Raising up Giftedness

Ephesians 4:11-13

It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

This fourth chapter of Ephesians speaks to the unity of the body, which implies the body of the church. Therefore, it may be a stretch to equate the local Christian school to the church, but there is the a parallel that relates to gifting.

In the Christian school, as in the church, there are many sources of gifts. There are those who organize events, write newsletters, maintain the the web site, take pictures, work alongside teachers, coach, accompany the choir, and so on.

Each year, God gives us new families who bring with them talent and gifts that are useful to the school. The application of these gifts is a blessing to the school and a blessing to the one who is getting to apply their talent to the Kingdom work of the school.

What is our job as "development" or "stewardship" officers? It is to uncover these gifts and to encourage their use for the school of even another ministry where they can be useful.

First, we may have to ask ourselves if we have the "gift" of identifying gifts. This talent, I believe, is an acquired skill that comes from investing time in and attention to people so that we can hear their heart and to nurture them. In that sense, stewardship has a pastoral component.

This week I have the privilege of speaking to administrators at the ACCS (association of Classical and Christian Schools) conference in North Carolina. One of my tasks will be to challenge (provoke?) my peers to dig deeper and to see our work as larger than simply raising monetary resources.

After all, we are not in these jobs only because of the cash we bring, are we?