What's missing in the spiritual gifts inventory?

We completed a spiritual gifts inventory this weekend in our services. Some may have noticed that a couple of spiritual gifts were missing, namely tongues and interpretation of tongues. We don't include those in our inventories because we don't need that information when it comes to helping people find a ministry role that fits their S.H.A.P.E.

Here's how we explain it in our Next Step seminar which helps get people on our ministry team:

The primary purpose of this inventory in Next Step is to help us place you in a ministry that fits your Servant Profile [that's another way of referring to S.H.A.P.E.] The gifts of tongues and interpretation of tongues are not essential to this purpose, so they are omitted from the inventory.

Many people want to know what our position is on tongues and interpretation of tongues. The use of tongues is discouraged in our worship services because of the size and nature of our services and because of the variety of evangelical traditions represented in our services. While we have much in common with "charismatic, evangelical" churches, Five Oaks members come predominantly from "non-charismatic, evangelical" churches. At Five Oaks we believe that tongues and interpretation of tongues are gifts operable today, but we ask that these gifts be used in personal worship times (1 Corinthians 14:4). In some circumstances, they be appropriate in a small group--if it is not divisive, if interpretation follows and if the group is in agreement on its practice.

I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. But in a church meeting I would much rather speak five understandable words that will help others than ten thousand words in an unknown language. (1 Corinthians 14:18-19)