I like the way we play blog pinball sometimes. I had a blog last week. Then Sam followed with a blog that grew from that. Now, I think I have more to say on the subject.
I struggle, not with keeping my passion, but with being a person who wants to have a passion. Somedays I dream about being the type of person who can just go to church, sit in the pew, and leave when it is done. How nice it would be to be a person that didn't care about church. The only way I can come up with to not become frustrated with church is to be a person that just doesn't care all that much.
I've jokingly said in the past that in order to be a minister in a ailing church, you have to be the type of person who doesn't have that much of a passion. Now, I know that isn't always true. There are some people in ailing churches that are patient and loving who are trying to bring the church back to health. But oftentimes, I think we confuse apathy with patience, ignorance with faith, and tolerance with love. We fail to be passionate because passion oftentimes causes conflict.
Maybe I'm being too cynical today, but the church doesn't seem to want to be vibrant and alive. It likes being mediocre and comfortable. The sacrifices that it would take for churches to genuinely love the members of their body, the community they live in, and those in need abroad is just too big of a sacrifice for most churches to make. It isn't something that happens by accident or that we can be casual about. We have to sacrifice some things financially in order to have a loving impact in all of those areas.
Our words of encouragement aren't enough to give our brother in Christ a car when his has broken down and he is without the money to buy a new one. Our desire for the lost to know Christ isn't enough when we fail to show them Christ's love when they have needs. Our love for helping the poor isn't enough when we don't have any money to back it up and send abroad or into our inner cities. Living out the life of Christ in our culture takes sacrifice, a sacrifice that is too often sugarcoated or gelcapped in order to make it more palatable.
I've been told many times that I will grow out of my passion. That I won't have this burning desire to strive for the ideal kingdom when I grow up. I dread succumbing to the norm and becoming a person whose Christianity doesn't mean any sacrifice. I dread becoming complacent with the radical teachings of Christ.
What God has intended for our lives and his church is so much more than what we're currently experiencing. I wish I could just reach up and grasp what I see and make it a reality. I hope that I never lose the passion.
Watch out for potholes.
