Finding your cutting edge

Where is that niche only you can fill?

I came across a fascinating article in this morning’s business section of The Times about the success of Toby Carvery. This is not an establishment I would normally frequent—except that one of our daughters, for some unaccountable reason, is a regular patron, and from time to time she takes us in tow.

The attraction is that you can pile your plate as high as you like with sprouts, carrots, mash and roast potatoes—everything, in fact, except the meat. That is strictly rationed to precisely 160 grams for each diner.

Apparently, each carver attends a day-long course to make sure that their cutting is precise. That is one of the keys to the chain’s profitability. Incredibly, the carvers are accurate to within five per cent.

I’ve noticed.

The secret is having knives which are quite literally on the cutting edge. And this is where the niche opportunity comes in. At least twice a week, Nella Cutlery Services comes in to replace all the knives with freshly sharpened ones. They take the old knives away, sharpen them and then repeat the process.

Apparently, Nella was founded 125 years ago by Emilio, an Italian immigrant who pushed his grindstone sharpener in a barrow around south London. It now supplies knives to 42,000 kitchens across the UK, charging between £2 and £3 each time a customer receives a freshly sharpened knife.

That is often the key to success: discovering a highly specialised niche which no one else has noticed—and then developing it.

And this applies just as much to the Christian life, to that particular ministry which perhaps only you can exercise.

For, as the apostle Paul teaches very clearly, we are all specialists in our own field. He writes:

“Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit, and there are varieties of services, but the same Lord; and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone.”  (1 Corinthians 12:4f)

The key, as he goes on to make clear, is this: “To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.”

In other words, every Christian has been given by the Holy Spirit a particular ministry, something which perhaps only they can do. There is a whole variety of gifts. The apostle lists some of them, but his list is by no means exhaustive.

So what is my ministry? Where is my niche?

As always, it is not so much a case of deciding what my ministry is as discovering it. After all, it is God’s Church, and his Holy Spirit will make sure that each of us knows our particular calling.

But how does he do this?

Sometimes it may be obvious from our own history. We may have developed a definite skill in one area of life which can readily be transferred into Christian ministry.

For example, a couple in our church had successfully run a town-centre coffee shop, and so they volunteered to start Café Vista in our newly opened Ministry Centre.

However, you have to be careful, because there is inevitably a different dynamic in the Kingdom of God which is not always obvious.

In this case, for example, they were working with volunteers rather than paid employees. There was much in common, of course, but nevertheless they needed a rather different approach.

Another route to finding out niche is being asked. Often we discover our particular ministry because we are asked by the church leadership, or through the prompting of our friends. Other people can sometimes see qualities in us which we cannot see in ourselves.

However, there is another important way in which we may discover our particular niche, and it may come as something of a surprise.

It is when we complain, when we find ourselves saying, “Someone should do something about this!”

We have seen something which troubles us, perhaps even outrages us. But here the Holy Spirit is at work, causing us to notice an opportunity or a failing which no one else considers significant.

And guess who God may have lined up to fill that gap?

I can recall several occasions when a church member came to me, asking me as the vicar to sort something out or take a particular initiative—only to realise halfway through the conversation that this was God’s call to them.

It is always risky complaining to a vicar.

God may already have given you the experience, the gifts and the opportunity to make a difference. You may not feel especially qualified, but most Christian ministries begin not with confidence but with obedience.

The challenge is whether you will do the one thing God has placed before you. Your niche may be small, unnoticed and highly specialised. But in the hands of God, even the smallest ministry can become cutting edge.