Spiritual Gifts

And, believe it or not, a strong emphasis on edification does not often generate mission. Mission potential isn't dependent on how well church people:
are fed by good teaching
discover their spiritual gifts
are filled with the Spirit
are thoroughly discipled
understand their emotional temperament (What is a
TJFY, anyway?)
participate in small groups

For years I have watched lay people who minister with passion. They invest their lives in ministries relating to people in cults, in prison, unwed mothers, internationals, physically impaired, etc. They pay a price in time, money, pressure, study and numerous other areas. Sometimes they know their spiritual gift but more often that question never occurred to them. Neither do they, in most cases, spend much time pondering their temperament profile (or if they did, they couldn't remember what it was). They come from all kinds of churches, and have a wide variety of "discipleship and small group experiences," but there is just one common denominator. They possess Want To, a deep God given desire to do a special ministry. Actually what I am describing is simply lay people responding to their ministry callings.