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What Keeps My Passion Alive
I am as susceptible to spiritual droughts as the next pastor. Because I know my vulnerabilities, I work hard to keep my passion alive.
Here are a few things I try to revisit:
- See God working in another part of the world. God is so much bigger than what we see week in and week out and our churches.
- Visit an impoverished place at least once a year. Some moms choose what to feed their children. Some moms have to choose which children to feed. Putting yourself in a place that crushes your heart keeps the passion alive.
- Fasting. I don’t know why fasting works, but it does.
- Develop friendships with non-Christians. Caring about people far from God helps keep me closer to God.
- Devoted time to prayer. If I don’t spend time with my wife away from all the other pressures, it is hard for us to stay close. My relationship with God is the same. If I don’t spend time with Him, how can I know Him?
- Give extravagantly. Something about giving big breaks the grip of this world and connects me closer to God.
- Cry. For a number of years, I didn’t cry. I’m not sure I could cry. By God’s grace, I broke through it and can cry easily now.
- Visit a cemetery. Seeing today in light of eternity always changes me.
What works for you?
Visit 
Craig: Appreciate this post a ton. Several stuck out to me but one that hit me was the “friendship with non-christians” one. As a pastor you know how hard it is to do that when it seems my whole life is wrapped up in the church. Toss in family commitments and it gets hairier. But you said something in “IT” and then again at Catalyst OneDay that nailed me: if the church is reach the lost then I have to set the tone. (my paraphrase). That hit me like a ton of bricks and ever since then I put that prayer request in my Moleskine for daily prayer: “Lord, bring someone into my life who is far from God.” I am keeping my eyes and heart open-at the Y, at the store, even at church, so one of these days he will be shown. Thanks for this post and the reminder.
Each and every one of those points hit home. Ditto on the fasting!
Craig,
I walk into our son’s bedroom at night while he’s sleeping. I kneel by his bedside and just watch him sleep. Seeing him spurns me on to keep my passion for Jesus alive because I know that little boy is watching me and how I handle my relationship with Jesus. This always puts things into the proper perspective for me!
There is nothing I can add to the list but I would say for me personally it has been Mission Trips that have really blown the fires of my passion.
Thanks for the post.
Jim, Cool story about your son!
Bill, It is so easy for pastors to get trapped in a little Christian world. I pray you can make some new friends in new circles!
Craig,
Thanks for the challenging words lately. As a young pastor of a struggling church, I can say that discouragement and even being “lukewarm” are realities I am facing. Your words are cutting deep. Prayer has been minimal lately and fasting non-existent. You have challenged me to pursue both. Keep keeping it real.
cemetery things that help me:
Jonathan Edwards [famous old pastor] and his wife used to go to the cemetery once a day on horseback and ride through it in silence. While there they asked God [silently] what they MUST do if today was their last day on earth. Then they shared with each other when they got through. This helps keep a dynamic sense of immediacy alive!
also Stephen covey’s question of: if you had 1 year left to live and then died. and at the funeral was a neighbor, spouse, kids, pastor, boss, co-workers, etc. what would they say about you. now, go live as if you had one year to change what they would say about you.
Man, I learned to cry pretty early in life. I’m not sure where I learned to cry because I have never seen my father or grandfather cry…well, I have but not until I was an adult. I make an cautious effort to have my sons see me cry.
Ok, I love the list and can see the big picture of how this allows to meet the objective.
Thanks for the candid, straight-forward suggestions that help keep your passion stirring. It’s really all about perspective, isn’t it. Blessings to you brother. If you don’t mind, I’ll adopt these for myself. May you keep your passion through the business of the Christmas season.
I love that you’re doing this little blog series Craig. I was talking with some friends of mine recently about passion, and the lack of passion in our culture today. We’re always asking “what’s this world coming to?” when we hear about the sad state of things. But if Christians are truly the majority, we are what’s wrong with this world. Because we lack the passion required to actually go out and change things. Actually, I’m not sure if that’s true. I think we do have the passion, we’ve just grown so complacent and we don’t want to do the work involved in making a difference. So while I agree that it is great to go to third world impoverished areas to break our own hearts, I think you don’t have to go further than right down the road. Allow yourselves to get stirred up over the things in your community. There’s plenty that’s “wrong” right here but we choose to ignore it.
Thanks for the challenging posts on staying “fired up”.
Here’s a few:
-take a half-day retreat to pray, meditate, solitude. I go for a hike up in the mountains, wander through the woods, read my Bible, and just re-connected with God and His creation.
-give money away to someone in need. Nothing fuels my compassion/ passion for the needs of others, more than keeping an eye out for someone who I can personally touch with a kind gesture of help.
-change my spiritual routine/ discipline: we all have a certain spiritual cadence. If I’m feeling lukewarm, dry, stuck, I just messed it up, and do it differently.
Just a few that someone might appreciate.
Thanks for sharing and leading.
I have a small collection of books/DVDs that really inspire me. Watching or reading about the lives of other normal people who have done extraordinary things for the Lord (and the hard times they went through) spur me on. Here I Stand (book) and Luther (DVD) are my favorites.
Chris, Thanks for your transparency. Praying for you and your ministry this morning.
Robert, Adopt away!
Patrick, Thanks for the great suggestions. Very valuable.
Craig
Thanks for all you do!! Your list is right on and a couple of them I need to do! I was praying about this very subject because I have been in a “dry” season and the Lord spoke to me and said..The biggest Christian killer today is Thoughtlessness. To not meditate on and consider your ways leaves the door open for the thief to steal what you have and to steal what I am trying to say to you!! SO.. Thank You for teaching this generation to THINK!!
“Fasting: I don’t know why fasting works but it does”
Craig, you hit the nail on the head on that. Ever since the One Prayer series, I have tried to fast on a regular basis for the first time in my life. I am closer to God because of that and have made great strides in shedding some bad habits. For a few weeks, I stopped fasting because I didn’t want to be legalistic about it and didn’t feel a big burden to pray for something. When I stopped, I saw some of the bad habits start to creep back in and I moved away from God some.
So, I don’t know why fasting works either, but it does.
(Posting Anonymous because I don’t want my reward here.)
Becoming a foster parent has rocked my world and fired up passion for children who have nothing. It’s easy to give money to the needy, but actually caring for children in my home breaks my heart and makes my passion burn for the “least of these”. Keeping the passion alive generationally is also important - it’s important for my children to see their mom and dad work through spiritual droughts and rekindle the spiritual passion. Oh - beware if you become a foster parent - your heart attaches itself to the kiddos and you might find yourself adopting - like we are!
Craig,
WOW! There is deep value in people (like you) allowing God to speak into, and through them. Thank you!
This post is “rich” for me in terns of its content. Thank you for being consistent, authentic, transparent, and truly in pursuit of God.
Steve, I like your thoughts on “thoughtlessness.”
Anon, So glad you have found power in the discipline of fasting.
Pam, Congrats on a big step of faith. I pray God blesses your family in a big way as you bless the life of a child!
Nick, You’re welcome.
I would love to hear from more of you what keeps the passion alive in you!
I can connect with much of what has been written. Personally, I need to get uncomfortable. That might be a missions trip, working out of a starbucks in center-city DC, or in a park bench in a square, that could be door-to-door evangelism, etc. But all too often I go into my protected Christian bubble in the office and become COMFORTABLY numb to the world. Actually, I think I might head downtown now that I think of it! Thanks Craig:)
I love how God totally kicks my ….. through your ministries. I was just praying about this yesterday.
These posts have kept me coming back all week… like a moth to a flame…
Personally, studying God’s word keeps my spiritual fervor…as well as others you mentioned…
Contemplating the gift of life… and remembering my purpose too, (the one God has shared with me)… these keep me through times I don’t understand that can gnaw away…
Remembering the things God has promised, and trusting that He will do what He says…is I guess what I mean…
Wow, I really like these. Especially the cemetery one. I really love to push myself to think eternally- and Kingdom-minded.
Great examples.
God’s been doing something in me that I love. It’s kind of like what you talked about a couple sermons ago Craig. God has been making me more and more aware of Him being everywhere and always with me. He’s helping me realize that I truly don’t need to be afraid of ANYTHING because He’s right beside me. Reminds me of Isaiah 41:10-13.
God is good! And great. He’s just straight up awesome.
Ok, now what works for me is setting aside the first of my morning and the time right before I go to bed for God. This surrounds my day with God’s Word. Of course I spend the whole day with Him, but having this genuine quiet time (just me and Him, in the quiet, with no rush) really explodes my passion. God has really spoken to me in these times (given me messages and often just had conversation with me).
Also, spending the morning and evening (in those same periods of time) speaking to God, praying (and within that worshiping Him) have really ignited passion in me. Craig, you talked a little bit in Week 4 of Practical Atheist about how we have names for God when we really get to know Him. I found that when I call Him those names…when I run through each one of them in my prayer…He smiles. And I can feel it.
Also important in these times of prayer is thanking God. When I thank God over and over and over it just ignites a passion in me. I think it’s because God just appreciates the thanks. (Read Psalms - David would thank God sooo much! His example showed me this is a great thing to do)
I hope these can benefit you guys! God is good! Thank God and show Him that you care about having time with Him.
here is what I do, this is my daily list i look at and has some things i have learned through the years:
every day:
1. Read the Bible till you are saturated with the heart and mind of God. no matter how long it takes, read the passage over and over. and come up with a concrete imperative application for the day, so that you are living a truly transformed life.
2. Be fully present with anybody in front of you. “bet the farm” with what you say, do, transparency, empathy, confrontation, grace…
3. Do a sommersault every day. Calvin said [of Calvin and hobbes] if you have a day without grass=stains on your knees, you need to seriously re-evaluate you life.
4. Pray like your words carry the weight of Gods presence in them. His words created all of reality, and our words shift that reality.
5. Do something that scares you. Get adrenaline pumping. Challenge yourself mentally, physically, spiritually, relationally, and emotionally.
6. Tell someone in person or in an email just how much God loves them and how much you love them.
7. Touch an unchurched person in some way every day. a smile, a note, a lunch, laughter together, being a good sport on a team. Be the aroma of Christ to them. Walk across the room.
8. Lock eyes with my wife and kids long enough to make an awkward moment where we see into each others souls.
9. Sing with your ipod, and dance till you are filled with joy, wonder, and awe.
10. Rant about what’s gone wrong and then, ask God what can be done right. Forget the one and focus on the other. visit the past, live in the present, and start constructing the future
Love your blog! By the way, you’re in mine today… http://ourcircle.wordpress.com/2008/12/04/belated/
The fear that my kids would grow up with a Dad as a pastor who is not passionate about what he does for a living and what he believes is life changing. I would hate for them to leave my home thinking “so what’s the point?”
Craig, you said “I would love to hear from more of you what keeps the passion alive in you!”
The more I think about this, the more I believe the only thing we can do is to submit to God. Passion comes from Him, right? Where someone may be really passionate about sharing Christ, someone else may be passionate about helping homeless people, and still others may be passionate about the elderly. The things we’re passionate about aren’t ours to choose, it’s a gift from God. So the amount of passion we have is most likely also a gift, something we can’t earn or do anything to achieve ourselves. So we simply submit to God and He’ll do it through us. I don’t know if this is true, but it’s what I’m thinking. Does that make sense?
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WOO-HOO! Just reading your list excites me - I’m with you on ALL of them! In addition:
1. Personally leading someone to Christ. Nothing like seeing ‘the light’ come on in someone’s life! Immediately, the ‘joy of my salvation’ bursts within’ me!
2. Watching children play. Jesus said “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.” - laughing, leaping & loving - yep, sounds like Heaven!!
Thanks Craig!
i thought i was the only one who visited cemeteries! :)
spent a couple days at HPC - pastor dino spoke very encouraging things about you! you are loved.
Obeying God and pursuing how He’s calling me by taking a “next step”. That sounds simplistic yet it keeps me fresh. For me right now that means that I am pursuing mission trips and talking to missions organizations about partnering with them to train indigenous worship leaders. It means I am writing and working on book proposals. It means I am engaged in songwriting. It might mean I go back to school. Sometimes when I’m lukewarm I feel paralyzed. Taking a “next step” keeps me passionate.
The other thing I do is getting away alone with God regularly for over 24 hours. I have to let the clutter and noise of the world and my own thoughts die down so I can hear God clearly. That takes time.
I also got involved in a two year retreat community with other pastors. That has been so helpful - to pursue God as Jan, not just as a minister.
Lastly, I travel. Seeing God’s handiwork never fails to really move me.
If I can speak in front of a crowd of junior highers at least once every few months I stay pumped. I work with high schoolers usually, and they like me I suppose, but junior highers think youth pastors are heroic!
I know this is prideful, and it should be about Jesus, and all of those boring things… but I (like you) enjoy feeling like a hero from time to time!
But I’ll never be a junior high pastor again… those career guys are a special breed.
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