Our Passion and Pursuit
Worship Articles
by EXW Staff
August 09, 2009
– Knowing God Intimately - By Jim Feiker
The second journey is missiological. It is God's outward journey through us to other people. It is our unique life purpose, our destiny. As we consider our life design - gifts, life message, calling, and vision, God uniquely uses them to fulfill His eternal purposes, through us.
The third and most important journey is upward to God - our knowing and worshipping Him. The other two journeys are only understood in view of our God-ward journey, and it is this upward journey that we have been focusing on.
The balance of these parts of life has been a challenge since Bible times. Jean Fleming, writing some time ago in "Women of Influence," observes concerning the Mary-Martha syndrome, "To set aside everyday concerns and gaze uninterrupted at the Lord seems utopian and escapist. But the continual giving of ourselves in service for Christ brings a sobering awareness of our frail humanity and limited store. We become caught in the Mary-Martha dilemma, weighing the active life with the contemplative life. True service for Christ, however, occurs only when Mary and Martha marry – when neither isolation nor compulsion characterize our life...The Christian life should have a rhythm...doing and resting, speaking and listening, giving and receiving. The life of Jesus illustrates that perfect balance."
And Bill Hybels points out; "The way we do the work of God can destroy the very work of God in us."
What are the consequences of a lifestyle of doing the work of God as our passion? What are the red flags suggesting that we are making ministry our passion? Here are a few suggestions. Perhaps you can discern other danger signals.
A. We begin finding our self worth and identity in performance, production,
doing the ministry and pleasing people. Whenever ministry becomes our
passion, it becomes our identity. And whenever something becomes our
identity, we begin to look there for our self-worth, and for our needs to be
met.
What happens in the inner world of leaders is pivotal to how they lead. Our
True identity comes out of our relationship to God, belonging to Jesus and
who we are in Christ. It is never found in who I know, what I own, or what I
do. The world finds a false sense of identity in these things. The quality of
our leadership emerges from both our identity and relationships.
Through my experience of being confined to bed for three years, God
smoked out my dependence on my reputation, accomplishments, position
and title. I was having no visible ministry to people. I discovered that I had
been placing my identity in ministry and God had to strip that away if He
were going to use me for His glory.
B. We begin finding greater joy in ministry, than in our relationship to Christ.
Ministry to people consumes our talk with others. We become ministry-
centered people, rather than Christ-centered people.
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This is the debut album by EXW friend Paul Langford. Paul is a Chicago based singer, arranger, keyboardist, producer and conductor. Paul has a career that spans 14 years. Paul's work includes arranging for groups like GLAD, Voices of Liberty, VoiceTrek, The Chicago based "Caroling Party" and Day of Discovery Singers. His arranging has appeared on recordings side by side with greats like Gene Puerling and David Maddux, and he has sung with Don Shelton, Bonnie Herman and Bob Bowker, among others.