Unashamed Passion

There is a longing inside of me to have an unashamed passion. An unashamed passion for:

1) The Word of God

2) The path that God sets before me

3) The ability to be a man of God no matter what

4) The ability to be the best husband to my wife

5) The ability to be the best father to my kids(one day)

6) An unashamed passion for preaching the word of God

There is something about passion that draws us in. When you think about any sports team, the passion that the team and fans have draws you in. Even if they are bad, they have the passion that allows them to be attractive.

When you think about movies, one of the things you look for is the passion in the movie. Whether it is to win a race, win over the love of your life, to overcome an obstacle. The passion of the movie draws you in.

The passion someone has for their job. You see their passion, you live their passion, you want to be a part of their passion. That passion that someone shows about their job draws you in to their life.

Think about churches. Those church’s that have an unashamed passion for preaching the gospel, for worship, for growing deeper in their relationship with Jesus, for following through on going to the ends of the earth to reach people. Those churches are attractive to lots of people.

Passion is defined as: any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling; such as love and hate.

Imagine a world that had unashamed passion for everything we do?

What would our jobs be like?

What would our homes be like?

What would our relationships be like?

What would our lives be like?

I have been thinking about this idea of an unashamed passion in the youth ministry that I am able to work with. There is a room full of potential, a room full of students that are taking time out of their lives to come learn, worship and have fun. There is a room full of people that could essentially change the world. There are 3 things that I am learning that any ministry needs to have:

1) An unashamed passion: 

This is not only a phrase that needs to be thrown around, but also a culture shift in your ministry. It is a piece of your ministry that needs to be equal to anything else that you do. I would venture to say that this unashamed passion needs to be fulfilled in multiple areas: an unashamed passion for cultivating a personal relationship with Jesus. An unashamed passion for connections with people where truth meets life. An unashamed passion for caring about the people that are far from God. An unashamed passion for contributing by serving those around you and far away from you. When I think about the life of Jesus, he had an unashamed passion for all of these things. Granted he had a passion for a relationship with his Father, but he lived his life connecting with people, he passionately sought out the people that are far from God and he passionately served those who were around him. I believe that we need to have this unashamed passion as a piece of our culture in ministry.

2) Ways of executing your passion: 

Whatever this may be; it could be services, it could be trips, it could be community groups. Maybe there is something else that you do that really serves to execute your passions. In our ministry we have a combination of services, community groups and trips. Obviously most ministries are set this way, the question is are we truly executing our passions in all of these things? We can put on programs and trips, but unless we are unashamed about the passion we have for each aspect, then it will not go anywhere.

3) Long Term Vision: 

As Suncrest Student Life continues to grow, we have had to tweak the way we operate as a ministry. We have had to work hard at growing not only our space by also our leaders. As part of the growth, I have began to about what it is that we are working towards. Having a long term goal for your ministry is a crucial piece to executing your passion. You can have a passion for the here and now and it will get you so far, but when you have a passion for 5 or 10 years down the road, that passion lasts. Pieces will change, people will change and situations will change, when your passion is leading you to God and his calling for your ministry, then it can never be put to rest. There is always something more to be doing. There is always something more to execute.

Where do you find your passions?