The Fear of the Wacky
WELCOME to Issue #250 of The Seedhead from Alex and Hannah at Dandelion Resourcing - a weekly confidence booster to help you step into naturally supernatural discipleship and mission!
Spiritual gifts: How to do everything in fitting and orderly ways
When it comes to exercising the gifts of the Spirit, many Christians and churches quickly find fear and anxiety bubbling up.
“What if unexpected things start to happen? How can we do this in a wise and appropriate manner? How do I manage things that I might not have much experience in? What if this empowers the crazies?!”
To help process that, we turn to 1 Corinthians 14:39-40, “Therefore, my brothers and sisters, be eager to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. But everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way.”
In this video, Alex shares some practical advice on being intentionally very open to the gifts of the Spirit and God’s supernatural empowering (“everything” - or “all things”), while also ensuring that things occur in a “fitting and orderly way”.
You might not agree with all of his conclusions, but it will help you and your team/ group figure out what might work well in your context.
Here’s the video:
Next Steps
When are you most tempted to quench the gifts of the Spirit? Are there particular gifts - or particular people, or situations - that make you more anxious? Who can you process this with, so that you create safe spaces where people are able to respond to the Spirit’s prompting in healthy ways?
In your church/ ministry’s corporate gatherings, what is your next step for growth - towards greater openness, or greater wisdom - or both simultaneously?! Again, who do you need to process this with/ share the video with.
To some extent this balancing act is a moving target. So much depends on what God is up to in a particular moment, along with the openness and readiness of the community.
This means that you WILL make mistakes - too much caution one time, too much liberty the next. Give yourself grace, and also be very deliberate about having other voices speaking in.
In particular, be aware of having trusted voices who balance out your natural tendencies. For instance, if you’re prone to being a bit too cautious, who can you invite alongside with permission to keep lovingly nudging you to take a step beyond where you might otherwise feel comfortable stopping?
With love,
Alex + Hannah
ALEX AND HANNAH ABSALOM
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