Nevertheless, if people are accustomed to a church pastor doing most of the work, it usually takes some time to get away from that method of operation and to develop individual spiritual gifts. When brethren believe that pastors or ministers have a higher "spiritual status" and have too much respect for them, two bad things usually happen: 1) The brethren accept the pastor’s words when they should be looking to the Bible and Holy Spirit; 2) The brethren do not believe that God could carry on a major ministry through them.

Nevertheless, if people are accustomed to a church pastor doing most of the work, it usually takes some time to get away from that method of operation and to develop individual spiritual gifts. If there is a pastor in the congregation, he should not suddenly stop preaching, teaching, studying, praying, counseling, visiting, baptizing and planning before other brethren assume those responsibilities—otherwise nobody will be doing them. A person who carries the title of "pastor" usually has certain spiritual gifts, but not others. (Ask anyone who has attended a church that has had several different pastors—the pastors’ gifts vary.) The "pastor" should continue in the areas where he is gifted, but the rest of the brethren should be encouraged to develop their gifts as well—sharing the work with the pastor as much as possible.

The Bible contains several lists of spiritual gifts (Romans 12:6-8; 1Corinthians 12:7-11,28-31; Ephesians 4:11-15, 1Peter 4:8-11). There is a lot of overlap between them, but no two lists are the same. Sometimes, different words are used for what appears to be the same gift. Since no one list contains all of the gifts, and since no statement in the Bible says that "these are all of the gifts", it is likely that Christ also gives other gifts as they are needed. Here is a summary of the gifts, followed by the number of times they are mentioned:

Administrator (1)
Apostle (2)
Discerner of spirits (1)
Evangelist—Gospel preacher (1)
Exhorter (1)
Faith-filled person (1)
Giver (of money) (1)
Healer (2)
Helping person (1)
Hospitable person (1)
Knowledgeable person (1)
Leader—one who leads (1)
Loving person (2)
Merciful person (1)
Minister—one who serves others (2)
Miracle worker (2)
Pastor (1)
Prophet (4)
Teacher or speaker (3)

The immediate question that usually occurs is: "Which gifts do I have?" Also, "Which gifts do others have?" There is a tendency to take the "spiritual gift list" and try to write one or more person's names from one's congregation after each gift. If you can do that and most of your congregation agrees on it, thank God for the blessing!

But in most congregations, that will not be the case. There will be many people who will wonder if they have any of the gifts. There will be some who think they have certain gifts and others who disagree. While spiritual gifts are for edification of the brethren, they are also a training tool so God can see what each person does with the abilities he or she has been given. This is explained in detail by the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-29) and can be easily summarized by Luke 16:10:

"Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much."

A person may start by inviting another believer to their home for a meal or an activity—maybe from simple boredom and lack of money to do anything else. When he sees that the other was encouraged by it, he begins inviting more and larger groups. Others in the congregation begin to take note of his gift and ask him to plan activities for the entire congregation. Later still, he may be asked to organize a several-day outing for multiple congregations. People want him to do it because he does it in a loving, caring manner—looking out for the best interests of all. As long as the person continues in a track record of service and success, there is no need to send him to a school, certify him, or have a committee "recognize" his spiritual gift. What started as a simple sharing act became a gift of hospitality, then grew into a gift of one kind of administration.

Brethren with some gift of hospitality are the ideal people to host a service in their homes (providing their homes are suitable and not too far from most of those who come). Kind and loving people that are not afraid to speak in public usually make good announcers for larger services—introducing the speakers and musicians, giving announcements, etc.

When you seek the advice or counsel of another believer, you know when you have dealt with someone full of faith, love and mercy. It can be positive and uplifting. Other counselors may have a gift of knowledge: they seem to know the right thing to do. You may have spoken with other counselors and later concluded that they did not have any gifts. Being honest with ourselves and honest with others is the best way for everyone to learn to recognize their gifts. If you believe someone is gifted in a certain area, let him or her know. A humble person is often more concerned with overcoming their faults and needs to be told of their capabilities. If you believe that someone else is trying to work with a gift that they do not have, let them know, in love.

Some gifts are easy to recognize. Most congregations will instantly recognize a person who is gifted at giving money. A person who helps—either through his own hard work or by praying for a miracle—is welcome anywhere. One with the gift of healing is also easy to recognize: he or she prays, and people miraculously recover. Prophecy is also similar if we are patient enough to wait to see if some of the prophet's statements have come to pass. (Do not be confused by someone who claims to be a prophet, prophesies extensively supporting himself with many scriptures, but then fails to have even small specific prophecies come true in the present. A prophet with no fulfillments yet is like a healer with no healings yet.)

Most people can recognize someone who is a good teacher—skilled at conveying the information they have in mind. Most people know when they are exhorted—stirred by a powerful message. But there are people who claim no belief in God who can do both of these things. The important issue is: are teachers, evangelists and exhorters preaching things inspired of God, or are they preaching their own words? (Remember, even Satan's ministers pretend to be ministers of righteousness—2Corinthians 11:15.)

Each person in a congregation should be like the Bereans who "searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11, NKJV). But it is not easy for a student to detect a teacher who is not inspired of God when the student knows a lot less about the subject than the teacher. False teachers may be exposed through Bible study, through prayer, through mistakes on their part revealing their true intent and through someone with the gift of "discernment of spirits".

God has gifted some with the ability to determine the motivation and "spirit" of another person simply by listening to them talk and observing the way they act. This author knew of a woman who claimed to have that gift. She visited the local congregation I attended once and asked after a few minutes: "Who is that man speaking and who chose him to speak?" I had told her nothing about this man. Most of his words sounded good, but during two years of listening to him, I had concluded that he had a hidden agenda and was a false teacher. He later introduced a lot of heresy that caused most of his congregation to depart. (That congregation did not allow open discussion, nor did its members have any input into speaker selection.)

The point is that my friend, with the gift of "discernment of spirits", was able to discern the man's intent almost instantly. She had also been effective in discernment at other times. This is a wonderful gift to have in a congregation—but one of the more difficult gifts to recognize. If a person has a gift of discernment, it means that they can discern things that others cannot—so how will others know if the discerner is discerning properly? Believers have to watch the fruit of someone who claims to have the gift of discernment over a period of time to see if it bears fruit. I have met other people who claimed to have the gift of discernment, and later facts proved them to be wrong—they claimed people were false teachers when years of teaching showed they were not, and they endorsed teachers who later were shown to be false.

It is Christ who assigns the gifts. It is not the pastor who hands them out like church work assignments. If we desire a gift in a certain area, we should ask God for it (Psalm 37:4). However, we should never pretend to have a gift that we do not have, or use unbiblical methods to try to "work up" spiritual gifts. (Some teach the continual repeating of certain words, "meditation" or various other procedures for obtaining gifts. But these methods are not taught in the Bible.)

Each person needs to feel accountable for making the congregation successful—in whatever big or small way they can do that. The Apostle Paul wrote:

"How is it then, brethren? Whenever you come together, each of you has a psalm, has a teaching, has a tongue, has a revelation, has an interpretation. Let all things be done for edification." (1Corinthians 14:26, NKJV).

If the services you have attended do not operate this way, it does not mean that God was not there, but it means that we all have much more to learn in returning to the "faith once delivered to the saints" (Jude 1:3). Many spiritual gifts, such as love, helping and faith can be used every day of our Christian life—for the benefit of those in our congregation, and for all people. Others gifts, such as teaching, exhorting and administration may be used primarily in connection with a service. Later sections will cover those topics in greater detail.