Fan into Flame the Gift

My last post concluded with these verses and the following encouragement,

“For this reason I remind you to fan into flame [ἀναζωπυρέω] the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands, for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.” (2 Timothy 1:6-7) 

Is there something that God has put on your heart to do, but the pressures of daily ministry and the fear of the unknown have kept you from doing it? Perhaps now is the time to revisit it.

I am going to take up that advice and revisit the topic here today...

Pastors and other Christian workers usually begin their ministry with an idealistic enthusiasm for the mission to which they have been called. The preceding verse, suggests that this was true of Timothy, “I am reminded of your sincere faith, a faith that dwelt first in your grandmother Lois and your mother Eunice and now, I am sure, dwells in you as well.” (v.5)

Timothy not only had a sincere faith personally but was part of a heritage of faith. He also had been given “the gift of God” through Paul’s prayer. And yet Paul considered it important to remind him to rekindle or “fan into flame” [anazopureo: to kindle again] that gift. In this post, I want to do the same thing.

It's harder to build a fire
in the rain. But all
 the more necessary.

So why would we need to hear this message again? I think that doing the work of the ministry and participating in ongoing spiritual warfare can tend to dampen the flame with distractions, doubts, and the fog of discouragement. This also happens as men and women get caught up in what I call the “machine” of ministry—dealing primarily with the organization, administration, planning, budgeting, production, and never-ending deadlines that come with western ministry leadership—which can quickly entomb their initial gift, starving it of the spiritual wind it needs to burst into flame.

We live in dark days—days when people need to see authentic lives empowered by the Holy Spirit, seeking to live out their love for Jesus. Such lives bring both light and heat for the good of all. However, the well-cooled machine of church culture is not so friendly to such divergent light and heat. So if we are going to revisit and rekindle the very reason Christ called us into his great mission, then we will need to be intentional about it.

Photo by Erwan Hesry on Unsplash

What is the gift that God has put in you for the Church? What is the purifying coal of service from the very altar of God that has been planted within you, that which when we let God overcome both our fear and our fatigue might change the world (Isaiah 6:5-8)? Perhaps it involves one of the five ecclesial gifts—mentioned by St. Paul—that the Lord has given to the church, “apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds (pastors), and teachers.” (Eph. 4:11-13). No church is complete without each and every God-given, Spirit-empowered part working together. Yet are we making the church look like only one of the gifts? Or are we leaving one of the essential gifts out of the local church because it might be culturally unseemly? Dr. Tim Robnett (the MU faculty mentor for the Global Evangelism track) thinks so. He contends that we are systemically ignoring the need for gifted evangelists in the local church.

Photo by Madi Robson on Unsplash

Fanning the gift into flame might also involve one or more of the “sign” or “charismatic” gifts (1 Cor. 12) but it is not limited to such a list. These lists are certainly not exhaustive nor constrictive, but empowering for the evangelistic and discipling mission and the edification (building up) of the community of believers. Jesus has a place and a purpose for each of us to fill…without which the church is less than it should be. So how has the love of Christ transformed us and quickened our spirit to humbly meet some needs, right some wrongs, or declare some truths, as a participation in his restorative mission?

The church grows when “every part is working properly” (Eph. 4:16). This doesn’t mean that we all should do the same things in the same way. Instead, we need to be working as God has designed, called, and empowered us to work; not merely doing what others have taught us to do. Just as the Lord inspired and worked through all the different people who wrote the Scriptures—processing his message through their backgrounds, personalities, passions, and education, so he desires to work through our uniqueness to touch the world. At the same time, this post is not an encouragement for us to do our own thing regardless of what others have done. God’s purposes for our lives, like good theology, are best discerned in community. This is one reason we should seek out someone who can be a Cupbearer in our lives. 

This is also a good reason why churches should invest in the continuing education of their pastors—such as what takes place through a cohort-based MA or DMin program. 

So I ask again, do you know what gift you are being called to develop, evaluate, refine, and give to bless the church? I hope you will not hide it under your bed (Luke 8:16) but as Jesus instructed the twelve, "Freely you have received; freely give" (Matt. 10:8).

As we collectively fan into flame the gift of God within us, our authentic example becomes a beacon, encouraging others to do the same. Jesus said that if we are filled with the light of Christ’s love, and participate in the redemptive mission of God, no matter what kind of opposition we face, we will find that our light cannot be hidden. 

Photo by Al x on Unsplash