other gift, and probably more consistently useful to the Church. Often described as a gift of those willing to do the work that others don’t want to do, a closer look at servers will reveal how much the usual descriptions underestimate the gift. An understanding of ISTJs reveal several special abilities that are ideal for serving the Body of Christ.
One is that they are good at many things. ISTJs tend to have many practical abilities such as wiring a house, constructing a building, or repairing anything that is broken. If they do not have the expertise needed to perform a desired task, they tend to acquire the skill more easily than most, and without help from others. Although many ISTJs apply these skills in the areas of management, science, and technology, the practical side of their talents more easily demonstrates the specialization of their gift.
Another ability that ISTJs have is a well-developed memory for procedure, sometimes remembering how they performed a given task for the rest of their life. As they grow older, this results in a huge reservoir of experience on which to draw. If an ISTJ has done it once they can likely carry out the same task again from memory. By being able to do so many things, ISTJs are often the only ones with the right skills when a need arises, and they are typically willing to do the needed work[2].
ISTJs also have an eye for the arrangement of how things are put together. They tend to understand the internal supports and stresses of a variety of physical structures, and anything they build or repair will typically last for many years. They also have the ability to conserve resources by using what is available to its greatest potential. If suitable materials can be acquired from a pile of scraps in the back, then why spend the church’s money on new materials. Other gifted members would have great difficulty in accomplishing the server’s work. Given the scenario of another gifted member trying to replace a server, they…
Servers, then, are not just more willing to do the practical work behind the scenes, but they are much more competent than others in doing it well. Each of the other gifts also has a core of abilities that is unrivaled. If the abilities of each gift were graphed, there would be a characteristic spike when the graph reached their specialized area. The graph for an ENFJ, when it reached the area of encouragement and exhortation, would rise far above the other types. There would be a second best, but it would not be a close second. The theme that emerged would be repeated for each gift: In each one’s area of specialization, there are no close competitors.
References
[1] Frederick D. Bruner, A Theology of the Holy Spirit: The Pentecostal Experience and the New Testament Witness (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1970), 297.
[2] It is interesting that, since the purpose of all the gifts is service, the ISTJ takes the most direct route to that end.
Take, for instance, a church that has no one with the gift of teaching. Because there are several other gifts that do very well teaching biblical concepts, this church has no trouble finding a qualified person to fill the position. In this case a man with the gift of wisdom (INTJ). If someone with the gift of teaching were to now enter the picture it would not be necessary to remove the first person from the teaching role and replace them with the teacher, because the teacher’s gift can be expressed through vehicles other than just the position of teaching, and the position of teaching can convey gifts other than teaching quite well. It may seem then, that teaching is an easily replaceable gift, when the truth is just the opposite.
Using the above example with the INTJ in the teaching role, we tend to look at the results and say that this is an expression of teaching, but that is our word for anything that is conveyed through any medium that resembles a classroom setting. From a gift-type perspective it is an expression of the function of wisdom through the role of teaching. The function of teaching will lack expression until it is transmitted by an ENTP with the gift of teaching.
We derive benefit from the function of a gift more so than any particular role which the gift might be functioning through. Although certain roles may be excellent vehicles for the transmission of specific gifts, it is most important that the function of every gift be expressed in some manner or another. The most overlooked method being simple fellowship—any extended interaction with other believers. The benefits of any gift can come through in the attitudes, perspectives, and insights that are part of ordinary interactions with fellow Christians. As Frederick Bruner writes of I Corinthians chapter 14, “It appears in this chapter that Paul sees the highest expression of spiritual gifts in the free, helpful discussion of Christians together and their contribution in thoughtful speech to each other[1].”
It is understandable and desirable, though, to seek a more specific application for our gifts, and the gift-type theory can give us a perspective on the search for a role in the local church. The picture that emerges is one of significant overlap in roles, but extreme specialization in abilities. A gift serving in a specific role can typically be replaced in that role without a great loss to the church, but if that gift were removed from the Body of Christ entirely, no other gift could come close to replacing the missing abilities, and the loss would be immediate, obvious, and crippling.
OVERLAP
The overlap in roles does have its limitations, and some roles are more flexible than others. The position of deacon, for example, is so well suited to the gift of service that the self-selection ratio of one type, ISTJ, seeking the position, is higher by far than for any other match of gift and role. No other position has even a majority of a single type seeking or holding the role. For most positions, however, there are a variety of gifts that bring different strengths to it, and we should not confuse our concepts of the roles of leading, teaching, or preaching, with the different gifts that find expression through them.
SPECIALIZATION
The focused abilities of every gift are impressive enough to provoke a “wow” response when they are understood. If there is no such response then the gift is likely not fully understood. One gift that illustrates the principle of specialization is service, because servers’ particular abilities are often underappreciated.
The gift involves skills as unique and interesting as any other gift, and probably more consistently useful to the Church. Often described as a gift of those willing to do the work that others don’t want to do, a closer look at servers will reveal how much the usual descriptions underestimate the gift. An understanding of ISTJs reveal several special abilities that are ideal for serving the Body of Christ.
One is that they are good at many things. ISTJs tend to have many practical abilities such as wiring a house, constructing a building, or repairing anything that is broken. If they do not have the expertise needed to perform a desired task, they tend to acquire the skill more easily than most, and without help from others. Although many ISTJs apply these skills in the areas of management, science, and technology, the practical side of their talents more easily demonstrates the specialization of their gift.
Another ability that ISTJs have is a well-developed memory for procedure, sometimes remembering how they performed a given task for the rest of their life. As they grow older, this results in a huge reservoir of experience on which to draw. If an ISTJ has done it once they can likely carry out the same task again from memory. By being able to do so many things, ISTJs are often the only ones with the right skills when a need arises, and they are typically willing to do the needed work[2].
ISTJs also have an eye for the arrangement of how things are put together. They tend to understand the internal supports and stresses of a variety of physical structures, and anything they build or repair will typically last for many years. They also have the ability to conserve resources by using what is available to its greatest potential. If suitable materials can be acquired from a pile of scraps in the back, then why spend the church’s money on new materials. Other gifted members would have great difficulty in accomplishing the server’s work. Given the scenario of another gifted member trying to replace a server, they…
1. would have to be pulled away from their own area of giftedness, leaving less accomplishment in their best area.
2. would be less likely to have the knowledge to do the work. They would have to learn the skills and the work would take longer.
3. would find less pleasure in the work than the server, and thus have more frustration in the short term, leading to burnout in the long term.
4. They would not likely have the same instinct for the way things are constructed, so their work would be less likely to last over time.
5. They would not have the same ability to conserve resources and would cost the church more money.
Servers, then, are not just more willing to do the practical work behind the scenes, but they are much more competent than others in doing it well. Each of the other gifts also has a core of abilities that is unrivaled. If the abilities of each gift were graphed, there would be a characteristic spike when the graph reached their specialized area. The graph for an ENFJ, when it reached the area of encouragement and exhortation, would rise far above the other types. There would be a second best, but it would not be a close second. The theme that emerged would be repeated for each gift: In each one’s area of specialization, there are no close competitors.
References
[1] Frederick D. Bruner, A Theology of the Holy Spirit: The Pentecostal Experience and the New Testament Witness (Grand Rapids, MI: William B. Eerdmans Pub. Co., 1970), 297.
[2] It is interesting that, since the purpose of all the gifts is service, the ISTJ takes the most direct route to that end.
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