Interview: Tim Chambers on Spiritual Gifts
Last week, we rang Tim Chambers and asked him a few questions about the Spiritual Gifts Seminar he’ll be conducting this weekend at Living Hope St. Joseph.
Frankie: Tim! It’s so good to be talking with you! Thanks for taking time to shed some more light on what your upcoming seminar on spiritual gifts is all about. First things first, why don’t you tell us a little about yourself?
Tim: Ok. Sure. Well, my name is Tim Chambers. I was raised in Pennsylvania before coming to Joplin to go to school. We started attending a church here and I eventually got involved in leadership. I’ve now been the lead elder of that church, Christ’s Church of Joplin, for over 20 years. In 1994 we joined up with the Newfrontiers family of churches.
Frankie: Spiritual gifts… Not the typical weekend seminar topic! While parenting and budget courses are still important, why do you feel this subject also deserves some special attention?
Tim: Because it’s how the church functions. We say we’re charismatic – and we are – but being charismatic and welcoming spiritual gifts is about how the church actually works. How do meetings work? How does the government of the church work? In the New Testament, the answers to these questions have to do with spiritual gifts. Another big thing is that spiritual gifts are a way God manifests His presence among us. So, the greater our understanding of spiritual gifts and the more accurately and enthusiastically we practice them, the more God’s presence will be experienced in our churches. Also, it’s through spiritual gifts that the church is built up, so this affects the maturity of a church. I think these are some pretty good reasons for why we’d want to give this special attention – but it’s more than just knowledge, we need to grow in our confidence to be used in these ways.
In our seminar, we’ll have time to discuss some questions that people have. Things like: How should a meeting look? Why would we have someone speak in tongues in a meeting? How do you know whether something needs an interpretation of not? How can we tell if something spoken is from God or not? What about order? One person’s idea of order might be a lot different than the next person’s. How do we know if we’re being orderly? Can we get new gifts? Many of us have questions about spiritual gifts. Sometimes people have questions they are afraid to ask. But these questions are answered in the Bible.
Frankie: Is there a specific list of spiritual gifts or is it more of a generic term?
Tim: What we’ll do in the seminar is really focus our attention on the longest section of scripture that deals with spiritual gifts which is 1 Corinthians 12 through 14. In those three chapters there are specific spiritual gifts that Paul talks about more than others, like prophesy, tongues and interpretation. But he lists others. So we’ll examine those plus other lists in scripture. We’ll compile a big list and think about definitions and about ways we would like to be used. But none of the lists in the Bible are exhaustive. I don’t think there is a limit to the number of spiritual gifts God gives to His people. We’ll focus most of our attention on the things the New Testament texts emphasize. I’m also really interested in getting everyone at the seminar to think about what they want in regards to spiritual gifts. This is at least as important as thinking about what we’ve got. Paul talks about eagerly desiring spiritual gifts, so one of the goals of this seminar will be to make people want stuff.
Frankie: What was your first encounter with spiritual gifts like?
Tim: Well, there are different kinds of encounters. I think anyone in church has encountered spiritual gifts. For instance, I grew up going to church, so I would have been around people with teaching gifts. I don’t know if people thought of those things as being gifts of the Spirit. It wasn’t talked about in those terms, but I was encountering the gift. If you are in church you can’t avoid spiritual gifts. So in that sense I encountered them early. But later, I really began to study spiritual gifts in the Bible and saw that there were gifts that were not given much place in the church. When I was in my early 20’s I began to see actually how much more there was. And then I was filled with the Spirit and started to experience some of those things.
Frankie: How have those later experiences affected your life?
Tim: Oh, in a huge way! I mean, it’s changed the way I view the church and God being among His people. You know what I’m talking about Frankie, this thing we experience at Living Hope, Christ’s Church, and other Newfrontiers churches where in a meeting people who aren’t on the “program” actually come up to speak, and God is there, weaving it all together. That isn’t practiced very many places. But I’m totally sold out to it. I think it’s the New Testament pattern, and I think it radically changes the life of a church Monday through Friday when we “open the lid” on spiritual gifts during our times together. What happens in our meetings is wonderful, but it’s not just about what happens in meetings, it’s about how the church functions day to day. So, it’s revolutionized my view of the church, my prayer life, my time in worship, and the way I view pastoral ministry. When I’m trying to help someone, I’m not just thinking about counsel, I’m thinking about supernatural insight as being on the list of things God can do!
Frankie: So maybe even in evangelism, too?
Tim: Yes, absolutely. When you really break it down, there isn’t any aspect of church life that gets left out, that doesn’t benefit from spiritual gifts.
Frankie: On the topic of spiritual gifts, what advice would you give to someone who would consider themselves a new Christian?
Tim: Study scripture. Learn how these things work in the Bible. Learn how they worked in the life of Jesus. Be expectant. Expect God to continue to use you in new ways. Ultimately, we all should want to be filled with the Spirit, so that’s what I would desire for any new Christian. Be filled with the Spirit and step into those things that God has for you. And that really applies to any Christian, not just new ones.
Frankie: Well Tim, we’re very excited to be having you come up to be with us and we look forward to learning more in your seminar!
Tim: Thanks for calling. It was nice talking to you and I’m excited to see you all soon.
Spiritual Gifts Seminar
May 14-15, 2010 at Living Hope Church St. Joseph
Session 1 – Friday, 7:00 – 9:00pm
Session 2 – Saturday, 12:00 – 3:00pm (Please eat lunch beforehand, we will provide coffee and snacks.)
