Got Talent. Will Travel.

It seems like everyone in Britain’s got talent. So at lunch today we were discussing what our talents would be (should we ever feel the need to enter a competition). I can fold a pretty mean origami star and a chair.

I have a dog that can sing a rousing “Take me out to the ballgame.” But, I don’t think having a talented dog counts as a talent.

My mother calls me her dramatic child. Is that a talent?

I could host a cooking show. I love to cook and I talk to myself a lot. Perfect! Maybe I missed my calling.

All this talk though reminded me of a spiritual gift assessment that I took a couple of months ago. Below are excerpts from my journal entry that day:

Primary
Administration
The gift of administration allows a person to organize people and resources for greater efficiency, effectiveness, and success. Administrators have the natural ability to apply resources where they will do the greatest good. Administrators are good with details and are deeply aware of how all the parts of a group or organization work together to achieve their goals.

Evangelism
The gift of evangelism is the gift of faith-sharing and proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ to those we meet. Evangelism is primarily a one-to-one or small group experience, grounded in building relationships with others and inviting them to make a decision for Christ. Gifted evangelists do not force their faith on others, but offer relationship with God as a gift, and are ready to tell the story of God and Christ in their own lives.

I can’t say the administration part surprised me too much. I do appreciate order and effective structure. I was surprised by the evangelism and apostleship. I consider myself to be a pretty reserved person, one who’s not great at building and nurturing relationships, so when I saw that these were gifts of mine I started to wonder how often I’m wasting gifts from God.

I wonder if I’m paying enough attention to the opportunities God presents me, and if I do notice them, am I reponding in the right way- the way that would best utilize my gifts.

Maybe I am finding my own way to evangelize.
Check out your spiritual gifts at the UMC Web site.