Passion is something a husband has for a wife, a fan has for a team, a historian has for history, people have for God’s word, and leaders have for investing in others. This passion is an extreme and deep overwhelming emotion that drives us to excel beyond status quo expectations and achieve amazing things for the Lord.
Discover your passion
You don’t have to be a pastor of a church to have passion for the Lord, spouse, occupation, and others. Our passion for the Lord should primarily drive our passion for other areas in our lives. As we grow closer to the Lord and become authentic disciples, God develops certain unique passions in us. These distinctive passions are an integral part of who God made us to be. If you are a leader, it is important to define those specific passions because they only increase your effectiveness. Leaders who operate outside the area of their passion oftentimes struggle to lead with joy on a consistent basis, which eventually leads to stress, which eventually leads to burnout, which eventually leads to unemployment. So, it really is important to discover your significant passions and then pursue them.
Live out the gospel
Primarily our passion for the Lord, created by our unending pursuit to become authentic disciples, should actually increase our effectiveness in all we do. As leaders, passion is important because it drives us to excel and succeed. Paul tells us in Colossians 3:23, “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men.” You see, it’s not just working hard and leading others. This verse is not just a prescription to fight a cold or cure a cough, but it goes to the heart of our motivation. We do everything we do as if it were to/for the Lord. He is our chief motivation. Now, what is the connection between motivation and passion? I believe God develops certain passions in our lives and our motivation is simply living out the gospel and striving for holiness.
We daily engage in thousands of activities from driving to work, interacting with coworkers, answering phones, emails, letters, doing our job, helping others, talking with customers, developing plans, and working to be the best we can be. We need to ask ourselves several strategic questions.
- Am I sufficiently seeking God’s word?
- Am I living out the gospel before others?
- Am I striving for holiness?
- Do I understand my areas of passion?
- What am I doing to strengthen my areas of passion?
In closing, leaders must be passionate to lead. People hunger to follow those with passion. Passion is caught, not taught. Remember, your passion is a result of your journey to becoming an authentic disciple. Once you’ve determined in your mind to follow God closely, He will develop those passions in you and give you an amazing ability to lead those around you.