Spiritual Gifts and Natural Strengths

The more I talk about books like “Strengthsfinder 2.0” the more I am asked, “how do strengths and spiritual gifts coincide?” The question has come up enough that I think I should address this.


These conversations come about because of my insistence that as we move forward with Next In Line, every student that can should take a battery of “tests” that will help them know themselves better. They will also help their teacher know more about them and help them set up a more personalized leadership development program (see the article “Explore” in the Next In Line Starter Kit).

I am finding that many leaders in the church are leery of secular tests that help pinpoint your strengths, as these are not your spiritual gifts. While it is true that we cannot confuse God-given talents with God-given spiritual gifts, I don’t see why we can’t be aware of both.

Some people started asking me which was more important, the Strengths Test, or the Spiritual Gifts test. I couldn’t exactly answer that question, because both are important. Here’s how I broke this down to them, and I hope this is helpful to you as well:

Spiritual Gifts are those supernaturally imparted gifts that God gives to us upon conversion that allow us to perform a certain ministry within the church, for the edification of the body (see Ephesians 4 or Romans 12 for a partial list of the gifts and their purpose). Notice a couple of things about Spiritual Gifts:

1. They are given by God

2. They are supernatural

3. They are for ministry

4. Given at conversion

Strengths (or talents) are also God-given. They are things that God wove into our personality and genetics. They are used for more than just ministry, but cannot be separated from it, as we are created for God. They aren’t exactly listed in the bible, but you know what I’m saying: some of us are better at math than others, and some can publicly speak better than others. Others of us have been given incredible wisdom, or inherently understand mechanical things. Notice a couple of things about Strengths:

1. They are given by God

2. They are not supernatural

3. They are for ministry (and other things)

4. Woven into our fabric as God’s creation

The big difference between the two is when they are given and their nature. Otherwise, they are very similar. Ultimately, they also serve the same purpose: the Missio Dei.

The reason that I insist on students finding out their strengths and their Spiritual Gift(s) is that God often uses both in their call to ministry. I love that God would equip us naturally to do certain things well and then complement that with a Spiritual Gift that brings all the glory from that activity to Him.

Our students are more than their spiritual gifts. They are (much) more than their talents and strengths. They are “fearfully and wonderfully made” for amazing purpose. Spiritual Gifts and natural talents are just two aspects of the same person that God has made for His work.



Training Tomorrow’s Leaders Today,

Matt