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Real Talk with Rachael Podcast


Apr 21, 2021

This week on Real Talk with Rachael I'm talking with Dr. Irini Fambro. She's is a wife and mother, teacher and student, speaker and listener. She and her high school love, Kenneth, have two children: Kalila and Kenneth. Irini's passion is to increase the contributions within organizations through valuing a greater definition of intelligence. Out of that desire, Intelligent Leadership was birthed from her dissertation work on Multiple Intelligence in leadership. Her experience includes a BS in Business Administration with a concentration in management from The University of Alabama, was ordained through the Wesleyan Church, and gained her Masters of Divinity from Beeson Divinity School while being a youth pastor for five years. Following that season, she became a college pastor, curriculum development contributor, and wrote Made for More. She completed her Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership with a concentration in Ecclesial from Regent University. Currently, she consults into churches on Intelligent Leadership content, teaches at TKU, as well as preaches at churches.

Key Points from Our Conversation:

  • "Gifts are an expression of a partnership with God."
  • Our identity is not based on our gifts. When we separate the two, God protects our identity which is based on who He says we are.
  • "God wants to partner with you, not use you."
  • When we say God wants to "use" us, it begins to reflect that He's okay with things happening as a means to win more people.
  • It doesn’t honor God give Him all the credit and cut ourselves out of the equation. It implies that we’re disposable to Him and that if He doesn’t use us, He’ll just use someone else. What we fail to do creates a spiritual consequence on earth.
  • “Are things really getting worse or have we stepped back from the places we’re supposed to own?”
  • Personality is an expression of who we are, but it’s not our identity. How you express who you are is different and how we get to express our gifts gets to be different. You rob the world of what you’re supposed to bring when you mimic others. God designed you intentionally.
  • Healing comes in layers. When you find yourself facing the same thing over and over, be intentional to observe what’s happening around the situation. Ask what else God wants to show you to heal another layer.
  • “Walking in your gift is an expression of your partnership with God.”
  • We can become so confident in our gift that we stop consulting God on what He’s trying to partner with us to accomplish. You’ll know you're using your gift in an unhealthy way if it’s not for the other person’s benefit or it doesn’t produce good fruit.

An Overview of 3 Categories of Gifts:

Gifts of Jesus - In Ephesians 4:7-16 are the five supernatural grace gifts that Jesus appointed, often called the five-fold ministry:

  1. Apostles
  2. Prophets
  3. Teachers
  4. Pastors (Shepherds)
  5. Evangelists

Gifts of God’s Grace - The next set are the gifts of God and are found in Romans 12:6-8.

  1. Prophesy
  2. Serving
  3. Teaching
  4. Encouragement
  5. Giving
  6. Leadership
  7. Compassion (Mercy)

Gifts of the Holy Spirit - The third group is called the gifts of the Holy Spirit found in I Corinthians 12:8-10 and I Corinthians 12:27-28

  1. Word of Wisdom
  2. Word of Revelation Knowledge
  3. Gift of Faith
  4. Gifts of Healing
  5. Power to Work Miracles
  6. Gift of Prophecy
  7. A gift to discern what the Spirit is speaking
  8. Gift of speaking different kinds of tongues
  9. Gift of the interpretation of tongues

Let’s Get Real Practical:

This Let's Get Real Practical section is an exercise to explore your spiritual gifts, but before I address that, I want you to answer these two questions -

What did God speak to you about your views of being used by Him?
Have you mistaken your gifts for your identity?

Once you've determined that, ask what areas, topics, regions, or people are you drawn to?
What areas give you life?
What areas of your life are you seeing fruit?
What areas do you give the most time?
Is there peace or fulfillment when you operate in that area?

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Connect with Irini: website | Instagram | Facebook
Connect with Rachael: website | Instagram | Facebook