Craig Groeschel has been blogging this week about how to be original and not try to emulate other pastors. He posted a list of pastors with a notable trait and professed that he would never be like them in those areas (click here to see the list). I found it incredibly interesting as I would have commented on the exact same things. Two that stood out in particular were:
I’ll never be as funny as Perry Noble
I’ll never be as passionate as Steven Furtick
I’ve got to say that after following these two pastors and speaking to my church during the One Prayer series, I was feeling less-than-capable and a little dejected. I’m a passionate guy! I like to think I’m funny too. Somehow it just never translates into my preaching persona. Through prayer I’ve come to accept the gifts God has blessed me with to connect with the people he puts in my path. It’s all about me, because God created me to be the best me I can be. Not the best Craig Groeschel or Perry Noble or Steven Furtick, just the best at being all the Dave Ingland that God calls me to be.
In Craig’s post he ends with a question: What are the top three gifts/talents/abilities God has given you? My response would be:
- Relevant- As an atheist for the first 37 years of my life, I can relate to anything someone would say about why they believe God does not exist or how Christians are hypocrites or the Bible is just some book no different than a fairy tale read in elementary school. I’ve all of it at some point and now know why I don’t think those things any more. Having been in their shoes, God uses me to be relevant so that they can see the transforming power of the salvation of God within me.
- Conversational- I am not a bold and loud speaker when I deliver messages. I also don’t come across as being out of reach. God has given me the ability to break out of my shyness and to just talk to people where they are at and to engage them in thought and conversation. I don’t really feel like I am preaching on Sundays, but it is more like being in my living room and I am leading a discussion on a topic and asking for feedback. I definitely doubt I’ll ever be invited by Brian Houston to preach at Hillsong Australia like Perry Noble.
- Visionary- I never want to settle for less than my best for God and I always want to be moving forward–this is something I am passionate about. Anyone can do something halfway, but if it only requires half of my ability, then anyone could do it. Anyone can do what is assigned to them today, but it takes vision to do something today in a way that it will affect tomorrow. I believe that God has placed me in a journey that causes me to help people realize their dreams through embracing hard work and seeing the bigger picture. Living the Christian life isn’t easy, but it causes us to fulfill that which God created us for–loving God, and loving others above ourselves. Even though we are not to emulate others, this is an area where I would say that I will never be as bold of a visionary as Craig Groeschel. Craig is amazing and when he finds what works he opens up his experiences so that others (like me) can learn through the LifeChuch.tv online resources, his blog, or through writing books.
What are the top three gifts/talents/abilities God has given you?
Related posts:
- Video killed the radio star, but what about the preacher?
- Be all that you can be!
- Praise God & thank you Craig Groeschel!
- Sometimes pastors just suck!
- Perry Noble on engaging those outside of the church
Tags: craig groeschel, gifts, pastors, perry noble, preaching, steven furtick, talents
