Continuing: Twenty-Five Ways To Lose Your Passion For Ministry [1]

AND HOW TO GET IT BACK!

by Thomas F. Fischer

A Passion For The Wrong Things

A major part of the reason for passion problems is that we are passionate for the wrong
things. In fact, passion for things is a mis-guided, idolatrous passion. It’s a
passion which exalts self over others, elevates one’s own lordship by usurping
Christ’s Lordship, prioritizes controlling the results, desires and requires
expansive powers, and is always struggling with the anxiety of the "how can I do it
better next year" issue.

Christian passion is founded on—and is a natural extension of— those things
which are the essentials of faith. Christian passion is evidenced in use of the fruits of
the Spirit.

Christian passion is constantly energized by a spirituality founded and rooted in grace
alone. The only external which energizes and maintains Christian passion is the historical
reality of a manger, a cross, an empty tomb, and God’s means of grace which testifies
to the powerful working of God.

Passion endures through suffering, the unexpected, and failures and successes and is
powered by an unshakable certainty of faith. This hope, so essential to Christian
character, "does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our
hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. You see, at just the right time, when we
were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly" (Romans 5:5-6 NIV).

That’s the basis of Christian character. Just when we are weak, feeble, powerless,
and "anesthetized" to everything around us and in us, Christ pours out his love
into our hearts again to give us the only lasting basis of passion: the reminder that He
died for the powerless. Most importantly He gave this grace at "just the right
time." He still gives it to us at "just the right time."

It is this daily strength for our powerlessness that gives us a passion which
supersedes the need for any other worldly external basis for our passion. Unfortunately,
worldly externalities such as approval, success, material gain, temptations to vain-glory,
self-exaltation, adoration from the crowds may have all but destroyed the inner passion of
grace. Without the internal grace-base we forfeit the only enduring base of Christian
passion for public ministry and our personal relationship with Christ.

Passion Means Relationship

Perhaps one of the biggest deceptions in Christianity today is that passion has been
removed from its indigenous relational roots. Leadership literature, secular and
Christian, speaks of having a passion for the organization, for the task, for the results,
and for the vision.

Unfortunately, this often overlooks the most important aspect of passion. Passion is
always relational. It is relationship based. There is no passion without relationship.
Passion requires an object. Passion is focused on a specific person or thing. In return,
the one demonstrating passion is energized by that person or thing. The more completely,
specifically, and precisely that object of passion is known, the stronger and more
impelling the passion is. Indeed, such passion holds the passionate one captive in
relationship.

Passion also implies a connection to the a person or thing. This identification of
relationship is such that passion creates a radically unique un-differentiation of self.
As passion for someone or something intensifies, the greater we lose ourselves and our own
identity. In our most passionate moments, we assume the characteristics of that person. We
become one with it, mutual in all our doings and dependent upon it to the point that if
the object of passion were removed, we might die.

Without this passionate connection, life itself would lose meaning. Passion always
requires that one gives up their life and sells their soul. Christian passion is nothing
less than giving up ones life and sacrificing one’s soul to the One who did that for
us first. Those with a weak, externally based passion have not done it. They minister from
a self-destruct base of passion.

Those whose passion is rooted exclusively in Christ are characterized by a powerful
passion rooted in genuine, Christ-centered spiritual character. It moves forth boldly and
passionately in every ministry situation regardless of the externals.

What A Great Way To Live!

In his book, What A Way To Live, Tony Evans described a woman who struggled with being
unhappy. She had tried all kinds of things to make her happy. Support groups, taking up
new hobbies, getting new friends, etc. She even tried weight reduction plans thinking if
she looked better she’d feel better about herself. All this was to no avail. Finally,
her wrestlings led her to seek ongoing consultation with her pastor.

After several months of bi-weekly consultations, she came to her pastor looking
uncharacteristically happy and radiant. "You look so wonderful!" the pastor
rejoiced. "What did you do? What was it that worked? Tell me, was it a program or a
plan that finally helped you?" the pastor asked. "It was not any plan," she
replied. "I’ve found a man!"

Our Greatest Ministry Passion: "A Man"

Your greatest ministry passion should not be your church. It should not be your
evangelism program, your youth outreach, your ministry goals, your ministry to children,
the building program, or the like. Neither should your passion be your career ladder, your
concern for greater recognition, power, influence, et al.

As Christians our passion is a Man, Jesus Christ. Our passion is rooted in His power,
His vision, His calling for us. Our passion is fueled by His "right-time" grace
in our weakness.

Insofar as we adopt a passion which is not based on the all-important passionate
relationship to Christ, our passion will destroy us…quickly, certainly and absolutely.

Whose Ministry Is It?

As soon as a ministry becomes "Pastor So-And-So’s" or another
leader’s ministry, a fine line is about to be crossed. It won’t be admitted. It
won’t be confessed. But it’s there. It’s the line of idolatry and
self-worship. To the degree the church, program or ministry can’t do without you is
the degree to which the threat of this perhaps already realized idolatry has occurred.

Destructive Passion

To the degree to which we have an externally-driven passion for people or
things—even godly things—we risk falling into a most unhealthy undifferentiated
state of being. When we are identified by our doings, our accomplishments, our ministries,
it may be an indicator that our passion for the Man has suffered at the hand of our
passion for the things of man, i.e. our programs, our ministries, et al.

This kind of passion is destructive. Since it’s based on the externalities of the
Law, it does not give life. It can’t give life. It can’t receive or convey
Christ’s power. It may make you feel good. It may make you feel important and
successful. It may give you a momentary or short-term rush. It may get you attention,
raises, accolades and advancements. But that’s only because they’ve worked.

Even worse would be to consider that perhaps the reason they worked was because they
attracted others with the same mis-focused passion with which you minister. If these
programs and initiatives fail, so have you. The resulting failures from that for which you
have been so passionate about make you feel you are a failure…a passionate failure.

How Jesus Developed Passion

Howard Hendricks said, "If you want others to bleed, you must hemorrhage."
This is perhaps the most profound non-Biblical statement of passion we can encounter. It
is profound because it points out that the root of our passion is our blood-bought
connected-ness with Jesus Christ. Without His passion—and compassion—there is no
passion, no reason for doing what we are called to do, namely, minister.

Our ministries are not about what we get passionate about. Instead, they are about who
or what we are passionate for. When passion is properly focused on the profound and
passionate response to the One who felt passionately enough to die for us,
"passion" takes on a whole new meaning rooted in grace, rooted in God’s
power, rooted in God’s passion for us.

Christ’s Passion For Us

Passion becomes focused exclusively on just one relationship, our relationship with
Jesus Christ. This relationship is rooted in the awe of God’s passionate love for
incompetence, ever-failing, sometimes discouraged, often incompetent, but never unworthy
children of God.

Reeling in the passionate response of thanksgiving and joy for His blood shed for us,
we respond with a bit of grateful and passionate "hemorrhaging" ourselves as a
necessary part of extending the blood of Christ to others. That is, after all, what a
"living sacrifice" is, isn’t it? One who hemorrhages the blood of Christ
received by sharing it with others?

A Christian Ministry Is Passion-ate

The ministry can be difficult, demeaning, depressing and damaging. But, when the focus
of our passion is Christ alone and His grace for us, it is never discouraging. It is
always a passion of love characterized by the things that love entails—things like
sacrifice, suffering, going the extra mile, enduring, and sticking out whatever happens to
our earthly passions.

After all, doesn’t our grace-responding passion for Jesus Christ overwhelm and
overcome all other passions? If it doesn’t, maybe we ought to passionately re-examine
our passions and with inexhaustible passionate redirect our passion to God alone!

Get The Right Passion!

One of the most passionate men of Scriptures was Saint Paul. Looking at his ministry,
one might seek to have the same passion as Paul did so that God could be glorified in our
ministries as He was in St. Paul’s ministry.

What was Paul’s secret? He had but one passion. Not five, not four, not three, not
two. Just one or, more correct, One. His one passion was not tied to buildings, programs,
churches, specific ministries or anything else. Certainly these sprang up marvelously as
God blessed the fruit of Paul’s grace-based passion. But these were not His passion.

His passion was proclaiming a Man, Jesus Christ. "And I, brethren, when I came to
you, came not with excellency of speech or of wisdom, declaring unto you the testimony of
God. For I determined [i.e. "passionate"] not to know anything among you, save
Jesus Christ, and Him crucified. And I was with you in weakness, and in fear, and in much
trembling. And my speech and my preaching was not with enticing words of man’s
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power: That your faith should not stand
in the wisdom of men, but in the power of God." (1 Corinthians 2:1-5 KJV)

Paul’s One Passion

Paul was determined, focused, resolved and firm in his conviction and judgment as to
the object of his passion. It was Christ. His words to the Corinthians indicated he could
care less about anything except that which was worthy of his passion. Anything less than
his determination to preach Christ was simply not worth being passionate about.

That passion was a healthy passion. It was rooted in his awesome gratitude for God. It
was rooted in his recognition of unworthiness as a sinner. It was rooted in a profound
sense that he was who he was only because of Jesus’ passion for him. Given the
amazing singularity of Christ’s passion for him, he determined that the giving of his
life would be similarly singular. He would preach Christ.

Paul knew that if his passion was rooted in his speech, in his preaching, in his wisdom
or in his strength, it would fail. Like so many of us, he had to find out the hard way.
It’s not until your worldly passion is destroyed and shown to be rubbish (literally
"excrement") that you see how misguided your passion really was. Like Paul, you
may have thought you were zealous for God. But you were woefully and tragically mistaken.

It’s only when one goes through the process which Paul described in Philippians
3:3ff that you finally aspire to the only passion you need. From this passion proceeds the
most important consequential passion, the passion to declare passionately to others
God’s passion for them and you.

What’s Your Passion?

What’s your passion? Do you need to re-orient some of your passions? Are your
passions tearing you away from being healthily connected to the greatest Passion in our
lives?

Beware! Just because it has the name "church" or "Christian" or
"ministry" attached to it doesn’t mean your passion is Christ-centered. Our
unhealthy, sinful and Law-rooted passions are identified by their transitory character,
their dependence on us, and the "rush" or frustration we receive from them. If
people can shake it, it’s external. If circumstances can affect it, it’s human.
If it fades when everything crumbles, it can’t be of God.

Where To Get Passion

The only passion to which God has called us is to the passionate relationship with
Christ. This God-initiated relationship results in a passion to preach the Gospel through
and by any means possible. Though God’s Word never fails to have the effect He
desires, we must always recognize that whatever external means are used to proclaim the
Gospel are subject to success and failure, rise and decline, freshness and stagnation.

That, however, is not a problem. It is God’s Word that endures, not our
programs…no matter how passionately we implement them!

Do you want passion? Do you need passion? Looking for where to get passion?

Go to the cross! See the passion-ate love of Christ for you! Experience the joyful
life-sustaining renewal of Christ’s love for you. Let the Holy Spirit work in you the
joyful experience of His grace to permeate and titillate every bone, sinew, muscle and
tissue in your body, soul and mind.

Now that’s passion!

Oh, what a feeling! Oh, what a message! Oh what a calling…to have your passion be a
singular, life-changing, ministry-directing passion from and for Christ alone!

Thomas F. Fischer, M.Div, M.S.A.

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