Stewardship Presentation “Living your Strengths”

Theology of Strength  Genesis 1:27, 31a  “God crated man in his image; in the divine image he created him; male and female he created them “God looked at everything he had made, and found it be very good.”  1 Corinthians 12: 4-7  “ There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same spirit; there are different forms of service, but the same Lord; there are different workings, but the same God who produces all of them in everyone. To each individual, the manifestation of the spirits is given for some benefit.”

Weakness Prevention Model  How often have we thought that to be successful we must fix our weaknesses?  Some may have even been told that their talents and strengths are a source of sinful pride?  Do we need to develop our areas of non-talent to be successful?  The answer is “No”!!! We will be most successful by strengthening our greatest natural abilities (talents) in gratitude to God for making us uniquely who we are.

A Catholic Prospective “Respect for Life”  Catholics believe in the value of each soul created at conception.  That we are all created in a divine image.  That the baptized have the potential to become a priestly people. That each person has a right to know who they really are, to understand what is good about them and the others who make up the Church.  That God did makes us all uniquely special, one of a kind.  That we each have a unique calling (Stewardship) to use our talents to do and be our part of the body of Christ (Church).

Gallup’s Catholic Edition  Forty years of research on Dr. Donald Clifton’s belief that there are patterns in the talents that God gives people from birth.  Research on millions of people led to Clifton’s Strengths Finder online tool that reveals your top five themes of talent -- your Signature Themes.  Gallup published the Catholic Edition in 2003, 2006 and 2008, believing that this tool could be effective in helping create Strengths-based parishes where revitalization could occur through respect and encouragement of the laity’s giftedness.

Creating Strength-Based Parishes 1. Pastor, staff and Councils take Clifton Strengths finder assessment and print out their top five Signature Themes. 2. Everyone needs a Coach: Arrange follow-up sessions with trained Strength Coach who will coach staff and train future parish coaches. 3. Assemble small faith sharing groups who will take assessment and attend several biweekly meetings for coaching and ministry identification. 4. Promote laity engagement by monthly featuring one of the 34 talents with posters, bulletin announcements, Scripture associations and witness speakers.

Strengths Coaching 1. Samples of 34 Talents: Developer -- Recognize and Cultivate the Potential in Others. Positivity -- Have an Enthusiasm that is Contagious. Woo -- Love the Challenge of Meeting New People and Winning Them Over. 2. How well does the assessment describe you individually? 3. Describe your identified talents in your own words. 4. Of all things you do well, what two things do you do best? 5. What positive feedback have you received that you can associate with your God given gifts? 6. What are your biggest day to day frustrations?