Try New Things

You want to know one of my greatest talents? Something that I have spent many years perfecting, something that I started doing when I was just 15 years old and haven’t stopped since . . . setting up chairs for church. Yup, I am an expert chair arranger. I know how to determine the distance between the rows, how many chairs should be in a stack, how to line them up perfectly and how to quickly distribute them. I have been doing this for 25+ years, yet surprisingly, I still have more to learn. In fact, my senior pastor has shown me a couple new things, amazingly, he’s even more expert level than I am. Together we are an unstoppable chair team.

I think you can probably guess that chair arranging is not my only talent but setting up chairs is what opened doors to using other giftings God has given me. In youth group, because I showed up early to set up the chairs, I was given first choice at other available opportunities. I tried everything, singing (not good), tambourine (not good), slides for worship (ok, not bad), leading games (actually pretty good) and giving announcements and offering (turns out I’m pretty good at talking). What I discovered was I liked to lead people, I was good at communicating God’s word and I had a knack for making it fun. Soon, it was obvious to me and to my leaders around me, that God had gifted me with a set of talents that were tailored for pastoral ministry. Not only did my youth pastor recognize these gifts but he provided opportunity for me to use these gifts, to be challenged, to fail and then to succeed. Those were foundational years that started with mastering chairs and culminated to speaking in front of masses. I am forever grateful for that time.

As you get older (I am not old – just older) you become more confident about the set of gifts you naturally have or have acquired through practice. However, you will never arrive to a pinnacle of perfection. You will likely be given new opportunities and discover new gifts, adding to your tool belt and expanding your capacity. Proverbs 18:15 (NLT) says, “Intelligent people are always ready to learn. Their ears are open for knowledge.” And Romans 12:11 says, “11 Never be lazy, but work hard and serve the Lord enthusiastically.” Simply put, be willing to try new things and serve the Lord with your gifts. When you do this, the gifts and talents you offer may lead you to things you never imagined possible.

Jessie Armstrong
Executive Pastor
Sacramento, CA