The topic of spiritual gifts can be a beneficial aspect of Discipleship Counseling. The teaching context would include 1 Peter 4:10,11, Eph. 4:11-12; and 1 Cor. 12-14.Personal discipling/mentoring/counseling could facilitate the disciple’s appreciation, recognition and deployment of his/her gift(s).
A model that I have found very helpful over the decades considers the seven gifts Romans 12:3-8 as “motivational gifts.” In other words, each of us as believers has one of these seven gifts as a primary motivational gift. With that motive/orientation you may have one or more “ministry gifts”… and the use of these abilities may sometimes show up in a “manifestation gift.”
Here are some resources that unpack this approach:
(click the link on each of the seven for more detail)
An online (and downloadable) survey is at:
Books using this model include:
- Discover Your God-Given Gifts, by Don and Katie Fortune
- Understanding Spiritual Gifts
https://store.iblp.org/understanding-spiritual-gifts.html - Channels of Blessing, by Dr. Bobby Mullins (in print or ebook): http://www.masterdesign.org/mullins.html
And note Charles Stanley’s sermons on the seven (motivational) spiritual gifts :
If the Discipleship Counselor appreciates the importance of spiritual gifts in life and ministry, he/she may discover this topic to be more scriptural and beneficial than the popular four personality categories (as used in the DISC profile).
JBW
Exchanged Life Counseling Matters 