Logo

 

Banner Image:   Baptist-Times-banner-2000x370-
Template Mode:   Baptist Times
Icon
    Post     Tweet

The Presents of God by Mark Stibbe 

A good starting place for someone enquiring about spiritual gifts

Presents of God250The Presents of God (Discovering your spiritual gifts: a practical guide)
By: Mark Stibbe
Publisher: Authentic
ISBN No: 978-1-86024-862-7
Reviewed By: Jeannie Kendall

Like, I suspect, others may, I initially misread the title as “The presence of God”. This was not as far out as might be anticipated, since an underlying premise of Mark Stibbe’s book is that the gifts of the Spirit are a tangible sign of the presence of God.

The outline of the book is simple: taking the nine gifts mentioned in 1 Corinthians 12, Mark gives a chapter to each, blending anecdote, explanation, and practical challenge: each chapter ends with the question “What am I going to do as a result of what I’ve learned in this chapter?”. In addition each chapter has boxes for the reader to fill in parts of their story or response to what they are reading.

There is helpful background here about the original language without becoming a dry academic thesis, in what is an accessible and in many ways simple book. Themes from other books he has written (such as God as Father) will be familiar to those who know his writings, and he has done well in capturing the feel of a generous God wanting to give gifts to his children. His practical suggestions serve to demystify the gifts without detracting that these are from God and His to bestow.

Not everyone (particularly cessationists!) will agree with all his theology, but presumably would not want to read the book! Occasionally I wished for stories that I could identify with more, or more examples of the gifts in use in the Bible.

I’d never come across his view on interpreting tongues (that it must always be adoration rather than prophetic in nature) and was not completely convinced by his argument.

However as a starting place for someone enquiring about spiritual gifts, it is definitely an excellent place to begin.

 

Jeannie is co-minister of Carshalton Beeches Baptist Church, a former visiting lecturer at Spurgeon’s College and a District Minister in the London Baptist Association

Baptist Times, 31/07/2015
    Post     Tweet
Black Liturgies: Prayers, Poems, and Meditations for Staying Human, by Cole Arthur Riley
'Cole Arthur Riley’s writing offers up a voice from the margins which speaks into our wrestling with embodiment, with the wonder of being human, and the aches of trauma - a gift to anybody, and especially any worship leader'
Blessed be God: a book of blessings and resources to write your own, by Ruth Burgess
'This book will be an excellent resource for those leading services, but also for all who wish to bless others or indeed themselves and those closest to them'
Reimagining the Landscape of Faith, by Mary and Charles Hipplsey
'An excellent practical tool for ways of developing faith when life is going normally, and also handling faith when the moral and spiritual battles of life threaten to overwhelm us and sink the ship'
Reading Genesis by Marilynne Robinson
'Brings her unique experiences as a novelist to bear on the nature of the text, while sharing her insights as a female writer on the importance of women'
Giving the Church, by Michael Moynagh
Giving the Church is a comprehensive critique of how the church at large presents itself to contemporary society
A Handful of Pennies, by Afaf Musallam
This Palestinian Christian Arab woman’s long journey searching for identity and peace works on several levels
    Posted: 21/03/2025
    Posted: 04/10/2024
     
    Text Size:  
    Small (Default)
    Medium
    Large
    Contrast:  
    Normal
    High Contrast