Last week, the leadership team at Hope gathered together for a meeting with Alex Bricker and Ken Hoornbeek to discuss our Motivational Gift Mix (MGM). Some of you may remember Alex and his wife Mary from when they used to attend Hope. (They currently live in Ft. Collins, where they have a ministry to International students.) What you may not know about Alex is that he is also the author of the book Insight: Understanding Your Motivational Gifts.
Alex, along with his friend and mentor, Ken, have developed a survey that helps people to identify and better understand their strengths and the ways in which God has wired them to function. Based on Romans 12:3-8, they have identified seven types of gifts: Bold Proclaimer, Relentless Server, Researching Teacher, Enthusiastic Encourager, Organized Leader, and Cheerful Heart.
These different gifts aren’t meant to be labels, but can rather help us understand what motivates us as well as those around us. Ken and Alex purposefully refer to the survey as the Motivational Gift Mix, because everyone has two or three top gifts, not just one.
Significantly, the MGM distinguishes between how people function in the natural state and how they function in the spiritual state. In other words, the different gifts that we have can play out in ways that are not always positive if we are relying on our own priorities and energy rather than operating by the Holy Spirit. When a team is focused on Jesus, they can experience unity, despite all of their differences, that would otherwise be impossible.
Everyone on Hope’s leadership team took the survey prior to the meeting. Ken explained the different gifts in detail and discussed ways that each strength can serve to build up the local body. The fascinating thing about looking at results as a team is we can see how God has assembled a very balanced group in Hope’s leadership team. No single person can be fully strong in every area, but working together we complement one another’s strengths.
This is true not just for a leadership team but also for a marriage, a family, or an office—almost any situation where a group of people are working together.
If you are interested in taking the survey to find out your Motivational Gift Mix, you can do that here. The survey takes about 15 minutes and you will receive your results immediately. As members of one church body, Pastor Dean also receives a copy of any results that come through from this link. He appreciates the opportunity to learn more about the diversity within the Hope family, and you can rest assured that there are no wrong answers or bad gift mixes. In fact, if you’d like to meet with Dean to discuss your results, he’d love to see you!