The kind of person God uses

Heart for God, faithful, available and teachable…the pastor talked about these 3 things at a church service I attended last month.  He talked about how, if a person had these qualities, then he was a person God could use. 

I thought back to my years as a student and remembered how fearful and shy I was.  I was not in any way someone would identify as a leader!  I did want to be used by God, though, and was so happy to hear that a person who was usable by God simply needed to have a heart for Him and be faithful, available and teachable. 

I could not offer Him an out-going personality that drew people to Him, I was not a compelling evangelist, I was in no way a public speaker – in fact, I grew tongue-tied whenever I was called upon to answer a simple question in a discussion.   I had no skills, talents, gifts, abilities or anything else to offer that I thought God could use.  The only thing of ‘value’ I had to offer God was my heart for Him, and an attitude of faithfulness, availability and teach-ability.  And no one was more shocked than I when God started using me in ways beyond my imagination!  (I never, ever, ever would have imagined that I would be doing public speaking on a regular basis now and actually enjoying it!!!!!)

We often talk about these 4 qualities in knowing who to invest in for discipleship, but these are also great qualities in helping you know who to focus on in developing upcoming leaders.  How do you know if someone has these qualities?  Here are some good questions to ask:

 Heart for God

     Do they demonstrate a hunger to grow?      Are they reading the Word?  
     Are they having quiet times and showing a desire to get to know God? 
     Are they dealing with sin in their life that the Holy Spirit reveals to them?  
     Do they take advantage of opportunities to grow?

Faithful

• Do they follow through on things?
• Do they attend Bible Study consistently?
• Do they want to be a part of the ministry?

Available

• Do they have time to meet?
• Are other things drawing them away from being able to commitment to fulfilling responsibilities in ministry or getting together for discipleship?
• Are there other things that come up in their lives that take precedence over the ministry that you are involved in or in the process of discipleship?

Teachable

• Are they willing to learn new things?  (You can know if someone is teachable by how they respond to what you try to impart to them. If you get a response like, “Oh, yeah, I’ve heard that before,” “I know that,” or “I was taught that before,” that person may not be teachable. )
• Are they able to go over foundational things with an open mind willing to learn something new in a subject they have heard before?
• How do they respond to input that leads to personal growth in their life?  Do they accept it, appreciate it and take steps to grow or do they resist those observations and refuse to change?

Heart for God, an attitude of faithfulness, availability and teachability…these are important things to look for in a potential disciple, a potential leader and most importantly, things to develop in your own life.  There is no limit to what God can do through a person who demonstrates these qualities throughout their lives!