Prophet
- Tends to see things in black and white.
- Is committed to truth regardless of others’ opinions.
- Is an initiator and enjoys new things; doesn’t do a good job of maintaining things.
- Can be a compulsive talker.
- Is a quick thinker who likes to share their (unsolicited) opinion on anything and everything.
- Judges and evaluates everything whether it directly affects them or not.
- Knows no fear and is basically a bold individual who is not intimidated by the unknown or change.
- Needs to have a goal, a purpose, a reason to live.
- It is agony to their soul to be in a situation that appears to be a “dead end”.
- Is generous but not always wise in their giving.
- Shifts gears quickly from one thing to the next.
- Tends to be a visionary.
- Is fiercely independent and competitive.
- Wants to know everything about a situation and is driven towards honesty, integrity, and transparency.
- Cannot stand hypocrisy, rebellion, and denial, especially in leadership.
- Is hard on themselves and has a hard time forgiving themselves.
- Needs to make sense out of everything.
- Can be cold and unfeeling when it comes to relationships.
- Is driven to excellence in themselves and others.
- Can be emotional from one extreme to the other.
- Bases their faith on the truth of God’s Word.
- Is a rebuilder, not just a criticizer.
- Needs solitude to recharge and think through things.
- Has a strong motivation to see God’s restoring power overcome sin’s damage in the world.
- Has a passion for celebrating what God has done.
- Tends to be called to a higher level of sacrifice by God.
- Can weather God’s silences while He builds a deeper root system of faith for greater fruit in the future.
Major Weaknesses
- Judgmental (tends to be very hard on themselves and others)
- Unforgiving (passion for holiness can prevent them from embracing God’s purposes in allowing things to happen that are wrong and sinful)
- Non-relational (a “loner” with an “out of sight, out of mind” mindset)
Biblical example of the Redemptive Gift of Prophet…Peter
Peter was zealous, passionate, oftentimes talking too much and without thinking, yet Father used him mightily in the first century church to bring the salvation message to the Jews and his words anointed by God on Pentecost led 3,000 people to everlasting life!
Servant
- Sees when people need comfort and food and is quick to meet those needs.
- Is a team player…not interested in building a kingdom for themselves.
- Is very practical…committed to the present moment to meet present needs.
- Has difficulty saying “no” to competing demands…usually spreads themselves too thin by overcommitting.
- Finds it hard to give themselves a pat on the back for work well done or receive a pat from others.
- Tends to find something to apologize for when serving other people.
- Has few enemies.
- Sees the best in others.
- Is very, very loyal to family.
- Is not easily angered except when someone hurts a friend or family member.
- Tends to save stuff but is not necessarily organized about it.
- Is totally trustworthy and reliable.
- Works very hard, often to their own physical harm.
- Tends to make excuses for others instead of helping them to become more mature and responsible.
- Tends to spoil children by meeting too many needs too often.
- May be in denial about their own children’s shortcomings.
- Tends to let themselves be treated dishonorably, even joked about in family; doesn’t stand up for themselves.
- In games or children’s sports teams, will be competitive…otherwise, wants to see others succeed first.
- Has pure motives…is straight-forward, honest, and trustworthy.
- Prefers to stay in the background…is not comfortable with being in the spotlight.
- Can be in a sinful environment without getting personally defiled.
- Tends to let themselves get used by others…tends to see themselves as a victim.
- Responds to truth without getting defensive.
- May struggle with feelings of shame…may believe they deserve to be a victim.
- Tends to believe they are not worthy, that other people are more worthy than they are.
- Wants to help others achieve their best…experiences the greatest fulfillment when they know they have helped someone else do their work.
- Is drawn to pray for leadership and make them successful.
Major Weaknesses
- Victim mindset (will tell you why it’s right for something to be wrong)
- Poor boundaries (fails to stand up for themselves, holds their rights too loosely)
- Enabler (will do a task for someone instead of teaching them how to do it for themselves)
Biblical Example of the Redemptive Gift of Servant…Esther
Esther achieved great fulfillment by empowering Mordecai and the Jewish people. She rose to her God-given authority over the spirit of death by standing in the gap against the threat to kill the Jews.
Teacher
- Loves knowledge and the pursuit of knowledge…this is at the core of their being.
- Is a bit slow in receiving new ideas…likes to look at all the “angles”.
- Is very interested in knowing the details about something and can go “overboard” with this.
- Thinks things out slowly and makes decisions slowly.
- Appear emotionally safe but come more from their heads than their hearts.
- Is deeply committed to family and tradition.
- Is patient with those in sin.
- Prefers to use doctrine rather than personal examples when teaching and loves Hebrew and Greek.
- Wants to see the end from the beginning of any new thing.
- Can be paralyzed by fear or risk which can keep them from obeying God.
- Has a great sense of humor.
- Usually speaks last in a group of people. Is a listener and observer who then summarizes it all.
- Doesn’t go forward as quickly as others think they should.
- Tends to tolerate sin instead of confronting it or the person(s) involved.
- Prefers tradition…the old, established way…wants to preserve history.
- Has a strong motivation to earn more and more credentials to prove they are competent.
- Tends to feed their mind, not their spirit so can appear spiritually “dry” to others.
- Tends to select what they want to be responsible for in life…the epitome of the religious spirit.
- Doesn’t like to “put” responsibility on others; struggles with demanding others do what is right.
- Sticks with the truth so acts as an anchor, keeping the more impulsive gifts in check.
- Can tip into pride because they want to confirm truth with their own wisdom.
- Prefers thinking over feeling so emotions can be hard for them to deal with.
- Believes knowledge = intimacy with God; that the more they know, the closer they are to God.
Major Weaknesses
- Passivity (resists compelling others to take responsibility)
- Religious mindset (may exercise “selective” responsibility instead of obeying God)
- “Ivory Tower Syndrome” (may neglect responsibility at home to pursue more book knowledge)
Biblical Example of the Redemptive Gift of Teacher…Luke
Luke was very exact in establishing the truth. He used 6 different historical facts to establish when Jesus was born. To be certain of the truth, Luke connected the present with the past, referring at times to the prophet Isaiah. For the Teacher, the details are extremely important. Luke’s account of the life of Jesus is the fullest and most orderly of all the gospels. In keeping with the Teacher’s reputation as a ‘safe’ person for others, he wrote more about women, the sick, the poor, tax collectors, sinners, and outcasts like the Good Samaritan.
Exhorter
- Can cross every kind of cultural barrier…social, racial, economic, religious…to relate to people wherever they are.
- Focuses on people; is extremely people-oriented; never meets a stranger.
- Shares their faith easily and in difficult situations.
- Has a big vision for reaching the world; most world-changers in history were Exhorters.
- Disagrees without rejecting others.
- Creates and sustains relationships at all costs.
- Is an excellent communicator who teaches from real life examples and is very practical.
- Is a good team member and a great networker.
- Is very flexible and quick to see new opportunities.
- Is not intimidated by new ideas and new truths.
- Is a visionary who tends to see the broader picture, the largest number, etc.
- Tends to govern by relationship, persuasion, and majority opinion of people, not by principle.
- Likes to start something and move on.
- Is sensitive to others’ feelings and the timeframe they need to embrace a new idea.
- Is a master of reconciliation.
- Gets to know who God is and then eagerly communicates Him to others.
- Opens his heart to open the hearts of others.
- Struggles with lack of discipline over time.
- Sees spiritual lessons in personal pain and suffering.
- Doesn’t like to confront sin in others for fear of rejection.
- May surround themselves with people who cover for their mistakes.
Major Weaknesses
- Denial (fails to recognize the law of sowing and reaping; may put charisma before character)
- Poor time management (fails to steward time wisely)
- Compromise (resists confronting sin in others for fear of rejection)
Biblical Example of the Redemptive Gift of Exhorter…Paul
Paul reconciled diversity in a community by becoming all things to all men in a good sense. This is one of the most precious things about the Exhorter. Their willingness to share from their own heart positions them to communicate on behalf of God to people who don’t know Him. Paul did this time and time again. It was his great passion!
Giver
- Is focused on preparing the way for their family and those who will live after they are gone.
- Is a nurturer who creates a family environment wherever they go.
- Shares their faith but is reluctant to evangelize; allows others to do that for them.
- Is very independent, stands alone; tends not to ask for help from others or God.
- Is sensitive to being conned, manipulated or guilt-tripped into doing anything.
- Relates to a wide range of people.
- Likes to keep their life private.
- Is not a confrontational person.
- Is good at finding unseen options, solutions, and resources.
- Is good at seizing an available moment.
- Finds favor in terms of money…resources flow to them…is a wise and discerning giver.
- Can cause friction in their own family where they tend to be thriftier with money and resources.
- Is good at finding bargains, good deals, or discounts.
- May see money as a source of security.
- Is present and future-oriented; tends not to learn from the past. Doesn’t like to be confronted with issues that are more than a week old.
- Struggles with accepting that there are no more options left in a situation.
- Is a natural networker; can bring people together and persuade them to do thing.
- Is a peacemaker who can work with people with conflicting points of view and theologies.
- Can handle the tension of working in a group of people like this because they are a place of safety.
- Enjoys being involved in a diversity of projects, interests, and activities…all at one time!
- Is gifted by God to birth, nurture and protect new things on every level of life. Can birth and grow things faster than any other gift.
- Fails to express gratitude due to present focus and short memory.
- Does spiritual things but not always from the right motivation.
Major Weaknesses
- Independence (doesn’t need others and may not even acknowledge their needs to God)
- Hypocrisy (may do the right thing for the wrong reason)
- Ownership v. Stewardship mindset (tends to rely on themselves rather than trusting God to provide)
Biblical Example of the Redemptive Gift of Giver…Job
The battlefield for the Giver is to put himself at risk and allow God to intervene. Job had faith to believe that God knew what He was doing. When Job had lost everything but his life, he did not understand or like what God was doing, but he maintained God had a right to do what He was doing because He was God.
Ruler
- Thrives under pressure and likes to put others under pressure.
- Is excellent at managing their time, controls their time and gets the job done.
- Can be loose on ethics when the end justifies the means.
- Does not ask “why” questions.
- Is good at pulling a group of people together that are loyal to a mission to accomplish it.
- May see a person’s loyalty as more important than their ability to do a job well.
- Draws the best out of broken people and uses them in such a way that they contribute to the goal of a project.
- Takes vision, breaks it down and implements it. Is not a visionary.
- Has no interest in assigning blame but is more interested in finding the solution to the problem.
- Is an empire-builder…wants to make things bigger and better.
- Owns their own problems…doesn’t look to others for solutions.
- Focuses on what’s right in front of them right now…is not easily distracted.
- Is so focused on getting things done they may fail to nurture, shepherd, or correct as needed.
- Enjoys being involved in lots of different projects.
- Does not need others’ affirmation once they make up their mind about something.
- Gets a great deal more work done than other people operating with the same resources.
- Battles with relying on their own strength v. relying on God’s power and plan.
- Takes on more tasks than is normally possible to finish in the time that’s allowed.
- Likes staying busy so much that they can lose their proper focus and fail to do what God’s called them to do.
- Is willing to wait and let God defend them to others…doesn’t need man to do this.
- Can withstand strong opposition.
Major Weaknesses
- Exploitation (may fail to nurture people, instead using them to get a task done)
- Illegitimate power (buying in to the world’s system of power instead of God’s system: power through love)
- Lack of honor (may fail to honor God by releasing back to God the resources and agenda for getting His will done)
Biblical Example of the Redemptive Gift of Ruler…Nehemiah
The Ruler gets the big picture of how to repair a broken situation. Once Nehemiah understood what needed to be done, he didn’t need the affirmation of other people to move forward. He withstood strong opposition. The righteous Ruler is not distracted from the God-given task and gets results that are greater than would be expected given the time and resources available. Testimony to this is the fact that the wall was completed in 52 days!
Mercy
- Gets along with everybody…rarely has enemies.
- Is admired and respected.
- Is a safe person for those who are wounded.
- Can make anyone feel safe sharing their hurts with them…even people they don’t know.
- Takes the initiative to minister to wounded people; can tell who feels rejected or wounded.
- Knows lots of people but has only a few close friends and shares everything with them.
- Craves intimacy of soul and physical touch; wants to be close physically, desire hugs!
- Does not like rapid change; needs time to work through their feelings so may be slow to adapt.
- Hears from God but has trouble explaining the “why” …operates on their own experience and feelings.
- Makes decisions based on their heart.
- Hates to confront. Wants to keep people from hurting and protect them from pain.
- Doesn’t like to choose sides…doesn’t want to say one person is right and the other is wrong.
- May appear indecisive because they don’t want to hurt anybody.
- Can be paralyzed by having to choose between people’s opinions.
- May be a people-pleaser and enabler…doing whatever is necessary to secure others’ approval.
- May allow themselves to become a victim of injustice or exploitation because of their kindness.
- Rarely seen as angry except when they take up an offense on behalf of a third party.
- Is drawn to the decisiveness of the Prophet.
- Is a softening influence for the Prophet.
- Is prone to stubbornness…know they’re not doing God’s will but resisting change to do it.
- May choose to be life-giving on their own terms, stubbornly resisting God’s direction for them in ministry.
- Easily enters the presence of God…is made to worship!
- May still need healing when it comes to the fathering issues in their life.
- May judge all pain as bad so avoids it and shields others from it when God aims to use it for His glory.
Major Weaknesses
- Impurity (desire for intimacy and physical touch may lead to impurity)
- Stubbornness (may know they’re not doing God’s will but refuse to change)
- Bribes God (childhood pain leads the Mercy to try to purchase the love of God and others)
Biblical Example of the Redemptive Gift of Mercy…John
John recognized that the greatest gift God had given him was a love relationship with Jesus Christ. John saw the heart of God. He didn’t desire power and authority. For this reason, God used him as a builder (apostle) and truth-teller (prophet) to the 1st century church.