Discover Your Gifts: Celebrating How God Made You and Everyone You Know

by Don Everts

You have gifts! And you are a gift to the world around you. Because every human is fearfully and wonderfully made, each one of us has something to offer to the world. But we have not always identified or developed our gifts well, nor deployed them effectively. Don Everts explores the gifts God has given every person and what new research reveals about the difference those gifts can make for us, our churches, and our communities. Churches have unfortunately focused mostly on spiritual gifts and vocations within the church. But we don't always recognize the wide range of abilities, skills, and aptitudes that all of us have, whether civic, artistic, or entrepreneurial. We each have God-given gifts and are called by God to use them in our vocations in the world. Discover how our gifts are a blessing to others and pave the way for reconnecting with our surrounding communities.

Genres: Faith

192 pages, Hardcover

Published May 10, 2022

About the author

Don Everts began writing while spending nearly two decades on college campuses in Washington and Colorado. He wrote his first book, Jesus with Dirty Feet, as a 25 year-old who had just gotten married and moved to Boulder, CO.

Since then Don has published 12 books with InterVarsity Press and is currently mulling over writing an uplifting zombie novel.

Having finally gotten off the college campus, Don is serving as a minister at a nearly 200 year-old Presbyterian Church outside of St. Louis, MO.

Reviews

[David Burton · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don Everts' Discover Your Gifts: Celebrating How God Made You and Everyone You Know is an insightful and inspiring exploration of the unique talents and abilities bestowed upon each individual by God. Everts delves into the diverse range of gifts that people possess, emphasizing their significance not only within the church but also in everyday life. The book encourages readers to recognize, develop, and utilize their God-given gifts to serve others and glorify God.

Three Lessons from the Book

Broadening the Understanding of Gifts

Everts challenges the traditional focus on spiritual gifts within the church context, urging readers to appreciate a wider spectrum of abilities, skills, and aptitudes. He emphasizes that gifts are not limited to those that serve within the church but also include talents that can be utilized in various aspects of life, such as civic, artistic, or entrepreneurial endeavors. This broader perspective allows individuals to see their everyday skills as valuable contributions to God's work in the world.

The Importance of Identifying and Developing Gifts

The author highlights the necessity of self-awareness in recognizing one's gifts. He provides practical guidance on how to identify these talents and encourages readers to invest time and effort in developing them. Everts suggests that understanding and honing our gifts not only leads to personal fulfillment but also equips us to better serve our communities and fulfill our God-given purposes.

Utilizing Gifts for the Common Good

Everts underscores that our gifts are meant to be shared for the benefit of others. He writes, "We each have God-given gifts and are called by God to use them in our vocations in the world." This perspective encourages readers to look beyond personal gain and consider how their unique abilities can contribute to the well-being of their neighbors, communities, and the broader world.

Positive Observation

One of the book's notable strengths is its inclusivity. Everts emphasizes that every person possesses unique gifts, regardless of their role within the church or society. This inclusive approach empowers readers from all walks of life to recognize their value and potential impact, fostering a sense of purpose and belonging.

Negative Observation

While Discover Your Gifts offers valuable insights, some readers may find that the book could provide more detailed strategies for implementing one's gifts in practical settings. Additional real-life examples or case studies illustrating how individuals have successfully applied their gifts in various contexts could enhance the book's practical applicability.

Conclusion

Discover Your Gifts is a thought-provoking and encouraging read that invites individuals to explore and celebrate the unique talents endowed by God. Everts' emphasis on a broad understanding of gifts, coupled with practical advice on identifying and developing these abilities, makes this book a valuable resource for anyone seeking to understand their purpose and contribute meaningfully to their communities. By recognizing and utilizing our diverse gifts, we can honor God and make a positive impact in the world around us.

[Panda Incognito · Rating 4 out of 5]

This concise book shares practical advice for how Christians can better understand their gifts and use them to bless others. Don Everts encourages Christians to avoid an overly narrow focus on spiritual gifts, and to also consider other aptitudes, talents, and skills. He challenges churches to foster a broad understanding of talents in their community, instead of only focusing on gifts that benefit the church, and he beautifully summarizes some of Martin Luther's teachings about vocation and the value of everyday, ordinary work. Everts encourages his readers to value a wide range of different gifts, seeing themselves and others as creations of God that have gifts to bring to the world.

One of the unique elements of this book is its connection to Barna research. Everts explains twelve categories of gifts, and he includes data from survey results where people shared their thoughts about gifting. For example, this includes statistics about people's current knowledge of their gifts, interest in further developing their gifts, and ideas about what their talents are for. Sometimes, I felt that there were too many charts and graphs interrupting the flow of the book, but the research data gives additional context beyond Everts's anecdotal experience and can help church leaders develop plans for fostering gift evaluations and mentoring relationships in their communities.

Everts shares both data and vivid personal stories to support his claims, and his writing can encourage Christians to revisit their understanding of personal talents and better engage with their churches to create an environment where everyone can grow, share their gifts, and take part in what God is doing inside and outside of the church. Everts directs some of his thoughts to church leaders and others to church members, and this book can be beneficial for a wide audience. It would also be an excellent choice for a church book club, especially if readers take the free online gift assessment together and discuss their thoughts and findings throughout the reading process.

I received a free copy from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a quick but thoughtful read. I took time to journal as I went through it. There's a self-assessment tool and website with resources available as well. You learn to see the strengths of others and then turn it around and find them in yourself so you can utilize your own skills to the best of your ability.

[Ryan · Rating 5 out of 5]

As with most of the books I've ready this summer this one has circumvented my expectations going into it in the best way possible. Similar to "Enduring Friendships" going in with the idea it's going to give practical advice on how to handle discovering and learning about your gifts and the things you are able to do, given to you by God, it instead becomes a way of looking at yourself as a gift and how it is that those gifts you do have are part of the body of believers in how they interact with others gifts.

I don't want to spoil to much, but do think it necessary to tell you that if you're looking to read this book as a revelation of sorts, to finally understand yourself, you will be severely disappointed. Instead, it will take you on a journey to help you understand what you already, whether you know it or not, know about yourself. This will then give you the tools to help understand the gift that is other people around you and how to view them as the gifts that God has given you to help accomplish the work of the Kingdom that he has set before us.

The quiz you will take near the beginning of the book will feel like one of those magazine quizzes, but that's okay. It's simple for a reason. You already know what your gifts are, the question is are you willing to give up the preconceived notion of what you WISH your gifts were. Not everyone is called to the same area, time to start seeing everyone and everything as a gift.