The topic of passion has been in my mind these last couple of days. I recently stopped by a youth group meeting at a church I had not attended in years. Many of the old, familiar faces were no longer there. But there was a very noticeable "electricity" in the group. I hate using that word to describe a feeling. But the students in assembly were simply charged with an almost palpable sense of community and fellowship. I thought that was interesting. Then the pastor got up to preach. Despite the clarity and steadfast treatment of the text, I noticed that he used the word "passion" a lot. I think I actually lost count of the number. He urged the students to have passion and commended them for their passion and plead that they would cultivate and control the right and wrong type of passions, respectively.
Why bring this up? It's not only in this one instance that I have noticed an overabundance of passion-oriented preaching. Note that I didn't say "passionate preaching" but passion-oriented preaching, preaching that is geared towards and designed for the purpose of the self production of passion. And when I say passion, I mean an intense zeal and excitement. This mild obsession with passion doesn't seem, to me, an entirely even-handed treatment of the Christian life. Did I say mild? Isn't there an entire annual conference called "Passion"?
Now, let me make one thing clear. I am not against passion. I am not against godly emotions (or "affections", as the Puritans would say). I love it when I read or study a text and the words rip apart my pride and melt my eyes and shatter my sinful flesh. It provokes this rumbling, hot fervor and zeal for my Master's glory. I would call that a passion. There is a passion for passion in the youth culture of the Body of Christ. I've witnessed it in many different churches and individually in the lives of Christians. To me, this passion is almost alarming. It is alarming because it is unbalanced. What is it missing? It lacks a definite emphasis on faithfulness. Passion has become the 10th fruit of the Spirit. The mark of passion has almost entirely become a mark of the godly. If you would be godly, they seem to say, you surely must have this passion. A Christian or a church that seems "dead" or is simply more subdued in their expression of worship or zeal is branded as unspiritual by many young Christians I have spoken with. That idea is a danger to the church. Because passion is not always there. Passion cannot always be there.
Sometimes I open my Bible and the ink slides off my mind into a harmless puddle on the floor. Now, maybe I'm not a very spiritual and passionate Christian. Or maybe, like most of us, I'm simply a human Christian. When that happens, am I to be despondent for my lack of passion? I am to be faithful.
In Revelation 2:4-5, Jesus rebukes a church for abandoning their first love (namely, Christ). That church had fallen out of love with Jesus. They had no passion for Him. They had no godly affectionate response to their Savior. What does Christ command them to do about it? Wait for that passion to come back? Pray that God would stir their hearts back to a godly zeal, fit for worship and service? No. He tells them to repent and to "do the works you did at first". Do the works you did at first? That is faithfulness. It is obediently seeking after the Lord through the Scriptures, through prayer even though you feel dry and dead and empty. That is what faithfulness is. And it is that faithfulness that produced that godly passion in the first place.
My fear is that passion is getting the spotlight and faithfulness is trapped back in Galatians 5 with the other marks of the Christian. Young Christians are taught and encouraged to sprint and to search for energy bursts yet they seem ignorant the truth that our faith is a marathon. When Paul talked about Christianity as a race, he was not talking about a sprint of passion but a faithful, long trek that was indeed passionate. We need to be training and conditioning ourselves with this marathon mentality. It is a desperate need today.
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2 comments:
you da man J.T.!
I have to say. This post scares me because a lot of people are falling into the trap that empty passion can bring. Often times, I fear of falling into the same trap. Last wednesday, I went to some "Prayer and Worship" time at a church in Springfield. I think the problem that really struck me was how little God was mentioned. Scripture was read and songs were sung, but when it came to the people in the church, passion was plentiful while edification was missing. I hope that most people there were truly in a state and place of worship, but I'm doubtful because the cause was not how amazing God truly is. The cause was the expectation of the self to bring about this intense emotional state of being that causes others to disceptively believe otherwise. This form of passion is bad because it will dry out a believer and cast them aside when they can no longer create that passion in themselves.
Though, the Passion Conference is not that same type of passion. It is the ideal form that you bring up toward the middle of your post. They do a fantastic job of keeping the focus where it should be. They were one of the first places where I finally came to terms with who the Holy Spirit truly is because the church has forgotten about this great Counselor.
But your post accurately describes my biggest fear for the youth of the church at large.
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