John Piper, in this thirty year old sermon, positively nails a subject that's troubled me for a long time.

Some background: I have, on occasion, taught a spiritual gifts "seminar". At first I thought it was pretty cool stuff, but I became more and more troubled by the a) intense focus on self-searching required in the class, to "identify my spiritual gift" and b) the reliance on self-graded surveys to determine one's gift or gifts. I don't mean to suggest there's no value there. I have taken those surveys and they've tended to agree with what I think my spiritual gifts are.

But I didn't discover my spiritual gifts by taking a survey. I discovered them by doing ministry; often by basically stumbling into a ministry that I wasn't expecting. Like when I was twenty and some youth minister, in a fit of God-breathed insanity, asked me to teach a week's worth of Bible study on a passage I'd never even read before, to a bunch of sixteen year old kids that I didn't know, at a summer camp, with about four hours notice.

Not very wise, perhaps, but that one event was life-changing.

We're about to jump into a few weeks on spiritual gifts in our Friday night Young Singles home group, and I'm going to base these few weeks largely off this one sermon. An excerpt below:

I think it would be fair to say also from this text [1 Thess 3:2] that you shouldn't bend your mind too much trying to label your spiritual gift before you use it. That is, don't worry about whether you can point to prophecy or teaching or wisdom or knowledge or healing or miracles or mercy or administration, etc., and say, "That's mine." The way to think is this: The reason we have spiritual gifts is so that we can strengthen other people's faith; here is someone whose faith is in jeopardy; how can I help him? Then do or say what seems most helpful and if the person is helped then you may have discovered one of your gifts.

. . .

I really believe that the problem of not knowing our spiritual gifts is not a basic problem. More basic is the problem of not desiring very much to strengthen other people's faith. Human nature is more prone to tear down than it is to build up. The path of least resistance leads to grumbling and criticism and gossip, and many there be that follow it. But the gate is narrow and the way is strewn with obstacles which leads to edification and the strengthening of faith. So the basic problem is becoming the kind of person who wakes up in the morning, thanks God for our great salvation and then says, "Lord, O how I want to strengthen people's faith today. Grant that at the end of this day somebody will be more confident of Your promises and more joyful in Your grace because I crossed his path." The reason I say becoming this kind of person is more basic than finding out your spiritual gift, is that when you become this kind of person the Holy Spirit will not let your longings go to waste. He will help you find ways to strengthen the faith of others and that will be the discovery of your gifts. So let's apply ourselves to becoming the kind of people more and more who long to strengthen each other's faith.