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Spiritual Gifts Resources

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Charlie Parker's spiritual gift is Dodgeball, and he's going to use it unto Him.  What's your gift? 

This funny video is a great introduction for sermons and discussions about how everyone is gifted in one way or another and how we are to use those gifts to glorify God.

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Articles, Blogs, and News

Spiritual Gifts

This site provides many spiritual gifts tests and resources for learning more about spiritual gifts.

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An Introduction to Systemic Theology

Executive Director Andrew Sears outlines a new branch of theology called "Systemic Theology", which provides a systems perspective on the world and God that prioritizes holistic ministry and justice.

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Spiritual Gifts List

Spiritual Gifts

Instructions:

The Bible does not present a single, comprehensive list. The lists of specific gifts mentioned can be found in Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 28-30; Ephesians 4:11; and 1 Peter 4:9-11. Below is a brief summary of the lists of gifts. The first part of the paragraph offers a general description of how the gift was used and applied in the Bible while the last column is a concise definition based on what the Bible says.

 

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Course 406 - Theology of Work

Course 406 - Theology of Work (3 credits) This course will look at the theology of work and how work fits into ministry and God’s Kingdom.

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Writing a Vision Statement

Briefly, Burt Nanus, a well-known expert on the subject, defines a vision as a realistic, credible, attractive future for [an] organization.

A good vision can accomplish a number of things for the organization:

  • It attracts commitment and energizes people.
  • It creates meaning in volunteer's lives
  • It establishes a standard of excellence.
  • It bridges the present and the future.

Oren Harari said that a "Vision should describe a set of ideals and priorities, a picture of the future, a sense of what makes the company special and unique, a core set of principles that the company stands for, and a broad set of compelling criteria that will help define organizational success."

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Transformation: Inviting God’s Presence

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PowerPoints Can Further the Kingdom (Acts 6 & 7)

Submitted by an UrbanMinistry Blogger on Wed, 11/26/2008 - 11:42

My dominant Spiritual gift is Administration. BuildingChurch.net defined this gift as "The special ability that God gives to certain members of the body of Christ to understand clearly the immediate and long-range goals of a particular unit of the body of Christ and to devise and execute effective plans for the accomplishment of those goals."

 

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Spiritual Gifts

This site provides many spiritual gifts tests and resources for learning more about spiritual gifts.

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Course 406 - Theology of Work

Course 406 - Theology of Work (3 credits) This course will look at the theology of work and how work fits into ministry and God’s Kingdom.

Read more

Calling

A calling, in the religious sense of the word, is a religious vocation (which comes from the Latin for "call") that may be professional or voluntary and, idiosyncratic to different religions, may come from another person, from a divine messenger, or from within oneself.

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An Introduction to Systemic Theology

Executive Director Andrew Sears outlines a new branch of theology called "Systemic Theology", which provides a systems perspective on the world and God that prioritizes holistic ministry and justice.

Read more

Americans want more personal prayer

"Talking to God: For more and more Americans, worship services are no longer enough. They want the intimate contact of personal prayer." (1992, January 6). Newsweek.

OVERVIEW

 

According to Father Andrew M. Greeley, sociologist, at NORC social science research center and George H. Gallup and Margaret M. Poloma in Varieties of Prayer

  • 78% Of the U.S. population prays once a week.
  • 57% Report praying at least once a day.
  • Even among the 13% atheists, one in five still prays daily.
  • 91% Of women pray; 85% of men pray.
  • 91% Of blacks pray; 87% of whites do so.
  • 42% Regularly feel a deep sense of peace; 12% never experience this.
  • 26% Regularly feel the strong presence of God; 21% never do.
  • 15% Regularly receive a definite answer to specific pray; 25% have once or twice; 27% never have.

Other findings are also interesting:

  • Prayer becomes more serious to most Americans after they are 30.
  • The baby-boomers (born 1939-1954) were the least religious and reported praying least of recent generations. The praying increased from 37% who prayed at least once a day (between ages of 18-33) to 50% praying at least once a day when they were between ages 34-49.
  • Meditative prayer increases with age: 45% of those 18-24 year olds pray meditatively; 70% of those over 65 years of age do so.
  • Dr. Ana-Maria Rizzuto (Psychiatric Institute of New England) reports that children at puberty have great difficulty reconciling the existence of their childhood just-and-loving-God (or "benign childhood deity") with their new sense of human suffering.

When asked about prayer, Jesuit Father Dick Rice responds:

The big watershed is moving from trying to control God to letting God direct me. The first big step is to cease talking to God and start listening for God. And that requires silence, a nearly forgotten dimension of modern American life.

Rabbi Arthur Green adds:

(Coming into the presence of God is like coming into a space...) where the borders between what is human and what is God are no longer a given. As we become more vulnerable, and more human, we discover God.

Spiritual theologian, Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel, describes prayer in this way:

To pray is to bring God back into the world...to expand His presence.

The article concludes:

In an age of relativism, God remains for many the one true absolute. In an era of transience and divorce, God can be the only place left to turn to for unconditional love.

The life of prayer...is a journey with God as well as towards God, a journey in which prayer becomes for those who pursue it as natural as breathing...

When everything we do is prayer, the fruit is an increase of love, patience and compassion for others leaving behind the unmistakable taste of holiness.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

  1. What does this article show you about the spirituality of the U.S.? Are you surprised by anything here? Do you consider it to be a fair discussion of how people are praying privately?
  2. How do you explain the discrepancy between the amount of prayer and the amount of injustice, violence, corruption and stress in our society?
  3. Did you find in this any helpful suggestions for prayer? What would you add to an article like this?

IMPLICATIONS

  1. That this modern society feels the need of prayer seems evident. How it can find the kind of prayer that brings justice, compassion, and peace is a challenge that remains to be solved.
  2. Young people feel the pain and stress of life long before they are thirty years of age. We must find ways to introduce adolescents to healing and transforming prayer.
  3. Obviously, leaders who exploit prayer needs for profit are doing damage to the reputation of prayer. Leaders who are too busy to pray themselves also do damage to the prayer life of church and other religious organizations.
  4. There is a growing need for prayer or spiritual advisors.

Dean Borgman cCYS

SPIRITUALITY RESOURCES

 

SPIRITUALITY RESOURCES

 

WEBSITES

Faith Resource


This site includes materials from many faith traditions, including information appropriate for young people.  FaithResource focuses on positive aspects of spiritual searching.  It includes, however, information on spiritual abuse, so that seekers can defend against the manipulations and sophistry that are sometimes encountered within the spiritual-religious marketplace.

Orthodox Research Institute - Adolescent Spirituality

National Study of Youth & Religion - Spirituality Resources

 

Search Institute - Adolescent Spirituality

ARTICLES

Batten, Michelle and Kevin Ann Oltjenbruns. (1999). “Adolescent Sibling Bereavement as a Catalyst for Spiritual Development: A Model for Understanding.” Death Studies vol. 23, pp. 529-546.

Cervantes, Joseph M. and Oscar Ramirez. (1992). “Spirituality and Family Dynamics in Psychotherapy with Latino Children.” Pp. 103-128 in Working with Culture: Psychotherapeutic Interventions with Ethnic Minority Children and Adolescents. The Jossey Bass Social and Behavioral Science Series, edited by Luis A. Vargas and Joan D. Koss-Chioino. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass Inc, Publishers.

Crawford, Marisa L. and Graham M. Rossiter. (1996). “The Secular Spirituality of Youth: Implications for Religious Education.” British Journal of Religious Education vol. 18, pp. 133-143.

Dean, Kenda Creasy. (2000). “X-Files and Unknown Gods: The Search for Truth with Postmodern Adolescents.” American Baptist Quarterly vol. 19, pp. 3-21.

Dienelt, Karl. (1984). “The Quest for Meaning among Today's Youth.” International Forum for Logotherapy vol. 7, pp. 89-95.

Dorsa, Deanna. (1995). “The Importance of Ritual to Children.” Thesis, California Inst of Integral Studies.

Elliott, Karen. (1992). “Adolescent Spirituality: Razzle Dazzle or Rock Solid.” Liturgical Ministry vol. 1, pp. 65-67.

Emile,

Br. (1996). “Our Pilgrimage with Young People.” Ecumenism vol. 124, pp. 10-15.

Hackerman, Ann E. and Paul King. (1998). “Adolescent Spirituality: A Foundation for Recovery from Drug Dependency.” Alcoholism Treatment Quarterly vol. 16, p. 89.

Holder, David W., Robert H. Durant, Treniece L. Harris, Jessica Henderson Daniel, Dawn Obeidallah, and Elizabeth Goodman. (2000). “The Association between Adolescent Spirituality and Voluntary Sexual Activity.” Journal of Adolescent Health vol. 26, pp. 295-302.

 

Hutson, S. R. (2000). “The Rave: Spiritual Healing in Modern Western Subcultures.” Anthropological Quarterly vol. 73, pp. 35-49.

Keary, Dermot M. (1968). “Adolescent Spirituality.” Religious Education vol. 63, pp. 376-383.

Lamport, Mark A. (1990). “Adolescent Spirituality: Age of Conversion and Factors of Development.” Christian Education Journal pp. 17-30.

Lealman, Brenda. (1991). “Young People, Spirituality, and the Future.” Religious Education vol. 86, pp. 265-274.

Lindsey, Elizabeth W., P. David Kurtz, Sara Jarvis, Nancy R. Williams, and Larry Nackerud. (2000). “How Runaway and Homeless Youth Navigate Troubled Waters: Personal Strengths and Resources.” Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal vol. 17, pp. 115-140.

MacDonald, D. A. (2000). “Spirituality: Description, Measurement, and Relation to the Five Factor Model of Personality.” Journal of Personality vol. 68, pp. 153-197. 

Massey, Steven Duane. (1999). “A Study of the Relationship between Resilience and Spirituality among High Risk Youth.” Ed.D. Thesis, University of Minnesota.

Mize, Anne Brownson. (1995). “Children's Spirituality and Nature: In Their Words.” Thesis, The Union Institute, Cincinnati.

Myers, Barbara Kimes. (1997). “Young Children and Spirituality.” Chicago Theological Seminary Register vol. 87, pp. 52-53.

Navarro, Jay, Stan Wilson, Lawrence R. Berger, and Timothy Taylor. (1997). “Substance Abuse and Spirituality: A Program for Native American Students.” American Journal of Health Behavior vol. 21, pp. 3-11.

Oetting, E. R. (1999). “Primary Socialization Theory. Developmental Stages, Spirituality, Government Institutions, Sensation Seeking, and Theoretical Implications. V.” Substance Use & Misuse vol. 34, pp. 947-982.

O'Malley, W. J. (1992). “The Grail Quest: Male Spirituality.” America vol. 5, p. 402.

Pfund, R. (2000). “Nurturing a Child's Spirituality.” Journal of Child Health Care vol. 4, pp. 143-148.

Piedmont, R. L. (2001). “Spiritual Transcendence and the Scientific Study of Spirituality.” Journal of Rehabilitation vol. 67, pp. 4-14.

Pittenger, William Norman. (1972). “Return to "Spirituality"?” Religion in Life pp. 311-316.

Saunders, Gary Paul. (1999). “The Relationship of Spirituality to Adolescents' Responses to Loss.” Thesis, Wisconsin School of Professional Psychology, Milwaukee.

 

BOOKS

Davis, Patricia H. (2001). Beyond Nice: The Spiritual Wisdom of Adolescent Girls. Minneapolis: Fortress Press.

Foster, Richard. (1998) Celebration of Discipline: The Path to Spiritual Growth. HarperSanFrancisco, 256pp.

 

Foster, Richard. (1992) Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home. HarperSanFrancisco, 288pp.

Fuller, Sheri and Ron Luce. (2002) When Teens Pray: Powerful Stories of How God Works. Multnomah, 180pp.

Healy, Mark. (2000). Spiritualized: A Look inside the Teenage Soul. New York: AlloyBooks.

Hoover, Brett. (1998) Losing Your Religion, Finding Your Faith: Spirituality and Young Adults. 

Paulist Press, 160pp.

Rabey, Steve. (2001). In Search of Authentic Faith: How Emerging Generations Are Transforming the Church. Colorado Springs, Colo.: Waterbrook Press.

Schaeffer, Francis August (1979). True Spirituality. Tyndale House Publishers.

Sheldon, C. (1983). Adolescent spirituality: Pastoral ministry for high school and college youth. Chicago: Loyola Press. A very helpful text for those who would thoughtfully and realistically minister to and counsel today’s adolescents.



Smith, Christian and Melinda Lundquist Denton. (2005) Soul Searching : The Religious and Spiritual Lives of American Teenagers. Oxford University Press, 358pp.

(1997). The Spirituality of Young People. London: The Way Publications.

Yaconelli, Mike (2002). Messy Spirituality: God's annoying love for imperfect people. Zondervan.
Yaconelli explores the perfectionism that plagues so many in the church, an examination that is both challenging and deeply personal. He addresses unspoken assumptions in today's church context, arguing, for example, that the church "has communicated that competence is one of the fruits of the Spirit." Includes vivid stories, where he expounds on the idea of grace lost and found again in the church. 

cCYS


Strategies for Taking Back Our Cities

Submitted by an UrbanMinistry Blogger on Wed, 05/27/2009 - 18:25

Economic crisis has provided a wonderful opportunity for the church to arise and shine as never before. The State of California is considered bankrupt and continues to impoverish local government as one hand robs the other in order to stay afloat. The voice of the enemy has raged against any godly influence in society. The voice of the enemy has demanded that God be removed from our schools, government and even our homes as many have demanded, "Silence the voice of the Christians!" and "Separation of church and state!" Amidst the cry from those demanding the right to live under the enemy's curse, God is now turning that around, and He is separating the church from the state she's been in. He is turning His churches inside out and forcing them into the streets.

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Spiritual Gifts List

Spiritual Gifts

Instructions:

The Bible does not present a single, comprehensive list. The lists of specific gifts mentioned can be found in Romans 12:6-8; 1 Corinthians 12:8-10, 28-30; Ephesians 4:11; and 1 Peter 4:9-11. Below is a brief summary of the lists of gifts. The first part of the paragraph offers a general description of how the gift was used and applied in the Bible while the last column is a concise definition based on what the Bible says.

 

Read more

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Volunteer Opportunities: Spiritual Gifts

Title Organization Name City, State/Country
Managua, Nicaragua Short Term Mission Forward Edge International
Managua
Nicaragua
Puerto Cabezas, Nicaragua Short Term Mission Forward Edge International
Puerto Cabezas, WA
Nicaragua
New Orleans, Louisiana Short Term Mission Forward Edge International
New Orleans, LA
United States
Houston, Texas Short Term Mission Forward Edge International
Houston, TX
United States
Short Term Mission Groups Christian Commission for Development
Tegucigalpa
Honduras
City Vision Intern- Driver Intern City Vision
Joliet, IL
United States
Crow Agency, Montana Short Term Mission Forward Edge International
Crow Agency, MT
United States
Oaxaca City, Oaxaca, Mexico Short Term Mission Trip Forward Edge International
Oaxaca City
Mexico
Juarez, Mexico Short Term Mission Forward Edge International
Juarez
Mexico
The Sierra Tarahumara Mountains, Mexico Forward Edge International
Tarahumara Mountains
Mexico
Title Organization Name
Virtual Opportunity: Help us upload resources to our website, UrbanMinistry.org Techmission Corps
Filmmaker needed Techmission Corps
Teachers and fund raisers. GOOLONG SISONG EDUCATIONAL SOCIETY
Video Editor-Development City Union Mission
Multi-Media Web Developer City Union Mission
Prayer Partner- Community Relations City Union Mission
Videographer City Union Mission
Writer and Editor City Union Mission
MANUAL DEVELOPER IN OUR RESEARCH UNIT Durban YMCA
Volunteer Coordinator Latino Farmers Cooperative of Louisiana, Inc
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