Unique Gifts Make Winning Teams - Session 4 - My Gifts, Talents and Maturity Level Make a Difference

Main ideas & concepts

• Purpose of the session: Mark Virkler introduces how to understand one’s heart motivations, explaining that gifts, talents, and maturity/ministry level shape how people function.
• Core “five heart motivations” (main categories of inner drives):
  1. Apostle: wants all parts to be present and functioning together in harmony.
  2. Prophet: senses what the Spirit is saying and releases it for the present moment.
  3. Evangelist: wants to win people over to the good news being shared.
  4. Pastor: wants to love people and help heal them.
  5. Teacher: wants to teach others.
• Where these motivations apply: They can operate
  • inside a Sunday morning service
  • in the workplace
  • and even in everyday street contexts (with examples such as CEO, salesperson, personnel manager, trainer, etc.).

Methodology: “Gifted to Succeed” profiles (how to assess yourself)

The speaker says the book Gifted to Succeed includes seven profiles to identify gifts, talents, and ministry level (and how they influence where you function best). He recommends taking them and using the results for direction and growth.

The heart-motivational profile (first)

• What it does: asks questions; you answer them.
• Output: a summary score; your highest number indicates your primary heart passion (e.g., apostle or teacher).
• How to use it: use the dominant score to guide where you should be functioning and focusing.

Other profiles included in the seven (explained)

• Personality/temperament profile

  • measures introvert vs. extrovert
  • scale example: 0 in the center suggests a person can go either way (comfort varies by context)

• Thinker vs. feeler

  • the speaker describes themselves as more of a Thinker

• Organizer vs. flow-oriented

  • the speaker describes themselves as more on the organizing side

• Left vs. right hemisphere brain profile

  • tests whether you lean more thinking (left-brain) or more intuitive/visionary (right-brain)
  • an example is given where one person is nearly balanced, while another is more thinking-oriented

Four additional profiles

• Spiritual fruitfulness profile

  • asks how well someone meets elder qualifications
  • checked on a scale (e.g., 1–5)

• Bible awareness profile

  • asks questions to estimate how much of the Bible is “in your heart” (as framed by the speaker)

• Spiritual gifts profile

  • asks how often someone manifests nine manifestations of the Holy Spirit
  • examples mentioned: word of wisdom, word of knowledge, discerning of spirits (and refers generally to the other manifestations)

• Spiritual advisors profile

  • assesses whether someone has spiritual advisors in place
  • motivation: wisdom and safety come from having a multitude of counselors
  • Suggested team structure: avoid having “five teachers” on a team; instead:
    • have one person whose primary heart motivation matches the need
    • and add other members with complementary heart motivations

Validity and limitations of the assessments

• Age/maturity matters:

  • if someone is a new believer, results may be less stable than after years of experience

• Church background affects scores:

  • environments of legalism or restrictive practice can prevent people from “flapping their wings,” skewing results

• Past experiences and healing state:

  • hurt/burnout can create emotional shielding, reducing openness and impacting scores (especially heart motivation)

• Honesty in answering:

  • if someone intentionally answers to match what they “should” score, the results become less accurate

Hindrances to heart motivations flowing freely (causes of distorted expression)

• Cultural limitations / stereotypes (example given):

  • a culture or church teaching that certain roles (e.g., women teaching) are forbidden can block development and distort scores
  • the speaker references Priscilla and Aquilla, noting Priscilla’s name is mentioned first, suggesting she was a strong teacher

• Lack of a role model:

  • without someone visibly living the desired calling, growth can stall

• Family system pressure:

  • if a person’s heart motivation conflicts with family expectations, confidence may be lost and the person can become “crushed” until freed

• Lack of focus / inner desire:

  • if someone feels passion/desire is missing, the speaker frames this as possibly being crushed/damaged, requiring inner healing and deliverance (including prayer and tongues, as stated)

Theological emphasis: gifts and calling remain

• Romans 11:29: the gifts and calling of God are irrevocable.
• The speaker argues that even if someone detours into sin, the gift/calling still remains—it can be buried or delayed, but not removed.
• God can give revelation even in non-perfect situations (examples mentioned: Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar).

Suggested reflection activity (journaling)

After taking the profiles, the speaker provides a journaling prompt:

• Prompt 1: “Lord, what do you want to speak to me concerning the revelations you’ve shown me as I went through these different profiles?”
• Prompt 2: “Are there adjustments you would like me to make or things you would like me to focus on right now?”

Guidance on learning new focus

• The speaker notes that (often in January) God gives a new focus.
• Even if the focus feels challenging, the advice is to respond with “yes,” learn it, and trust that:
  • God will anoint you to become skilled
  • and it will become fun once competence is developed

Closing / next steps

• Take the profiles, journal, then return for the next session where Mark will go deeper into the five heart motivations.

Speakers / sources featured

• Speaker: Mark Virkler
• Source referenced: The book Gifted to Succeed
• Bible reference: Romans 11:29
• Bible examples mentioned: Pharaoh, Nebuchadnezzar, Priscilla and Aquilla
• Other biblical concept referenced: “multitude of counselors” (counselors/wisdom/safety theme; exact verse not provided)
• Other referenced entity: Holy Spirit / manifestations of the Holy Spirit (e.g., word of wisdom, word of knowledge, discerning of spirits)