How can I serve with style?
NETWORK
6
I
want you to try something. Please cross your arms in front of you. Get comfortable.
With your arms crossed, glance down and notice the position of your hands and
arms. Okay? Great! Now I'd like you to do it again. But this time, put the arm
that is on top, underneath, and put the arm that is underneath on top. In other
words, reverse your arms. Got it? Do it. It wasn't as easy to do that time, was
it? Did it feel awkward? Uncomfortable? Did you really
have to think about how to do it? I did. The first time you crossed your arms,
it was quite natural, easy, and did not require much thought because you did it
the way you always do it. Each of us cross our arms a certain way, and no arm-crossing
technique is right or wrong, good or bad.
We are just different.
Personal Preferences
Your
God-given personal style is the way you prefer to relate to the world around you.
It is the third element in your servant profile, complementing the expressions
of your passion and your spiritual gift. Your personal style answers the How can I best serve? question.
You have been created with preferences - choices you make when relating to others.
As we have just discovered we are more comfortable relating in some ways than
in others. Certain responses come more naturally to you than to me and vice versa.
In
various situations, you may not feel the freedom to express yourself naturally.
No matter where you are-with a spouse, friend, or fellow employee; in a family
system, school, church, or small group - you can certainly relate in ways other
than your preferred style, but it isn't as comfortable. When relationships don't
permit your preferred style, they require additional time, energy, and sensitivity.
Like if I asked some of you to come to the front and share something personal…
Some can’t wait to be picked, while others are squirming in your seats. The question
I want to ask you to think about it this - What if you could serve God in ways
that reflected your personal style? What if you could find ministry opportunities
that actually required someone with your style? You can be sure of one thing-you'd
experience far more energy for ministry!
So How Are You Energized?
Personal
style is sometimes referred to as personality or temperament. It describes your
most natural way of relating to others. Your personal style is unique to you,
and it energizes you. There are some kinds of activities that give us energy and
some that seem to take energy from us. God has wired us to be energized by certain
interactions. They provide us with the energy needed in other situations that
are draining. Consider: Do you find interactions with people to be energy producing?
Or do you get energy from the completion of a task?
Let me illustrate
this from some real life people at
The question is: What gives you energy and what takes your energy?
We
function much like a battery-we have to be charged up to be useful. Energy must
first be put into the battery so it can be given out. A battery can only give
until it is empty. Once it's empty, it is useless until it is recharged and made
available for use again. Some sources connected to a battery will charge it up;
others will drain it. Are you aware of what energizes you? Do you find people
or tasks more fulfilling?
Both are needed. Both must be served with excellence.
God has created some of us with an orientation to people as our recharging source.
Others have been designed to receive energy from completing tasks.
This
does not mean, if your preference is people, that you
do not value the completing of tasks. Nor does it mean that, if your preference
is tasks, you do not value relationships. Those two options simply represent your
primary and secondary ways of relating to the world around you. Here's another
interesting question: Are you structured or unstructured?
How Are You Organized?
How do you like to be organized? Are you more comfortable when you are able to
"play it by ear," "shoot from the hip," "make it up as
you go along"? Or do you prefer closure, "just getting it done,"
"working the plan"? Most of us can do both. We can behave in a structured
or unstructured way, just as we can cross our arms both ways. But one way feels
a whole lot more natural.
The
key question here is, “If there were no consequences to the way you organized
your relationships and life, would you be a structured or an unstructured person?
Personal Style Intensity
You
have probably been thinking that you are not purely a task- or people-person.
You may also have been feeling that you are not quite so
unorganized as an unstructured person, but neither are you as comfortable with
structure as some very regimented types seem to be. Personal style is a continuum
with the pure 100% people oriented folks on one end and the 100 % task-oriented
folks on the other. It is the same for the organized continuum. It is important
to recognize your level of intensity because most of us have a zone around us
in which we can relate and be fine. But when we consistently operate outside our
zone and move further away from our personal-style preferences, boredom or burnout
results.
To gain some measure of your style and intensity, you may like
to work through the statements you will find in your news sheet. Complete each
statement by looking at the word you think best describes what you would naturally
prefer to do in most situations. Then circle the number that indicates where you
might be on the continuum. For example, if you prefer to be spontaneous while
on holiday, then you would circle one or two. Only circle a three if you just
don't know what you have a preference for. Total your score for the energized
and organized sections. Lets have some fun. Why don’t
you help me fill in my questionnaire. Try and guess how
I have answered these questions.
How Are You Energized?
1. I'm more comfortable...
Doing
things for people 1 2
3 4 5 being with people
2. When doing a task, I tend to...
Focus
on the goal 1 2
3 4 5 focus on relationships
3. I get more excited about...
Advancing
a cause 1 2 3 4
5 creating community
4. I feel I have accomplished something when I've...
Got
a job done 1 2 3 4 5
built a relationship
5. It is more important to start a meeting...
On
time 1 2 3 4 5
when everyone is there
6. I'm more concerned with...
Meeting
a deadline 1 2 3 4 5 maintaining the team
7. I place a higher value on...
Action
12 3 4 5 communication
Energised total E = 22
How
Are You Organized?
1. While on holiday, I prefer to...
be spontaneous
1 2 3 4 5 follow a set plan
2. I prefer to set
guidelines that are...
general 1 2 3 4 5
specific
3. I prefer to…
leave my options open 1 2 3 4 5 settle things now
4. I prefer projects that have...
variety 1
2 3 4 5 routine
5. I like to...
play it by ear 1 2 3 4 5 stick to a plan
6. I find routine...
boring 1 2 3 4 5
restful
7. I accomplish tasks best...
by working it out as I go 1 2 3 4 5 by following
a plan
Organized Total = 31
If your E total was 7-20 you are energized through tasks. 22-35 you are energized
through people. If your 0 total was 7-20 you are organized by being unstructured.
22-35 you are organized by structure. The intensity of your personal style is
indicated by a score of 7-10 Concentrated; 11-14 Moderate; 15-18 Mild; 19-23 Undefined;
24-27 Mild; 28-31 Moderate; 32-35 Concentrated
The following chart
is taken from the NETWORK course and helps you define which quadrant you are most
comfortable operating within. My scores of E22 and O31 place me within the person
structured quadrant but close to the border with task structured. So I am definitely
a structured person but can be energised both by tasks or people (but too many
drain me!).
Difficulties with Personal Style Identification
Certain
people and circumstances may have made it difficult for you to truly understand
your personal style. These include your role models (parents, etc.), family and
church values (stated or unstated), and dysfunctional
or abusive circumstances.
Life is difficult, and many well-meaning (and some not-so well-meaning) people
have shaped our values about what is appropriate and what is not. We have learned
that our acceptance is often conditional upon our willingness to play by their
rules. Some required behaviours have not allowed us to relate in ways consistent
with our personal style.
Perhaps, while you were growing up, your role models demonstrated different personal
style preferences than yours. For example, during your childhood and adolescence,
if both your parents were structured and you were unstructured,
you might have heard comments like "You'd better get organized." "You
are such a procrastinator!""Why do you always
wait to the last minute?"
If
both your parents were unstructured and you are structured,
you might have heard words like "You are such a neat freak!" "I
didn't think that assignment was due until next week." "Just relax!"
In order to feel loved and accepted, you may have tried to conform to the style
that followed their wishes.
Beyond individual relationships are family systems and church relationships. Within
each of these are values that affect the way people interact and how they are
perceived. If your personal style conformed to the group, all was probably well.
But if your family or church relates in a fundamentally different way from the
way in which you do, there may be some tension or white water when it comes to
meeting up with relatives or serving on a team with others who are different to
you.
You may have felt devalued because you were not quite like these others. If you
continuously choose to behave ways acceptable to others, your sense of worth may
have grown, but you may have given up relating with your most natural style and
lost something of your intrinsic self. Abuse can further distort the accurate
perception of your God given personal style.
The abuse maybe emotional, verbal, physical, or neglectful.
The confusion caused by either a one-time event or a sustained pattern of abuse
over years is real and can be deeply traumatic. Living with fear will hinder the
development of your preferences and your ability to fully receive the love and
grace
Remember, the God who designed you has not changed. You do not have to continue
to live in conflict with the opinions and behaviour of others. Be comfortable
with the person God made you to be. Sin
has made all of us dysfunctional. The more dysfunction we have experienced, the
more difficult these matters of identity and purpose can be. When you dare to
listen to
Seeing God Through Our Personal
Styles
When
I first became a Christian I was a little confused about why we have four Gospels.
Why did God need to repeat himself? It wasn't until later that I began to understand
his purpose. Each gospel is written in a particular way that it will appeal to
a different people. For example,
“Many have undertaken to draw up an account of
the things that have been fulfilled among us, just as they were handed down to
us by those who from the first were eyewitnesses and servants of the word. Therefore,
since I myself have carefully investigated everything from the beginning, it seemed
good also to me to write an orderly account for you, most excellent Theophilus,
so that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught. (
Would
you say
“The
Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us ... full of grace and truth.”
(
“For
God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son ... For God did not send
his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”
(
“I
am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep ... I
know my sheep and my sheep know me ... and I lay down my life for the sheep ...
but I lay it down of my own accord.” (
“
Most of us do our theology through the eyes of our personal style. We read and
relate to biblical truth according to our preferences. If you are energized through
people, you will have a tendency to place a higher value and emphasis on themes
like love, forgiveness, fellowship, community, and grace.
If you are
task-oriented, you may focus on such themes as making disciples or praying. Obeying,
committing, and serving are the concepts that energize you. Structured people
pick up on themes like judgment, law, order, preparation, and justice. Unstructured
people gravitate to the understanding of walking by faith, God giving us the
words we need at the appointed time, not worrying about tomorrow. There are four
gospel so at least one of them will connect with your
personal style. No matter how God has wired you, he has provided a means for you
to personally relate to him and his Word so that you can best relate to others
and the world. No matter how you see God, you do not see all of him. We need each
other to complete our experience and understanding of the fullness of
A Word of Caution
Identifying
your personal style will help you to understand why you do some of the things
you do in your relationships. That is the good news. The fact is,
our human nature will still actively seek ways to blame others and excuse or rationalize
our own sinful behaviour. Keep this important point in mind: Your personal style
may explain your behaviour but it does not excuse it. Just because you are unstructured
does not mean you can fail to meet deadlines. Being structured does not excuse
you of the need to be flexible. Interacting with people will not eliminate the
need for completed projects, just as completing tasks does not give you permission
to be insensitive toward those who see things differently.
A
significant part of your design is revealed through your personal style. It is
another way God has put his divine fingerprint upon you. As a part of your servant
profile, your style compliments your passion and indicates the unique way your
spiritual gift will be expressed. Were almost ready to put it
all together. The first step was to identify your passion. Your passion
identifies the desire of your heart to make a real difference somewhere for the
sake of
Common sense tells us though, that shaking a box of
jigsaw pieces and pouring them out on the table will not produce an accurate picture.
It’s the same with Network. We need one another’s help to clarify the shape of
our personal profile and more especially specific ministry opportunities in which
we can serve.
That is why I encourage you to complete the Network seminar with
It is God’s intention that we be both fruitful and fulfilled.
A Key Question
A key question to be asking
yourself is this: “Are you doing things which others could do, and leaving undone
what only you can do?” It’s a question I thought a lot about while I lay in hospital
a few weeks ago. It helped me because it brings our purpose into focus and our
commitments get prioritised. Your response to that question should give you the
power to say yes and the freedom to say no. It did me. I decided to say ‘no’ to
some useful ministry opportunities in order to say yes to some that are a better
fit with my passion, gifting and personal style.
Your Guarantee
When
you buy anything these days you get as guarantee with it. Maybe
for six months, usually a year and if you are lucky two or three years.
Life time guarantees are rare. God has made you a promise. He has not only designed
you and created you with a purpose, he has made a commitment
to be with you along the way.
“Being confident of this, that
he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of
“And surely I (
God
is not a quitter. If he started something, you can know with certainty he will
complete it. God began a work in you and he will finish it, "because God
has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you" (Hebrews 13:5). That's his promise. That's your guarantee! God's
intention for your life and ministry was established before the beginning of time.
Your life is a part of the divine design set forth by God himself. Consider how
the pieces come together in Ephesians 2:10:
"For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works,
which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Ephesians 2:10)
Each set of words is filled with meaning.
We are God's workmanship ... In the present tense,
this means that God is constantly at work, actively involved in developing our
daily lives and ministries. God did not wind us up and let us go. He is with us
every step of the way. He finishes what he begins, and he has started a good work
in you.
... created in
... to do good works ... We have a task, a mission, and a purpose to complete.
We have been saved to serve. There are good works that God intends us to do. We
cannot find the fulfillment we seek apart from the active
participation of our lives in pursuit of these divine works specifically set aside
for us. There are ministry contributions that only you have been designed to
make.
... which God prepared
in advance ... God's thoughtful attention to who we
are and what he has planned for us is clearly demonstrated. His plans for you
are specific and carefully reflect your role in his unique creation.
…for us to do ... God has prepared
the work. He calls us to obedience. Are you prepared in your heart to do it?
Let's step back for a moment to get God's perspective. Before all of creation,
God prepared some ministry opportunities for you to fulfil: God created you; he sent Jesus Christ to make
a relationship possible; he calls you; he saves you; he gives you his Holy Spirit;
he places a passion in your heart; he gives you a spiritual Gift; he gives you
the power to use that gift; he gives you a personal style; he identifies the works
he wants you to do; and he promises his continued presence. Is there anything
else God could do? What's left to do? Simply step out in faith and obey! We are
on our way to finding what we do best in the body of
Lord, Thank you for the colourful differences among us all, For
the way we wonderfully complement each other. Thank you for the people lovers.
Thank you for the task completers. Thank you for the careful, precise organizers.
And thank you for those whose lives sparkle with serendipity. Hold up a mirror
Lord, and show me my true self, the person you intend me to be. Help me to recognize
myself, and to live honestly, fearlessly, and joyfully, serving you and your people
through the church. In
This talk is based
upon and makes extensive use of chapter 6 of “What you do best in the Body of