Paul begins chapter 12 by saying, "Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be uninformed" (1 Corinthians 12:1).¹

By all accounts, the Corinthians had a full measure of the Spirit's power. Prophecy, speaking in tongues, and the interpretation of tongues, knowledge: the Corinthians had them all and more. Yet they also had conflict, immorality, and thoughtless disregard for one another. How could they know something was a gift of the Spirit and not merely self-indulgence? Throughout this chapter and the next, Paul teaches on the topic of how to discern God's work in the activation of various gifts and how to value one's brothers and sisters in Christ across that variety.

What is God up to? My colleagues in the field of congregational mission and leadership regard this question as the central one for Christian public leaders: "What is God doing in this place?" What is God doing in the church, in the neighborhood, in the lives of people within the fold of the congregation and the lives of those beyond it?

Sometimes congregations have never asked questions about their reason for being in this way. Other ...