Gary McIntosh has
written an intriguing guest piece for Christianity
Today on the subject of the history of spiritual gifts profiles, and it raises a bigger question concerning the validity of new movements and
trends within Christendom.
Given a minute, you’ll
probably think of half a dozen examples of what McIntosh means by “spiritual
gifts profiles”. Books, seminars and platform ministry on the subject of gifts are
found everywhere these days. These attempt to inventory and describe each of
the spiritual gifts given to believers by the Holy Spirit of God with a view to
helping Christians recognize the gifts they’ve been given and use them more effectively
for God’s glory.
But McIntosh points out
that this level of attention to the gifts is a fairly recent phenomenon; perhaps
not quite big enough to refer to as a “movement”, but certainly a notable
trend.
And to some people
anything new is automatically suspect.