What Are Your Unique Gifts and Abilities?
Part Four: Your Awakened Abilities Can Create the Future
“Deep in our bones lies an intuition that we arrive here carrying a bundle of gifts to offer to the community. Over time, these gifts are meant to be seen, developed, and called into the village at times of need. To feel valued for (our gifts) affirms our worth and dignity. In a sense, it is a form of spiritual employment - simply being who we are confirms our place in the village. Gifts are a consequence of authenticity; when we are being true to our natures, the gifts can emerge.”
― Francis Weller, The Wild Edge of Sorrow: Rituals of Renewal and the Sacred Work of Grief“The truth of Jesus' message doesn't lie in the past, but in the future. If we embraced this idea, Christianity wouldn't be getting less and less true, but more and more so. And to the degree that we help God so evolve, we are the hands and feet of Christ.”
— Brendan Graham Dempsey, author, poet, and scholar of religion who writes on metamodern spirituality
Here are the remaining fifteen gifts not already covered on my list of twenty-six.
Encouragement
"If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging" (Rom. 12:8).
The word encouragement in the New Testament is from the Greek word parakletos, meaning to exhort, come alongside, comfort, or encourage. The personal face of divine spirit consciousness is called our Paraclete in John 14:16, who is described as One who comes alongside us to comfort and help in times of need.
Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformer, stated, "The teacher transmits knowledge; the encourager stimulates." It's where someone comes alongside another person and inspires them in a way that gives them the courage to act and the comfort to be at peace. In some way, shape, and fashion, those with the spiritual gift of encouragement can stimulate a sense of courage and strength in people.
Of course, all Christians are called to encourage others: "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing" (1 Thess. 5:11). Paul sought to encourage believers through his visits (Rom. 1:11-12) his many letters, and his prayers. For example, "Therefore encourage one another with these words" (1 Thess. 4:18).
However, some believers are exceptionally gifted in encouragement. One of the strongest examples found in the New Testament is Barnabas. Barnabas sold a field that he had to give the money to the Church (Acts 4:36-37). He would become known as a son of encouragement and later helped bring Paul into the early Chrisian community as a leader.
The value of this spiritual gift in the ancient world cannot be appreciated enough. Leon Morris, an Australian Anglican New Testament scholar, notes: "For many people in the early church, life was a pretty grim affair; there must have been a continuing need for people who could encourage others, and it is interesting to find that there were people who had a gift for this sort of thing."
I think many of us in today's culture would argue that a great need for encouragement exists today among those dissatisfied with the current state of Christianity. Awakened spirit consciousness appears to be working through many people to bring this gift of encouragement into the life of today's Christian communities.
Faith
Faith is the spiritual ability to see what God wants to have happen and to believe with extraordinary confidence that it will come about.
The spiritual gift of faith goes beyond ordinary belief in spiritual realities. It gives one unwavering trust and confidence in God's power and promises in specific situations or circumstances.
“Jesus said, ‘You are gods, all of you” (John 10:34 ).’ People who are afraid to become gods say, ‘it’s impossible.’”
Individuals with this gift may exhibit extraordinary confidence in God's ability to inspire her purposes in us, even when faced with seemingly insurmountable obstacles. They trust in divine plans and timing without doubt or fear.
Those with the gift of faith may have a powerful prayer life in transmitting love and healing to others with a deep conviction that this helps to heal the world.
People with the gift of faith often encourage and support others in their faith journeys. Their unwavering belief can inspire and uplift fellow believers struggling with doubt or uncertainty.
It's important to note that not all Christians possess the spiritual gift of faith, and the presence of this ability in one's life does not imply greater spirituality.
The Gatherer by Dalmo Mendonca
Gathering
Traditionally called "evangelism," in the early Christin community, this was the gift of those who proclaimed the good news to others who had not heard it. This was not just a proclamation in words but in their lives. Jesus was the most profound model of evangelism. He taught, proclaiming the good news of the realm of God. He demonstrated it by his life. And he gathered people together into the new community created by good news. Today, there are still some who do this in unevangelized or remote global populations. However, in the modern world, after centuries of traditional Christian religion, conventional Christianity has ceased to be good news to many. It has become bad news.
“You never change things by fighting the existing reality. To change something, build a new model that makes the existing model obsolete.”
So this ability of gathering often takes on the different flavor of sharing a more evolved version of Christianity with others. This creates a new form of evangelism, which is the good news for those Christians seeking more. They may have left traditional Christianity because it no longer seemed to be good news, but in reality is old, outdated, bad news.
At the Integral Christian Network, we have taken the parts of the past news that are indeed good news of the love of God and left the bad news parts. We proclaim this new form of the good news and gather people into a new community.
My partner in the ICN Heart Circle, Luke Healy, has a powerful gift of gathering, as do the many ICNers who share what we are doing with others.
Giving
Giving is the spirit-awakened ability to support works of love with material resources in an unusually liberal, timely, and cheerful way.
ICN is blessed to have individuals with this gift who constitute a significant help in our work for the evolution of Christianity and the world. Givers look for where support is needed and offer their contributions, sometimes financially and sometimes with time and helping support. One doesn’t need to have a lot of resources to be a giver. It is the giving heart that makes up this gift, not big numbers. They have the spirit of generosity alive in them.
Healings
Healings are awakened abilities of several kinds that allow one to be a channel to cure or bring improvement in physical, emotional, or spiritual challenges through being a catalyst for healing while transmitting healing energy.
Spiritual gifts of healing are one of the gifts of awakened-spirit-breath-consciousness named in the New Testament. This gift empowers some individuals within the Christian community to bring about physical, emotional, or spiritual healing through various means, including transmitting prayer, laying on of hands, anointing with oil, or simply through faith and trust in divine healing power. The specific method may vary among individuals who possess this gift.
This gift can be seen in people from other spiritual traditions or none. God does not wait until we get our theology and beliefs worked out to awaken this ability in others.
The healing that is associated with this spiritual gift can encompass physical healing (such as recovery from illness or injury), emotional healing (such as inner peace or deliverance from emotional distress), and spiritual healing (such as forgiveness and restoration of one's relationship with God).
Those with the gift of healing often play a significant role in ministering to their community's physical and spiritual needs. People with the gift of healing often have a sense of discernment to recognize the source of an ailment or the root cause of an issue, which can guide their prayers and actions toward healing.
Not every prayer for healing results in healing. We must live with our limitations and not be attached to results.
Other spiritual gifts, such as the gift of discernment, faith, or resonating prayer, often complement the gift of healing. Together, these gifts may be used to minister to individuals in need.
Praying Medic,paramedic and author writes, "When healing gifts are exercised, the faith of both the one healed and the one healing is built up and becomes stronger. Faith not only in God, but faith in one's ability to do the works Jesus did, as he said we would. Many who might otherwise move powerfully in the gifts of the Spirit are not lacking faith in God to want to do them, but in themselves and their own ability to be instrumental in ministering the gifts."
Creating the Future by Helping from Dalmo Mendoca
Helping
This is the gift ability to assist others in their spiritual life. It is a person-centered quality as differentiated from task-centered.
“Stay close to that which produces fireworks inside you.”
This spirit-awakened ability allows a person to invest themselves in the work of another so that person can live a more whole and productive life.
Hospitality
This is the gift of a person who easily connects with and welcomes others in an exceptionally warm way into a group or organization. You feel a friendly warmth when you are with a hospitable person.
Intercession by Dalmo Mendoca
Intercession
This is the spiritual ability to regularly pray for others and meaningful causes.
This person often finds great satisfaction in intercessory prayer and sometimes has a list of these people and causes that they pray for.
“If you want to make everyone happy, don’t be a leader. Sell ice cream. ”
Leadership
Leadership is the spirit-consciousness awakened ability to organize and guide activities in an effective and life-giving way. Apostles today are leaders who begin new Christian communities. Luke and I have done that for ICN. We have many leaders of various kinds, using their gifts to help us evolve. And leadership is also evolving today into many new forms and expression.
Prayer Language by Paul Fryer
Prayer Languages
A prayer language is a non-conceptual language of devotion that transcends ordinary language.
It is praying from the beginning edge of the cloud of unknowing. These sounds serve as "words" without conceptual meaning, bypassing the mind and speech centers.
In this way, we can whisper a lover's sweet nothings to Abba (Father/Daddy), Imma (Mother/Momma), Jesus, Mary, Sophia, and other beloveds. It is the language of love in the mystical realm and an accessible way to enter into a meditative state.
This way of praying never becomes culture-bound or outdated because its fundamental purpose is not to communicate but to participate in the presence of God.
Prophetic Seeing
This prophetic gift within the Christian path is the ability with others to see the next stage in the evolution of Christianity. Richard Rohr, one of ICN's prophetic heroes, writes, "The essence of the prophetic task is to articulate a vision of the common good that has the power to capture the imagination of the people as a goal worthy of struggle and sacrifice."
At the risk of seeming self-congratulatory, I reprint my friend Richard Rohr’s comment to ICN about ICN and this series.
Paul and Company,
You represent an oasis of deep perennial truth and wisdom in the Christian world.
Thank you for holding onto it so graciously. I am always so Honored when you call me your friend
Or brother.
Deep love and blessing,
Richard Rohr
Resonating Prayer (prophecy in the early church)
This is the awakened spirit-consciousness ability to give an immediate inspired word from God to others, which encourages, comforts, inspires, heals, or challenges them. This has been extensively explored in part one of this series.
Service
This is the spiritual ability to assist others in various projects, giving time and energy to get various jobs done. This is a task-centered quality, not a person-centered one.
Spiritual Guidance
This is the gift-ability to help another person on an extended basis in their journey of self-discovery. Sometimes called a spiritual life coach or spiritual director, they harness spiritual growth by encouraging clients to love themselves and let go of limiting beliefs.
Spiritual guidance is not counseling, friendship, mentoring, teaching, or disciplining. The spiritual director/coach is a spiritual companion, often but not always, trained to listen, discern, and sometimes to ask questions. The task of the spiritual coach is to diligently pay attention to the person's story, and to encourage their spiritual growth.
Teaching
This is the spirit-given ability to communicate to others spiritual principles, concepts, and practices in a clear way.
Transmission
This is the ability to pass on or facilitate awakened spirit-consciousness in another person or a group of people through presence, touch, intent, speech, written word, sound, gesture, gaze, or prayer. You can learn more about this practice from several of our past articles on the subject.
Wisdom
Wisdom is the gift ability of awakened consciousness to consistently enable wise decisions and provide spiritual insights for problems. Associated with Sophia, the feminine face of God, wisdom is to think without language and enter into the realm of divine wisdom.
Rumi says, "The soul has been given its own ears to hear things the mind does not understand."
Wisdom allows us to mystically sort through opinions, facts, and thoughts to determine what solution would be best for the individual believer or the community of believers.
Furthermore, it is the ability to apply spiritual knowing to life in such a way as to make spiritual truths relevant and practical in proper decision-making and daily life situations. Wisdom shows us how to use our spiritual knowing.
Creating the Future with our Spiritual Abilities
“The future depends on what you do today.”
Reflection
1. This is a great time to reflect on what you see as your spiritual abilities cluster. What do you see as your gift cluster at this point?
2. How does it feel to openly admit that you are gifted?