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As we're finishing up our training on the spiritual gifts and roles that are listed in Ephesians 4:11, it's important to answer the questions, "Can I have more than one Spiritual Gift mentioned in Ephesians 4?" "Is it possible to serve in multiple roles like an evangelist and a shepherd or any other combination?"

BASE GIFTING AND ROLE

Mike Breen in his book Building a Discipling Culture, says that it is possible to have two different roles or gifts. He uses the categories of a BASE GIFT and a PHASE GIFT.

He says "Each of us has a base ministry that represents one of the fivefold ministries in Ephesians. We believe that God gives us this ministry and it is ours for life. Hence we call this our "base ministry." However, there are also particular periods of time when God leads us to discover and understand the other ministries for a brief time. This is what we call our "phase ministries." We all have our base and at least one phase ministry at any given time."

I like that he says that we have a home "base" role and gifting and that ministry is ours for life. That particular role and gift never changes or goes away. It's the role that most energizes us and gives us a sense of purpose and fulfillment. When we are doing it, it feels less like work and more like doing what we were made for. Much like the runner in Chariots of Fire who said, "God made me fast, and when I run I feel his pleasure."

SUPPORT GIFTING AND ROLE

I would also add to Mike Breen's two categories of base and phase roles the third role of a "support" gift. I believe that many, if not all of us have a secondary gifting, that may not be as strong, but is still very noticeable in the way that we are able to serve the body of Christ. When our "base" and our "support" giftings combine, they help us uniquely fill the needs of the environment we find ourselves in.

Probably the most common pairing would be the teacher shepherd. They love to teach, but they love to create learning environments where people feel loved, connected, and a sense of belonging. Other pairings could look like a prophet shepherd. This person is discerning and able to detect someone who is dangerous to the community of God or is diligent about calling out sin that leads to division and destruction in the church. The idea is that the supporting gift makes the base gift that much more effective.

PHASE GIFTING AND ROLE

Mike Breen also mentions that there is a "phase" role and gifting that the Holy Spirit can empower us to fulfill as well. There may be a season where the mission of God needs us to step outside of our comfort zone and operate in a different role. This might happen for a number of reasons. One of those is like Breen said earlier, that it helps us "understand the other ministries." It becomes easier to appreciate something that someone else does well after doing it yourself for a period of time.

Another reason for this "phase" gifting is, you may find yourself in a place where a certain gift and role has not been exercised and the people you're serving need someone to show them what it looks like. So the Spirit guides you into another role that is not normal for you for the sake of teaching others.

Additionally, when we are moved into a phase role, it also helps us grow in appreciation and dependence on Jesus. When we operate solely in our strengths, we can get comfortable and start to believe we can accomplish the mission of Jesus on our own. Being taken into other roles and seeing God use us in ways that we know is not something we can do on our own, grows our love and appreciation for Jesus. It says God you can do immeasurably more than I can ask or imagine. I surrender, use me as you will.

**PUTTING IT ALL TOGETHER**
Here is a visual representation of what these three different types of giftings working together might look like. For example someone who has a base gifting of a Teacher, it would be the center and primary gifting.
Then the support gifting might be that of an apostle. It would be bigger than the others and would enable a teacher to expand the Kingdom of God into new places. This might look like a teacher who is excited about planting churches and training new pastors. They begin developing partnerships with church planting organizations and working with missions organizations to develop resources in foreign languages.
Then let's say that the church is in a season where people are falling through the cracks and not being cared for. The Spirit might move them into the phase gifting of shepherding. Then after six months after the teacher has been in that role, they return to their teaching gift and begin developing resources to train other shepherds. As they move into those phase gifts over time, they begin to get bigger and expand the capability of the teacher in the other gifting.

ALWAYS COME BACK HOME

Jesus wants to grow us in all five of these roles. We all need to learn to listen to the voice of God and call others to obedience like the prophets. We all need to be able to share the good news like the evangelists. We all need to help others feel loved and cared for like the shepherds. We all need to be able to teach others how to live wisely according to God's word. And we all need to be looking for ways to expand the kingdom of God like the Apostles. However, we are at our best when we are operating out of our base and support gifts. If we stay in a season of serving in our phase gifting for too long, it will lead to fatigue and burnout. We must always return back to the place we are most gifted.

God never intended any single person to do all of those things all the time. He intended for all Christians to play the part that they were created for. So as we spend time in those areas we will grow, but we must always return to our base and support giftings.

So, have you been able to identify your Base, Support, and Phase roles yet? What would your diagram look like?

Blank Diagram for use in conversations about your base, support, and phase roles you’ve experienced.

We have one last post in this series. If you'd like more information on APEST I would highly recommend Neil Coles book Primal Fire. And if you're looking for a deep dive, I also suggest Alan Hirsch's book 5Q. It's a dense read but well worth the time if you are able.

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