When Rick talks to people in his church about where they might fit into the church or about their own personal ministries, he looks at their SHAPE. Their unique make up of five different factors that add up to the uniqueness that God has created them to be. Shape stands for…

S – Spiritual Gifts

H – Heart or Passion

A – Abilities

P – Personality

E – Experiences

When you put these together, you are a unique creation formed with a life in mind. Let’s go through some of these factors together.

Spiritual Gifts- In I Corinthians 12: 4-7; 14-26, it tells us two things, we each have spiritual gifts and that each of us are needed in the body of Christ and play a part. When I review the text, it does not have any exceptions. If you have accepted Jesus as Leader and Forgiver in your life, it’s a done deal. You can’t say, “Well, others have gifts I don’t” or say “I don’t really count”. We all play a part of the body from the baby toe to the heart or lungs. You are needed and are equipped with gifts that need studied, practiced, and encouraged.

Heart or Passion – If someone asked you “If you could do anything for Jesus and nothing can stop you, what would you do?”, how would you answer? This is likely an insight into what your heart cry would be. Are you crazy about kids or concerned about the homeless? Would you wish to travel to China and minister or take Senior Citizens to the mall? If you can answer what you are passionate about, it gives you some insight. It is a part of you because God made you.

Abilities – Abilities are unique as well. While something like administration or serving would be spiritual gifts, carpentry or guitar playing would be abilities. Maybe you are into sports, music, drama, arts, or wood working; these are all abilities. Different areas that can be used to minister to others that you are not only inclined to but practice and learn.

Personality – Are you the loud and crazy type or the quiet and stand off from the crowd? Your personality is something designed to be special and part of your daily walk. Something happened in my life after high school where I went from being the person out front to becoming a pastor where I’m on the front lines all the time. I feel pretty comfortable in new situations and tend to make friends with people easily. Some people would love to have that be part of their personality. However, there’s times it does not serve me well. Often, someone who is quiet and reserved can touch the life of someone in our church that I can not. I don’t feel like I failed, I feel like God moves. He is in charge and has all of us there to balance each other out. That is a great part of being in a Fellowship.

Experiences – Just think over the years of your life and the things you have been through. The highs and the lows that make you who you are. There are many things in my life that I wish I did not do. However, once I put m mistakes or hurts at the foot of the cross, something wonderful happens. God can make opportunities and healing come from muck and mud. Often, I have been able to minister to someone in prison because I spent a night there myself. There have been times I can minister to someone who’s wife left them because I have felt that pain. Other times, someone else is best to be the piller to lean on because they understand better than I do since they have walked down that path themselves.

When you look at these different areas in your life, my hope and prayer is you start to see something exciting. I hope you see a special individual like no other who has been lead down a path to be a person of purpose. We are going to talk more about paths in our lives in my next letter to you. Until then, if you would like some ideas on how to learn more about any of these areas or how they apply to you, feel free to contact me at tom@theshepherdsnook.com. Blessings!