the purpose behind your passion
March 14th, 2006 by Ben Tipler | Posted in Ministry Philosophy
A couple of years ago I was at a Shane & Shane concert and something struck me quite oddly. The way that Shane Barnard was speaking about his playing and singing was almost as if it wasn’t totally what he wanted to be doing. He talked as though he felt commissioned by God to use these gifts he’d been given to minister to others, rather than playing just out of the joy of doing it.
It’s possible that he might have been in a little bit of a funk himself, or I was just receiving his words differently than he meant them, but it’s something that has stuck with me and recently has come to the forefront of my mind.Lately I have had no passion or desire to grab my guitar or to sing much. I put in what it takes to know the songs I need to lead worship on the weekends, but that’s about it. The funny thing is that I still really enjoy the serving part, i enjoy the fellowship playing in the band brings, i enjoy processing the specific avenues of worship for each particular weekend I lead, but the passion for playing for the fun of it has (hopefully temporarily) left me.
While picking up some accessories with a friend of mine at a local guitar shop this past weekend I began to confess these feelings, which was somewhat hard for me since I’ve always been the guy that’s been playing and writing and learning more than others in our circle. After admitting it, my friend rightly asked me “well should you really be leading our congregation in worship?” at that point it struck me… “yes, i really think i should be”. My friend continued “because you know serving should come out of joy and not out of duty”… I agreed with him, which left him confused.
But it had hit me, I still very much enjoy the act of serving my church, I enjoy the fellowship that comes with playing in a band on the weekends, and I am glad to offer my talents and gifts to my church. Though there is a great disconnect between my lack of desire to go grab my guitar and learn a new song and my desire to give what i have back to the one who created me that I don’t understand, I will still struggle on and explore the reason for the disconnect.
It’s having a purpose behind your passion, so that even if your passion fails your purpose remains.
This entry was posted on Tuesday, March 14th, 2006 at 7:19 pm and is filed under Ministry Philosophy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
Ben, it sounds like you are confident you are serving where and how God wants you to be, but at the same time, unsettled that that passion part of it feels differently than it used to. Of course, without knowing you or your situation, I could be way off, but I sense a maturation, not a failing, of your passion — away from “the fun of it” towards “the serving part.”
What you say about having a purpose behind your passion is key. Although, I think for us its not so much having a purpose versus not, but instead, having a purpose that is outward — letting God use me to build his kingdom, versus inward — just for me to have fun. Someone told a story once about building on a foundation of rock versus building on sand…
God certainly uses the enjoyment we derive from something to motivate us and help us discover our gifts. However, life is not easy, and the more we are dedicated to God’s work, the steeper the challenges seem to be. Sometimes simply the stress of school, jobs, family, relationships and such wears on the desire to pursue the fun side of things. This is one reason why it is important have a passion based on a solid foundation.
Using our skills and gifts for God, and the fun we can have in that, itself is an act of worship and also shows others God’s grace and goodness toward us and, in turn, towards them. I don’t think God wants us to stay in a spot where it is difficult to find enjoyment in who he made us to be.
Finally, this reminds me of Solomon writing in Ecclesiastes about finding satisfaction in a job well done rather than in pursuing pleasure — just one such excerpt:
“A man can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in his work. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? To the man who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.”
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