Appropriate preparation is essential to maximize our effectiveness in ministry. Jesus did not send out the twelve on the first day of their discipleship; and He did not send them out without detailed, specific instruction. At least five aspects of preparation are needed to ensure victory upon being sent out into the darkness:
1. Equipping
-
Training
-
Practice
-
Confidence
-
Availability
We examined Preparation Piece 2: Training in the last newsletter. Let’s go on now to look at the 3rd Preparation Piece in a little more detail.
Preparation Piece 3: Practice
It is wonderful to have gifts, but Jesus expects us to do something with the gifts we are given. This is the message of the parable of the talents in Matthew 25:14–30 (NKJV).
“For the kingdom of heaven is like a man traveling to a far country, who called his own servants and delivered his goods to them. And to one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one, to each according to his own ability; and immediately he went on a journey. Then he who had received the five talents went and traded with them, and made another five talents. And likewise he who had received two gained two more also. But he who had received one went and dug in the ground, and hid his lord’s money. After a long time the lord of those servants came and settled accounts with them.
“So he who had received five talents came and brought five other talents, saying, ‘Lord, you delivered to me five talents; look, I have gained five more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you were faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’ He also who had received two talents came and said, ‘Lord, you delivered to me two talents; look, I have gained two more talents besides them.’ His lord said to him, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant; you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter into the joy of your lord.’
“Then he who had received the one talent came and said, ‘Lord, I knew you to be a hard man, reaping where you have not sown, and gathering where you have not scattered seed. And I was afraid, and went and hid your talent in the ground. Look, there you have what is yours.’
“But his lord answered and said to him, ‘You wicked and lazy servant, you knew that I reap where I have not sown, and gather where I have not scattered seed. So you ought to have deposited my money with the bankers, and at my coming I would have received back my own with interest. Therefore take the talent from him, and give it to him who has ten talents.
‘For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away. And cast the unprofitable servant into the outer darkness. There will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’”
It seems clear that God does not reward us for our gifts. He rewards us for taking the gifts that He has given us and developing them so that we are highly skilled masters at what we do; performing with excellence.
“For even though by this time you ought to be teaching others, you actually need someone to teach you over again the very first principles of God’s Word. You have come to need milk, not solid food. For everyone who continues to feed on milk is obviously inexperienced and unskilled in the doctrine of righteousness (of conformity to the divine will in purpose, thought, and action), for he is a mere infant [not able to talk yet]! But solid food is for full-grown men, for those whose senses and mental faculties are trained by practice to discriminate and distinguish between what is morally good and noble and what is evil and contrary either to divine or human law.”—Hebrews 5:12–14 (AMP)
We often admire people who stand out as masters at what they do—athletes, artists, and performers make what they do look so easy. We may dismiss their impressive performances as the results of being blessed with incredible gifts. The truth is that in most cases, though they may have started out with a gift, that was just a starting point for them. In most cases, the performers we admire most are also among the hardest-working people in their areas of expertise. They are often the first ones to arrive at work or practice, and they are often the last ones to leave the practice field or the workplace at the end of the day.
People have told me that I have a teaching gift. That may be true, but after earning three college degrees and with more than twenty-five years of experience in public education, I’ve put a lot of effort into honing that initial gift into a finely tuned skill.
In the same way, if we expect to take the gifts that God has given us and develop them to high levels of skill and expertise, we must allow time and opportunity for practice (Hebrews 5:14). Whether we are speaking of spiritual gifts or math skills, the principle is the same.
“Practice makes perfect,” as the saying goes. When a good teacher introduces a new skill in math class, first he will demonstrate it, and then the class will work through a problem, or a few problems, together. Then the teacher will allow time for supervised group practice, giving concentrated attention to any who might need some extra attention. Finally, the teacher will assign math problems to be completed independently. A master teacher understands that all of this practice, in this sequence, is necessary for the students to remember the concepts and to master the skills that have been taught.
Some of the best practice you’ll ever experience will be on mission trips and at outreach events. These are great opportunities to lay aside our day-to-day responsibilities and take time to really focus on doing the works of Jesus. It is remarkable how much we can learn, and how much we can grow, by participating in these focused events.
Don’t Give Up!
Everybody falls when first learning to walk or to ride a bicycle, but with practice, almost everyone can master these skills. What may have seemed impossibly out of reach on the first attempt becomes second nature in a relatively short time. With regular practice, we can reach such a level of expertise that we do these things without even thinking about them.
The key is to keep going! Don’t give up! You will become proficient if you don’t quit!
You never overhear babies saying to each other, “I don’t think this ‘walking’ thing is for me. I’ve tried, and I just don’t get it. I keep making mistakes. I keep falling down after just a step or two. I prayed about it, and I just don’t think I have that gift.”
We can learn valuable lessons about developing our spiritual gifts by watching babies as they are learning to walk. They may fall over and over and over, but they don’t give those falls a second thought. They just get up and try it again, and before we know it, they have mastered the skill of walking unassisted, and they don’t even remember all of the spills they took on their way to becoming highly skilled walkers.
A Word to Leaders
As parents, we would never take a bicycle away from our children if they fell once or twice. That’s all part of learning. They may take some rough spills before they learn to ride skillfully, but if they do not give up, they will improve rapidly and soon master the skill of riding the bicycle.
As church leaders, we must apply the same principle as we provide guidance to believers who are learning to master the spiritual gifts as well.
Mistakes are a part of learning. In order to facilitate “the perfecting and the full equipping of the saints (His consecrated people), [that they should do] the work of ministering” (Ephesians 4:12 AMP), we must give the saints the freedom to make mistakes and experience some failures along the way, picking them back up, dusting them off, and encouraging them to continue and not give up.
“For a righteous man falls seven times and rises again”—Proverbs 24:16 (AMP).
