A Further Plea for Passion

I understand those who are hesitant to move toward passion-based ministry either at a local or general church level.  It involves a lot of risk and trust.  There are ministries that I am very passionate about that have little support from my congregation.

For instance, Julie & I have financially supported the ministry of some friends of ours in South Africa to the tune of $10's of thousands of dollars over the years.  They have spoken at my congregation on a couple of occasions and have received some support from church members, but their ministry clearly isn't a passion for my congregation.  And that's ok with me.  I don't expect everyone in my congregation to share my passions.  What I do expect is that they will live out of theirs.  That is an idea which doesn't have wide acceptance throughout United Methodism.  Because we as UM's expect consensus and wide spread support for a ministry before it is undertaken, many people never have the opportunity to live out of their God-given passion. 

This isn't the Biblical understanding of the Church.  The Biblical picture of the church is a body made up of many different parts, all that have different purposes to serve within the body of Christ.  The body functions properly when all the individual parts are doing what God designed them to do.  However, rather than expecting an ear to do the hearing, and an eye to do the seeing, we have morphed these parts with others and come up with some type of mutated sense of touch that allows us to grope our way through the darkness.  Is it any wonder that many congregations are without any real vision for the future?

The surgery required to put the parts back into the proper place, so that they can fulfill their God-given purpose is not easy.  People are so accustomed to being connected that the idea each one should function separately from the others while within the unity of the body is scary to say the least.  There's the fear that if we allow the eye to be the only source of seeing, what if the eye doesn't do what's needed by the body.  Or if we let the ear be in charge of the hearing, what if it gets upset and shuts itself off from the rest of the body. 

Sadly, we don't trust people to live out their passion and thereby fulfill all that God intends for the church.  So we come up with cookie cutter ministries and say to people, "If you're faithful you'll support each and every one of the ministries."

I would suggest instead that

We allow those who have a passion for social justice and the gift of prophecy to proclaim the message of peace and justice for all. 

We allow those who have a passion for caring and the gift of mercy to give their support in helping  their neighbors who are in need.

We allow those who have a passion for children and the gift of teaching to have control over the education programs of our church and see to it that they have the supplies they need.

We allow those who have a passion for worship and the gift of creative design to formula our worship services in ways that will connect people with God.

The list could go on, but the point is the same.  When we allow individuals to minister out of their passions while using their gifts, all the church's needs will be met and the body of Christ at both the local and general level will function as God intended.

Comments

[Joe Pritchett]

I'm confused. Are you saying that the UMC will not allow people to live out this kind of ministry of passion or that it is inconvenient because of the amount of money you have to give to denominational interests that you don't agree with? I think people will make great sacrifice to minister from passion if we will model that for them ourselves.

[David]

I say go for it, with some constraint. I think Wesley offered a helpful tip for us who adhere to the Quadrilateral in the use of the experience side of the quadrilateral. Experience is not just my having an experience and proofing it against Scripture, Tradition and Reason, but it is that someone else has had a similar experience. With that in mind, I would suggest letting people run with their passion if they have, as another UM pastor I know shared with me, "a passion, a prayer and a partner". That ensures more accountability that we enjoy in the UMC, and someone to encourage along the way, as well as a call from God to pursue the passion.

Peace,
David

[John B]

"a passion, a prayer, & a partner."

I like that. It points to something that I failed to mention within all thoughts. That is we need accountability and the wisdom that comes from other believers.

Joe,

I'm not saying the UMC "won't" allow people to live out their passions. It's not a denominational policy, but it is a unspoken rule in many circles. Consensus, conformity and connectionalism often are valued above personal and congregational passions.

[John B]

"a passion, a prayer, & a partner."

I like that. It points to something that I failed to mention within all thoughts. That is we need accountability and the wisdom that comes from other believers.

Joe,

I'm not saying the UMC "won't" allow people to live out their passions. It's not a denominational policy, but it is a unspoken rule in many circles. Consensus, conformity and connectionalism often are valued above personal and congregational passions.