Equipped for Every Good Work employs four tools that help individuals discover and understand their gifts, attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors that influence their ability to live as Christian disciples and to lead within a community of faith.

The Spiritual Gifts Inventory helps individuals identify their God-given gifts for living faithfully as Christian disciples day by day and to find meaningful ways to use their gifts in connection with others through the community of faith. The process helps people understand the nature of spiritual gifts and ways to enhance the effectiveness of their gifts by linking together with others.

Leadership/Interaction Styles examines how people behave together in various settings. Looking at behavior, rather than personality, helps to explain what happens when we work together, why there is often tension, and how to be more effective in settings where differing styles are present. The LIS explores stylistic differences in ask/tell and people/task behaviors.

The Spirituality Web offers a way to appreciate the richness and beauty in six different approaches to and experiences of the divine, viewed through the lens of the means of grace. Deeper understanding of what it means to be a spiritual community can be achieved by identifying different ways that people relate to God.

Task Type Preferences describes four different ways that people choose to work together to achieve a wide variety of jobs — short/long term, large/small, hands-on/cognitive/creative, task/people. People are not all interested in working the same way.

Taken together, the four tools allow individuals to better understand themselves as disciples of Jesus Christ and enable spiritual communities of faith to develop effective ministries based on identity rather than structure. Identification and understanding of spiritual gifts, the ability to work flexibly and openly with people who do things differently, and comprehension of the varied ways that people relate to God are critical areas of learning for congregational leaders. However, the tools themselves are of lesser importance than the conversation they inspire.

Vitally important is the pastor’s full participation in the process. This is not a program that the pastoral leadership provides for the congregation. Following the body imagery of Paul, Christ is the head of the church and the pastor is one gifted individual — one part of the body — just like every other person. It is highly recommended that each church using Equipped for Every Good Work partner with another congregation so that the pastor and laity leaders from one congregation can facilitate the process for another, and then leaders from the second church can direct the process for the first church. In this way, the pastors and laypeople of each church can take the journey of exploration and discovery together, thus dispelling the myth of a clergy-laity separation. In churches where partnering is not an option, it is recommended that laity, or clergy-laity teams, provide leadership of the process. This also helps build connection and deepens our understanding of the tools. Teaching others is often an effective way to learn!

Equipped for Every Good Work is a process, not a program. All exercises are designed to begin dialogue, not to label people. Ongoing use of the exercises can provide insight and understanding into areas of:

• disagreement and conflict;
• questions concerning the spiritual life;
• the needs of newcomers into the faith community;
• identifying unique qualifications for ministry;
• our strengths and limitations for addressing need.

As we strive to break free from the malaise that permeates our church, creating structures built on gifted people and our relationships to one another offers a powerful alternative.

Excerpted from pages 12-13 of Equipped for Every Good Work: Building a Gifts-Based Church by Dan R. Dick and Barbara Miller. Copyright © 2001 Discipleship Resources. All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Posted November 13, 2001