273. Multiply Your Talents to Become a Multiplying Disciple

The Rob Skinner Podcast: Helping You Make This Life Count

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I’m Rob Skinner and this is the Rob Skinner Podcast. Today I’m talking about how to become a multiplying disciple. Specifically, how you need to multiply your talents in order to multiply disciples and your impact in your spiritual, financial and personal life.

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Transcript

Multiply Your Talents to Become a Multiplying Disciple

“Skinner, you’re a jack of all trades and a master of none.” My friend, Chris Bishop, gave me a rough evaluation that later proved to be right on target. He was describing my interest in so many different areas and at the same time, I wasn’t great at any one thing. In the fall I had tried soccer and dropped out. In the winter, I got cut from the freshman basketball team. I placed my hopes in making the spring freshman baseball team. If there was one sport I thought I was good at, I thought baseball would be the one. I bought brand new Adidas cleats. I tried my best at the tryout. Jeff Martinez laughed at me after the sprints and said, “Skinner, how’d you get so slow?” The coach told us that our names would be posted on the coaches’ office window if we made the team. I waited all day, sitting in classes visualizing the name, “Rob Skinner” on that roster. When the final bell rang, I ran to the gym locker room where the coaches’ office was. I looked down the list of names. I thought I must be reading it to quickly. I read each name again, slowly.

· Todd Newman

· Shawn Huff

· Jeff Martinez

· Chris Bishop…

All my friends were listed, my name wasn’t. I looked one more time and raced to my Mom’s office in room E-5 of the English department. She was an English teacher and department head. She said, “What’s wrong?” I said, “I didn’t make the team!” I kneeled down and sobbed and sobbed on her lap. On top of the humiliation of getting cut, someone stole my new cleats. I guess I wouldn’t need them anyway.

I’ve never been great at any one sport. I’ve been passable at a large number of sports and activities. I love to surf, scuba, play frisbee and ultimate. I’ve run a marathon in Tokyo. I love to backpack. I enjoy clubs and activities and served as the president of the International club and Senior Class President in high school. I like to write and was the editor of my high school newspaper.

I always thought this lack of focused greatness was a weakness until I became a disciple of Jesus. Then I realized the gift I had been given. God’s Kingdom is filled with every type of person. Every race, age, class, language, height, gender, interest, skill and occupation is represented in his church. When I became a true disciple and joined the fellowship of believers I felt like a fish back in water. I was able to connect with so many people. My varied background allowed me to make connections with people from all over the world.

Scott Adams talks about the importance of developing a broad array of talents in his book, “How to fail at almost everything and still win big.” He calls it “Talent Stacking.” He writes that it’s much better and more achievable to be in the top 25% in two or three or more skill or talent areas than it is to become the top 1% in any one field. He himself was a cartoonist with a background in computers and added writing, public speaking and hypnotism to his talent stack. The uniqueness of his talent stack makes him a unique and wealthy individual. He claims that for every person genetically gifted to master a particular field like LeBron James, there are thousands who can combine reasonably good skills from a variety of fields and excel.

Paul talks about this very thing in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23, “ Though I am free and belong to no one, I have made myself a slave to everyone, to win as many as possible. 20 To the Jews I became like a Jew, to win the Jews. To those under the law I became like one under the law (though I myself am not under the law), so as to win those under the law. 21 To those not having the law I became like one not having the law (though I am not free from God’s law but am under Christ’s law), so as to win those not having the law. 22 To the weak I became weak, to win the weak. I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.” Although Paul was a hardcore Jewish Pharisee by birth and training, he realized the necessity of adaptability if he was going to reach the people God had called him to reach in Acts 9:15-16, “But the Lord said to Ananias, ‘Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel. 16 I will show him how much he must suffer for my name.’” Gentiles, kings and Jews were all part of God’s purpose for Paul. Paul, who had surpassed all his peers in devotion to his Old Testament training, realized that he would have to add to his skills if he was going to be able to connect with the many who didn’t share his gifts, pedigree or background.

If you want to be a multiplying disciple, build your “talent stack.” The people God wants you to reach very likely will be different than you. It’s also important to keep expanding your skills because our economy and world is changing so quickly. If you want to be able to support yourself while reaching the lost, you will need to stay in a permanent state of learning new skills. What kind of skills do you need to develop? Here are a few:

Spiritual Skills

1. Knowledge of the Bible. Read the entire Bible.

2. Ability to teach someone else the gospel. Know how to guide a seeker from initial interest to salvation.

3. Prayer. Ability to sit quietly and pray and meditate for thirty minutes straight

4. Fellowship. Ability to make new friends, set up Bible studies, encourage others and connect with people unlike yourself.

5. Speaking. Learn how to lead a small group discussion, speak in front of a church audience, teach a Bible class and preach a short lesson using scripture, stories and applications.

Life Skills

1. Money. Learn how to save and invest money. Refuse to live paycheck to paycheck.

2. Computer skills. Keep learning new skills. Never make the excuse that you’re too old or no good at technical stuff. Memorize this scripture in Philippians 4:13 (Jerusalem Bible), “There is nothing I cannot master with the help of the One who gives me strength.”

3. Entrepreneurship. Learn how to start a new business or side hustle. It can be real estate, window washing, dog walking or options. Keep looking for ways to be a “tent maker” like Paul was. He always had a way to support himself when church support dried up.

4. People skills. This is what I would consider to be the most important skill that often gets overlooked. Read the book, “How to Win Friends and Influence People.” Your way with people makes all the difference in your success or failure as a fruitful and effective disciple.

This unique gift of having a number of good, not great skills came in handy when I moved to Tokyo, Japan. I was asked to develop an International Ministry. This was anyone in Japan who wasn’t native Japanese. We started with a handful of “Gai-Jin” or foreigners and in a few years we had over 200 disciples from all over the world, Africa, Polynesia, Australia, England, The US, Canada, South America, China, Korea, Asia and Continental Europe. I think my interest in a broad array of people, things and interests, enabled God to use me to reach people from all over.

If you are a “unicorn,” a person gifted with a singular gift like Mozart or Einstein, congratulations and may God continue to bless you. If you are like the rest of us, having moderate or average gifting, take heart. You can live an amazing life. Cobble together your best skills and learn new ones to add to your collection. This set of talents unique to you only will set you apart and define you as fruitful and multiplying disciple.

Application

· What one new skill, if you learned it in the next six months, would make the biggest difference in your life?

· Take a first step toward learning that skill. Read a book, watch a YouTube video or go to a seminar to learn how to do it.

· What are your top three best skills currently? How can God use that “cocktail” of talents to build his kingdom?