Many organisations today are concerned with how to attract, engage and retain talented people. This is because most recent research shows that people who are both talented and engaged typically contribute most to an organisation’s success. People who are talented in this sense are those with high potential who are not only knowledgeable and skilful but have the ability to learn quickly and apply what they bring to fresh, challenging and changing circumstances. People who are engaged in this sense tend to be prepared to go the extra mile, can’t imagine wanting to leave and instinctively encourage others to join in.
Similarly, the church has historically sought to nurture and sustain high levels of engagement – with God and the church in the context of wider community. These things are at the heart of what we might describe as Christian commitment. The church’s view of talent has been, however, similar in some ways and different in others. On the one hand, Christians believe that everyone has particular God-given gifts and talents that should be invested for kingdom purposes (e.g. Mt 25) and on the other, that everyone is valuable – i.e. not just those with ‘high potential’ in a utilitarian sense – and should be honoured as such (e.g. 1 Cor 12).
Churches and Christian organisations alike have struggled with some of the practical challenges this latter tension creates, especially when operating with strong mission mandates, trying to apply professional standards and having to compete with others for scarce resources. The tension is particularly acute when we depend on volunteers with a variety of motivations and a relative ease to leave. The question becomes how to get the job done well through people whilst, at the same time, valuing everyone’s contribution, keeping the right people involved in the right ways and helping release God-given potential.
