had the privilege of personally seeing thousands of ordinary ­people live out their Kingdom Purpose through their confident assurance in God. One of those ­people is John Baker — an ordinary man God has used in extraordinary ways. For many years, John battled an addiction to alcohol. It almost cost him his marriage, his family, and his life. Thankfully, John found God through his local church. That turning point led him to write his senior pastor a lengthy letter, outlining the vision for a ministry he believed God was nudging him to start. He also confessed his feelings of inadequacy about taking on such a task. Not long after, the pastor challenged John to go after his dream. The next year, John launched a new ministry called Celebrate Recovery, a biblical process to help ­people find freedom from addictions through the love and grace of Jesus Christ. For the next ten years, God used John to deliver hundreds of ­people from the grip of destructive lifestyles. In 2004, President George W. Bush publicly recognized John for bringing hope to hurting ­people. Today, Celebrate Recovery is an international ministry helping millions of ­people overcome painful pasts and harmful addictions through the merciful, powerful love of Jesus. If you were to meet John Baker, you would see an average guy who took everything God had made him to be — the positive as well as the painful — and chose to use it for God’s glory. With God’s help and leading, John has made and continues to make a kingdom difference by fulfilling his unique Kingdom Purpose. God is continually looking for ordinary ­people such as John who are willing to let him use them to make a difference for his kingdom. From business executives to bus drivers, from teachers to techies, from stayat-home moms to traveling musicians, from dentists to deli owners, God longs to use ordinary ­people in extraordinary ways. That includes you! Will you accept the challenge to find and carry out your Kingdom Purpose? Remember, the Bible says, “Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the L ord your God will be with you wherever you go” ( Joshua 1:9). With this encouragement, challenge yourself to invest in God’s kingdom in a way that will last long after you are gone. Be a contributor, not a consumer. For some ­people — like John Baker — that means trading in a career for a full-time ministry. For most of us, however, finding and 23

Experiences: Those parts of your past, both positive and painful, which God intends to use in great ways. Abilities: The set of talents God gave you when you were born, which he also wants you to use to make an impact for him. our day-to-day lives. In fact, he is smiling right now, rejoicing as you seek to discover the masterpiece you are to him. The Bible says, “For we are God’s masterpiece. He has created us anew in Christ Jesus, so that we can do the good things he planned for us long ago” (Ephesians 2:10, NLT). This verse helps us understand that if we want to discover our mission or purpose in life, we first need to look at the masterpiece God has made us to be. While self-help books tell you to look within, I’m saying the key to living the life you were meant to live is to look to God and ask him to help you discover your uniqueness. Once you discover who you are, then you can start figuring out what God has planned for you, the specific way he designed you to make a difference in the world for him. Another translation of Ephesians 2:10 uses the word workmanship to describe our uniqueness. It’s from the Greek word poiema, which literally means “work of art,” and is the root of our English word poem. You are a work of God — and nothing but the highest and best comes from his hand. Like the artist who takes scrap metal and turns it into an amazing sculpture, God takes our lives and fashions them into a masterpiece. S.H.A.P.E.: Finding & Fulfilling Your Unique Purpose for Life helps the reader pinpoint his or her own life direction. As this book is written from a Christian perspective, the life purposes center around how individuals can use their unique gifts and experiences to serve God's purpose while on earth. Nonetheless, I believe that the framework of the S.H.A.P.E. model would be equally useful for Non-Christian individuals in identifying and seeking their life purpose or even those of the general public looking for career advice.

Christian Living

From these passages, we can pull together a list of twenty spiritual gifts: Administration Apostleship Discernment Encouragement Evangelism Faith Giving Healing Helping Hospitality Filled with Scripture and real-life stories, S.H.A.P.E. presents a series of challenges that will guide you through the process of discovering your personal blend of: In addition, this inspiring guidebook utilizes the purpose of ministry outlined in The Purpose Driven Life to give you the tools to:

What Drives You? Because God is driving her life, Kay Warren is hoping to slow the pandemic of HIV/AIDS in the world. God is the ultimate driver of your life too — and you can experience the thrill of seeing him accomplish his best through you! The key is to discover the cravings the Creator has put in you; often they lie deep within your spirit and you’ve never before taken the time or effort to identify them. Listen for the whispers of secret prayers and desires, the deep yearnings in your life. Sadly, for many ­people, those passions go unexpressed, at least in terms of serving in the unique role God has for them. Ask yourself: • What do my dreams and desires drift toward? • What do I really want to do for God? • What motivates me to take action? • What do I crave? One passion that drives my life is helping ­people discover who God has created them to be. I live for that. This drive keeps me focused on fulfilling my specific Kingdom Purpose for God. Or consider Kimberly. Because she had always been a good listener, friends and family often remarked that she’d make a great counselor, and so she had seriously considered becoming a therapist. But after she became a Chris­tian, she wondered what God wanted her to do. That’s when a woman at her church encouraged her to consider serving God through counseling. Kimberly now uses her passion to reach out to — and care for — the ­peop He made you marvelously unique for a reason. In this eye-opening, empowering, and liberating book, Rees shows you how to uncover God's most powerful and effective means of advancing his kingdom on earth: your own irreplaceable, richly detailed personal design. Now about the gifts of the Spirit, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed. 1 Co­rin­thi­ans 12:1 (TNIV) Respond in faith. Identify two action steps you can take in the next month to unwrap your gifts and start using them with others. (Hint: Start by serving those closest to you!) 1. Your Kingdom Purpose is way more than a career. It is a special commissioning from God to make a significant difference on this earth. It’s the banner of your life that you carry and wave for God’s glory. Now don’t get me wrong, your career could provide you the platform to direct your Kingdom Purpose, but it doesn’t define it.A main take away for me is this point by Erik Rees: the key to spiritual transformation is meeting God in vulnerability – the inclination is to show presentable parts – that’s like going to the dentist and only showing him your good teeth. Trust God to meet our shame, weaknesses and sin with his love.

The fascinating thing to me is that literally everything God makes is unique—every human, animal, flower, tree, and every blade of grass. He didn’t clone anything. Even identical twins possess their own individual uniqueness. That ought to tell us that our individuality is a sacred trust—and what we do with it is our gift to God. Our best contribution in life—our utmost for his highest—can only be made as we allow God to finish his work in progress and perfect our uniqueness. To live without discovering our uniqueness is to not really live. I think God is heartbroken when his children miss out on the potential he has placed inside of them. ³ S.H.A.P.E. is a truly great book. Its one of those books you can tell was written by a true expert who has put his ideas into practice for years. His principles are tried, true, and they work - for everyone. I would highly recommend this book's material but I really think it would be better to go through this by using the group material they have with a group of friends. Here's why... Uncovering Your S.H.A.P.E. Interpretation: The God-given special ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by understanding, at a specific time, God’s message when spoken by another using a special language unknown to the others in attendance. ­People with this gift tend to . . . • Have a clear idea of what God is saying, even though the language used by the speaker is unknown to them at the specific time. • Be able to translate words and messages of God in a way that edifies, comforts, and exhorts believers. • Convey the meaning of sounds, words, and utterances that glorify God, made by others. h Yes h Maybe h No Knowledge: The God-given special ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by communicating God’s truth to others in a way that promotes justice, honesty, and understanding. ­People with this gift . . . • Devote much of their time to reading Scripture. • Love to share biblical insight. • Enjoy helping others increase their understanding of God’s Word. • Benefit from time spent in studying and researching Scripture. • Take delight in answering difficult questions about God’s Word. h Yes h Maybe h No Leadership: The God-given special ability to serve and strengthen the body of Christ by casting vision, stimulating spiritual growth, applying strategies, and achieving success where God’s purposes are concerned. ­People with this gift . . . • Exhibit a tendency toward huge visions for God and the ability to inspire others to work toward accomplishing those visions for his glory, and to bless others. • Are naturally drawn into leadership roles. • Find it easy to motivate ­people — both individually and in teams — to work together in achieving goals for God’s kingdom. • Naturally grasp the “big picture.” 42 Uncovering Your S.H.A.P.E. helps you determine where you might best use gifts, where you wish to serve, and whom you wish to serve. I want you to know, you are not alone in those feelings. As a pastor, I have worked with so many people who share the same longing. I have discovered that people truly want to be who God made them to be—and genuinely desire to do the work he is calling them to do. Most simply don’t have the tools to get there.Here God gives us a clear, beautiful picture to explain his relationship to us. He is the master craftsman; we are like clay in his hands. His role is to carefully shape us; ours is to remain pliable, allowing him to do so. It’s amazing how well the process works when we cooperate! As the prophet Isaiah emphasized: “And yet, Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We are all formed by your hand” (Isaiah 64:8, NLT). As we allow God’s hands to lovingly mold us, we submit ourselves to his purpose in creating us. God specially designs each of us for doing his will on earth. Each one of us is intentionally shaped to fulfill the specific 25 I’ve seen high school students gain permission to be who God has made them to be instead of what their friends and culture tell them to be. I have seen those in retirement find renewed purpose and vision for their life. The truth is, God made everyone and made everyone unique — and that includes you!