The Rev. Mark D. Roberts has been blogging a series about spiritual gifts in the Body of Christ. For those of you unfamiliar with who he is, Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifacted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas.

About the series, Roberts writes: Little is more important for the health and growth of the body of Christ than the power of the Holy Spirit manifested in what we call spiritual gifts. Through such bits of grace, the Spirit builds the body of Christ. In fact, it wouldn’t be too far off the mark to say that the Holy Spirit is a bodybuilder. … Like a committed bodybuilder, the Spirit invests years–indeed, millennia–of effort to help the church grow to perfection. Of course ultimate perfection won’t come this side of the eschaton. But, in the meanwhile, the Spirit molds the church, using members of the church–people like you and me–in the process.

HT: Andrew Jackson