Message by Peter, Pastor NDIC
Date: October 26, 2008

Text: “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” (1 Cor. 4: 2)

It is an interesting thing, but most of us are born pessimists.
For example: a child comes home with a school report and our eyes immediately focus on the D minor’s (or the “onvoldoendes” as we say in Dutch). When we conduct a personnel evaluation we linger on the negatives much longer than on the positives. This goes for the one conducting the evaluation, but also for the one for whom the evaluation is. And even on a day that everything goes well, we remember than one awkward moment, that one mistake we made.

Have you ever heard of the Gallup organization?
It is America’s most important business and opinion bureau, and some time ago they conducted an interview with parents and gave them the following scenario: “Suppose your child comes home with a 9 for English, a 9 for geography, a 7 for biology and a 4 for algebra. About which figure do you talk about most with your son or daughter? The answers were very obvious. About 75 precent said they would accentuate the 4 for algebra. Only 6 % would do this for the 9 of English, and only 1 % would emphasize the wonderful 9 for geography. 
In other words: strengths are minimized and weaknesses are emphasized.

Marcus Buckingham

According to Marcus Buckingham (who spent years interviewing thousands of employees at every career stage and who is widely considered one of the world's leading authorities on employee productivity), companies that focus on cultivating employees' strengths, rather than simply improving their weaknesses, stand to dramatically increase efficiency while allowing for maximum personal growth and success. If such a theory sounds revolutionary, that's because it is. Marcus Buckingham calls it the “strengths revolution.”

Every employee has natural gifts and desires and when these are released their talents are transformed in incredibly strong points and their will be retention of personnel, more productivity and more satisfaction.

But the sad thing is that only one in five employees is of the opinion that their strong points are utilized in a strong way.

This is because of two almost universally accepted misconceptions:
1. Everyone can become competent in almost everything
2. The weakest points provide the most room for growth. 

An incredible amount of time, energy and money is spent on minimilizing weak points and trying to improve them. But Buckingham is clear, he says: “You can’t call this development, it is damage control.”

That’s why the world’s best managers are working from the following two presuppositions:
1. The talents of every employee are unique and durable.
2. The strong points of every employee offer most room for growth.

The message title for today is “Go put your strengths to work.” This title is based on the last book of Mr. Buckingham, but I also chose this title because it is such an incredibly biblical concept.

Before I touch on the Scripture for today, let me give you some examples of natural talents, can you recognize yourself in one or more of them?:

 Musical ability:  to sing or play an instrument with competence
 Clerical ability:  to handle general office work with enthusiasm
 Researching ability:  to read, gather information, collect data
 Artistic ability:  to conceptualize, picture, draw, paint, or photograph
 Graphics ability:  to lay out, design, create visual displays or banners
 Evaluating ability:  to analyze data and draw accurate conclusions
 Planning ability:  to strategize, design and organize programs and events
 Managing ability:  to supervise people to accomplish a task or event
 Counseling ability:  to listen, encourage and guide with sensitivity
 Writing ability:  to write articles, letters, books
 Editing ability:  to proofread or rewrite
 Promoting ability:  to advertise or promote events and activities
 Repairing ability:  to fix, store, maintain
 Mechanical ability:  to operate equipment, tools or machinery
 Public Relations ability:  to relate to others and handle complaints with courtesy
 Composing ability:  to write music or lyrics
 Landscaping ability:  to do gardening and work with plants
 Decorating ability:  to beautify a setting or room tastefully
 Carpentry ability:  to build from wood, metal or other materials
 Childcare ability:  to care for children with gentleness and joy

Perhaps you wonder: Do I really know myself, do I even know what my strong points, and my talents are?

Ask yourself the following questions:

1. What are my strongest desires, even from a young age?
    Mozart had already composed a symphony at the age of 12; Picasso had already enlisted at the academy of art when he was 13.

2. In which areas of my life do I learn fast? When I master something easily it is an indication of a inborn, natural talent.

3. Feelings of satisfaction are also a strong indicator.

It is our intention in NDIC to help you discover your gifts and talents. Why don't you come and discover them with us as you step up to serve?