I once read, “Happy is the man who discovers his passions (the deeper burning yes) and talents before it’s too late.” Paul shared with the Corinthians how God created us with a unique set of talents. Have we found ours?
Yes, we each have deep passions (that deeper burning yes) and a unique set of talents. And, Jesus shared that parable relating how we will be held accountable to multiply them. I often think of how that one fella carefully hid his one talent, failed to use it, and was treated sooo harshly!
Strengths Finders 2.0, a best selling resource, is a wonderful tool to discern what
God wired each of us to uniquely do. You can use the password in the back of the book to go online and discern what passions God may have placed in your soul. It just may be the most freeing thing you do this month! For kicks, my top 5 passions are:
- Achiever - I’m driven to accomplish.
- Futuristic - I naturally envision what the coming months or years could, should, or will be like.
- Strategic - I venture beyond the commonplace, the familiar, or the obvious for ideas and solutions.
- Activator - I challenge others to take action.
- Learner - I’m driven to understand the “whys” and “hows” of any situation, problem, or opportunity.
Any surprise I enjoy blogging, engaging others in dialogs, and consulting with organizations to discover solutions for the future?
Last week I mentioned how author Jim Collins suggested we look for the overlap of three key attributes. Author Thom Rainer (”Simple Church” and “Breakout Churches”) puts it into a Christian context and suggests we look for the overlap to discover and pursue God’s “Compelling Call” for our life or our ministry:
So why this focus on “passions” and “giftedness”?. Research shows excellent churches have pastors who stuck with it 20 years or more. Great accomplishments take years. And at the core of that effort must be a brokenness, consistent prayer, and a freeing of the spirit to work. Yet, if we are not working from our deep heart passions and giftedness we’ll struggle to sustain the effort. Great accomplishment is never easy. But when you align with your passions and gifts…..the challenge is simpler.
Are you clear about your God inspired passions and calling? If so, I’d love to hear about them.
1) Connectedness
2) Belief
3) Relator
4) Maximizer
5) Achiever
God has a plan and placed me in this ministry to reach the lost through a cup of coffee @ a time and to pour into my staff.
God Bless,
dl / a church bartender
Dan,
Connectedness, belief, relator….and a coffee/youth ministry. Its interesting how God aligns us for the right ministry if we are prayerfully listening.
Thanks for coming by and sharing Dan.
Ed
Ed, here you go. Mine are…
Communication
Maximizer
Positivity
Strategic
and…my favorite…Woo.
Friend, this sheds light on why you and I counter-balance each other so well…we share “strategic” (seeing order in complexity) but other than that, we exude different strenghts. At the advice of a friend, I used the strenghth finder when I started adding to my team at Fishhook. I knew I needed help expanding the team, but I didn’t want more of “me strengths” - I wanted to bring on people who filled in my “weaknesses.” Leah and Jaine are both DETAIL oriented. It’s a great balance. Great conversation Ed.
Here’s me:
Ideation
Strategic
Self-Assurance
Responsibility
Activator
I think I’m some kind of weird hybridization of Leah and Evan…I’ll have to ponder what that means.
Ed,
Mine are;
Individualization
Developer
Belief
Context
Relator
Matt
Sorry I’m late to this party!
Ideation
Learner
Maximizer
Futuristic
Positivity
I guess that’s why I like to figure out the future and communicate it to the people who need to make it happen. Blogging fits.
Evan,
Hey…sorry I’m so late in responding.
Those top four do really express the Evan I know! And, as you mention explain why our relationship has been somewhat effortless. Or maybe that’s because your “woo!”. Wait a minute….what is woo??
JD,
Sorry to you too….
It’s really interesting to work with someone then read their strengths.
I just find it so odd how God made us and am beginning to wonder if the bigger variable in life are around the blessing of finding a job that fits us. maybe bigger than effort!
What do you think?
Hey Matt….what do you do and how do these fit?
Marla,
It all makes sense as I think back to your comments and posts!
It’s so nice to find another futuristic out there. Sometime I feel like some whacked out dude with an over sized imagination.
You just can’t act like these strengths don’t exist can you?