October 29, 2012

Finding Your Gift

The other day, I went on a tour of Trinity Church (where I work), with a group of conservationists, geologists, and chemists. What these people were most interested in was the stone of Trinity—where it came from, how it has been restored over the years. Everyone is passionate about something, and we may be surprised to find what people find enjoyable and fulfilling.

The church can be a place where we can discover and use our gifts, and it doesn’t have to be painful. Recently I’ve been part of a committee discerning what sort of governance my church, St. Lydia’s (a relatively new church that combines dinner and liturgy), will have going forward. Over the course of the meetings, I have been somewhat surprised by how much I have enjoyed them. I’ve discovered opinions and passions I did not know I possessed, and I’ve been able to use them to contribute as we discern how to move forward.

“The place God calls you to is the place where your deep gladness and the worlds deep hunger meet,” wrote Frederick Buechner. It’s often possible to find someone with a gift for any task, from caring to the building to filling out tax forms to creating rules for governance meetings. The church can be a place that helps individuals find where their desires meet the needs of the church and the world.

To do this, the leadership of the church first needs to know the parishioners fairly well. Who is organized and detail oriented, who is creative and skilled in the arts, which congregants have a particular educational background.

Second, church leaders can encourage those with a particular predisposition or skill to help with the tasks. People often need to be asked: sometimes more than once. If the church leaders know the congregation well, they may even be able to push congregants a bit in a way that encourages growth both for the church and the congregant. This requires discernment and needs to be done gently, of course.

Third, there has to be some freedom. Congregants must feel like they own the tasks and have some room to use their particular gifts and creativity. If they just have to check off a bunch of predetermined boxes, they will often feel stifled and bored. This isn’t to say that there shouldn’t’ be guidelines, of course, but neither should they be forced to do it the way its always been done.

Fourth, there needs to be a little room to fail. We should expect that congregants are capable, and that they will succeed with support, and allow that not every project will work perfectly. We can forgive each other when things go awry, or when a congregant finds that they simply don’t have an affinity for a particular task. (I, for example, have done some event planning, and realized eventually that I really did not enjoy it.)

The church is a place for service and growth. With the support of a loving community, individuals can discover new skills and passions. What are some other tips for helping people find their passions and gifts in the church?