Ok, so my title to this post sounds a little weird. Here’s my thing. I’ll confess, that I probably take on too many things, projects, ministries, speaking etc. I have way too many things going, too many, “irons in the fire”. I know it comes with the territory it seems for us pastors but I’m beginning to think that it is not the most impactful way to do ministry. In other words if I’m doing so many things that I can’t do any of them really well, or with the level of excellence that would honor God then perhaps it would be better to do a few things, giving all of my energies and talents to be the most effective in them.
I guess what I’m getting at is that sometimes I think we pastors do a lot of busy work just to be busy, and not to serve the best interests of the kingdom of God. That isn’t to say that what we are doing isn’t important, or even good, it just means we may not be doing them all well.
I came up with a definition of passion and it is loosely based upon the statement by Jesus in Luke 9:51 where it says, “As the time approached for him to be taken up to heaven, Jesus resolutely set out for Jerusalem…” I think that says something about the passion of Jesus. He knew exactly what would be at the end of this last journey from Galilee to Jerusalem. It was a one-way trip to the cross yet it says he was “resolute”, focused, and heading in one direction. Passion to me is just that, it is being able to give our fullest attention to one primary mission and devote ourselves completely to it. It’s Tiger Woods in a major on Sunday! He isn’t thinking about anything else, but winning another championship. How would it look if he stopped on the back 9 to send an e-mail using his Blackberry just before lining up a birdie putt?
The problem I always find myself running into is that when I’m pulled in a million different directions I lose focus, drift away from my mission, and begin to search for ways to keep all the balls in the air! One of the easiest ways to simply forget about all the stuff we’re doing and escape is PORN!
It seems to be a common trait of those who become great leaders, world-changers, even disciples. It is the ability to understand very clearly what it is they are called to do, and then putting their energies, talents, and resources into that without compromise or being pulled in another “good” direction.
I’ll confess that as a leader a major goal for the coming year is to narrow the scope of my ministry (as God’s Spirit leads) in order to break free from the tyranny of doing so many things in a mediocre way.