The Monday After • Jan 12, 2026
When God Gifts Someone Else
Darren Carlson
There are many people in my life who are simply better than I am at many things. They communicate more clearly. They lead more naturally. People listen to them more easily. We all have people like this in our lives.
And let's be honest. Sometimes the most natural response is not to admire them but instead to be threatened by them.
So what should we do with them?
The Corinthian church had a "favorite preacher" problem. Some were lining up behind Paul, others behind Apollos—turning gifts into competition and ministry into a popularity contest (see 1 Corinthians 1:12; 3:4).
If anyone would have been tempted to protect his platform, it would have been Paul. And yet, when we get to the end of the letter, we see something quietly stunning.
Paul actively encourages Apollos to return to Corinth and minister there (1 Corinthians 16:12). Even though Apollos is hesitant at the moment, Paul isn't. Paul isn't trying to keep Apollos away from "his" people. He isn't managing the optics. He's not insecure about comparisons.
He's secure enough in Christ to say, in effect: "Corinth needs your gifts. Go serve them."
That is a rare kind of leadership—and a deeply Christian kind.
A church doesn't belong to the leader; it belongs to Christ. And gifts aren't trophies; they're tools. Paul already told them, "What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants... I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth" (1 Corinthians 3:5–6).
In other words, if someone is "better," that's not a threat—it's God's provision. And if people prefer them, that's not your funeral—it may be God's kindness to the church.
Your worth isn't measured by being the best—it's secured by belonging to Christ. So when someone comes along whom God has gifted, don't sideline them, but recommend them. The goal isn't that people notice you. The goal is that people encounter Christ, grow, and flourish.
Sometimes God answers that prayer through someone with stronger gifts than you.
My friend Matt helped plant an Afghan church. As you might guess from his name, Matt isn't Afghan—nor were any of the others who helped launch the church. But from the very beginning, their goal wasn't to hold on to power; it was to serve.
As the church grew, Matt and his team stayed focused on one thing: raising up Afghan leaders who could one day take the reins. And they did.
Ahmad and Ali were among the men they discipled. In time, Matt and his team laid hands on Ahmad and commissioned him as pastor. Eventually, Ahmad raised up other leaders too. I met them one Wednesday afternoon at their "servants' Bible study"—a weekly gathering for the church's leadership. Everyone in the room but me was Afghan.
And Matt? He now serves under Ahmad, taking direction from the very leaders he once trained.
There are a lot of books on leadership out there. This is a good one.
Thanks for checking in.
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