PASSION MATTERS MORE THAN TALENT

One of the great­est bless­ings in my life is hav­ing been born in a pastor’s home. One of the great­est chal­lenges I’ve had to over­come in my life is hav­ing been born in a pastor’s home. I have been priv­i­leged to learn so much about the nuances and how-to’s of min­istry at an early age. While that was a great oppor­tu­nity, it was also some­thing I had to unlearn in order to truly be effec­tive in ministry.

For the first eight years or so of my min­istry, I man­aged to teach, lead, and serve with­out ever really flex­ing my heart mus­cle. I did it all with wit, fancy foot work, and things I had learned from one of the great­est pas­tors who ever lived.

I knew what a good ser­mon was and I could preach one; but it was all head, no heart. Most of these sure-​​fire, get a response ser­mons, were not my own. They came from oth­ers who I had read after or lis­tened to.

I coun­seled many peo­ple and even helped a few. But I was shoot­ing from the hip and never able to truly empathize. The per­son on the couch got some good one-​​liners and Hall­mark card quotes, but again, there was no passion.

Melanie would often ask me, “Scott, are you happy? Are you chal­lenged? Do you enjoy doing what you’re doing?” I don’t actu­ally recall my response to her ques­tions, but on the inside the answer was a def­i­nite “no.” Pas­sion is like oil to an engine, with­out it you are headed for burn out.

It wasn’t until I went through an incred­i­ble break­ing process in God’s hands, that I finally found pas­sion in my min­istry. The dis­con­nect from heart to head was fixed when I was bro­ken. By the way, I’m thank­ful my break­ing took place in God’s hands. Matthew 21:44 tells us that we can either fall upon the stone and be bro­ken, or the stone will fall on us and grind us to powder.

This actu­ally brings up another thing I wish I had known when I first launched into min­istry — God min­is­ters best out of the bro­ken places. My min­istry was made and solid­i­fied through my brokenness.

Peo­ple aren’t look­ing for some­one who’s got “it” all together; and besides that, you don’t! So be real. Let peo­ple see God as He leaks through the cracks in your life.

Once I con­nected my heart with my min­istry, ser­mons were no longer just great thoughts cap­tured on tape or writ­ten down dur­ing a con­fer­ence, but there was a flow out of the bro­ken places in my heart. It was no longer head knowl­edge, but heart knowl­edge that was com­ing from the pul­pit. Peo­ple could feel the dif­fer­ence and lives were touched.

I remem­ber look­ing at some of the peo­ple I had pre­vi­ously coun­seled and think­ing I should go and apol­o­gize to them for the lame — all head, no heart — coun­sel I had given them. I had lived such a shel­tered life I really didn’t know pain, nor did I know how to feel with oth­ers. One of the things that makes our Sav­ior so won­der­ful is that He is a high-​​priest who can be touched by what touches us.

Let me encour­age you, if you have bro­ken places in your life, stop try­ing to hide the cracks. Peo­ple don’t need any more fakes or facades…they need to see lead­er­ship that does not put on airs of per­fec­tion but that of human­ity and humility.

Find your pas­sion! Fall upon the stone and be bro­ken in God’s pres­ence. Ask God to move you with what moves Him. As the song says, “break my heart for what breaks Yours.”

Here’s a few pas­sion obser­va­tions I’d like to leave you with:

• The dif­fer­ence between a good leader and a great leader is passion.
• A pas­sion­ate leader with a few skills will out-​​perform the pas­sive leader with many skills.
• Pas­sion­ate lead­ers move their team beyond prob­lems and into opportunity.
• You can never lead some­thing you don’t pas­sion­ately care about.
• You can never start a fire in your orga­ni­za­tion unless it is first burn­ing in you.
• When you are pas­sion­ate about what you are doing, per­se­ver­ance and com­mit­ment come with the territory.
• Pas­sion turns your have-to’s into want-to’s. Your chores will become challenges.
• With pas­sion, you enjoy the climb as much as reach­ing the summit.
• A per­son with pas­sion never needs a jump start.
• A pas­sion­ate per­son does not have to push him­self to start, he has to force him­self to stop

Source : Pastor Scott Jones

Comment:
Yang dikatakan di atas itu benar sekali, kita membutuhkan passion dalam mengikut Tuhan terutama dalam melayani Dia. Sekali kita membiarkan passion itu hilang, maka yang ada hanya kelesuan, kehampaan, rutinitas dan pelayanan akan terasa sebagai beban yang luar biasa bukan lagi sebagai suatu kehormatan. Sungguh disayangkan, sekarang ini banyak saya melihat anak-anak Tuhan sudah kehilangan passion tersebut.

Bagaimana menemukan kembali passion tersebut? Dalam Wahyu 2:4-5 dikatakan bahwa kita telah MENINGGALKAN kasih mula-mula tersebut. Dan Tuhan memerintahkan untuk kita MELAKUKAN LAGI apa yg dulu kita lakukan. Sering saya dengar, anak Tuhan berdoa kira-kira seperti ini "Tuhan berikan kami hati yang mengasihi jiwa-jiwa lagi". Doanya keliatan sangat baik dan mulia tetapi ini tidak sesuai dengan Firman Tuhan, bahasa kerennya tidak alkitabiah. Tuhan memerintahkan kita untuk melakukan "TINDAKAN" kasih bukan meminta "Perasaan (passion)" kasih. Saya percaya kita kita melakukan tindakan kasih maka perasaan(passion) tersebut akan mengikuti. God Bless You :)