Red Hot Passion

Bill Hybels said in a message last year that passion is one of the defining characteristics of young leaders. He also talked about how that passion has a tendency to wane in an individual’s life over time. While validating the power of passion in a young leader’s life he also challenged those by saying that passion alone cannot sustain the life and ministry of a leader. Skill must be added to the equation. In fact, skill, experience, wisdom and resources are four things that most young leaders don’t have in abundance, as least when compared to their later years. Obviously some young leaders have way more skill, experience, wisdom and resources than their peers but they probably don’t have more than they will have thirty years down the road. Why is it though that over time passion seems to decrease as wisdom, skill, experience and resources increase? Some might argue that the idealism and passion of a young person is not sustainable but that it lays the tracks for the rest of an individual’s life. Almost like you want to get that passion as high as you can at it’s peak so that you can ride it out for as long as possible. For those 45 and older, (I’ll call that a generous halfway point in life) are you more passionate or less passionate about the things that once fueled your fire? Has your passion increased or decreased with each passing decade? I want to see my passions, by the time I’m 45, double from the point they’re at now. I hope I’m more focused, more committed, more sacrificial, more fanatical and more determined than ever by that time. What do I need to do to make this happen? How do I stir and stoke my passions so that they don’t atrophy? I do realize that the idealism, almost by definition, has a hard time not getting beaten down by the sad realities of life in the world today. But passion is different than idealism. When I look at my heroes, (let’s leave Bill Clinton out of this discussion, he’s more of a lower-case “h” hero to me compared to the capital “h” heroes in my life, Hudson Taylor, A. B. Simpson and the like) they are often individuals whose passion grew as they aged, adding to it wisdom, experience, skill and resources. Their strength of heart (passion) acted as a catalyst to develop both strength of mind and hands. Are these the people we read about that inspire us to look at our own lives and challenge us in ways we’ve long given up on? I’m working on my Master’s in Intercultural Studies right now, actually I’m writing this post because I’m avoiding doing my homework at the moment, but how sad would it be if this degree and these studies merely added letters to my name and knowledge to my mind yet in doing so replaced the passion in my heart? Here’s what I’m not saying—that those I observe older than me are passionless. Here’s what I am saying—why is passion something we more often associate with being young?

This entry was posted by Josh Mann, on Monday, October 29, 2007. WEIGH IN.