passion

This was my life when I was born----all the pages were blank---except for a few genes written in invisible ink, my life was blank pages waiting for me, my family, my friends and our collective experiences to fill them.

When I was a baby and a child, mostly it was my parents writing in this book, instilling behaviors---teaching me---loving me---and I would guess, even putting in expectations at my very young age.

Since I have 4 children, I know what it is to have expectations for my kids----not specifics ones, like what I want them to be--- but broad important ones like I want them:

to be wise---to be responsible----to be respectful----to have aspirations----. So I imagine my parents had similar expectations that they in subtle and maybe even not so subtle ways, wrote on the pages of my very young life.

As I started high school though, my lifethis book, was now written in only by me. Oh, my parents would try to still make the occasional entry, but I would quickly disregard it----because at this point in my life, II had aspirations---

I wanted to be successful---I wanted to live my life the way I wanted to----I was sure I had been in my family long enough to know what I wanted out of life and what I didn't want.

I can remember on many occasions wrestling with what I was going to do when I grew up----I wanted to be great at what I was going to do---and I wanted to enjoy and be challenged by the thing that I would do. I wasn't looking for a "job."

"Job"the word just sounds simple---it's a synonym for the word, "task" --- a "job"----that's not what I wanted. I wanted a "career." A "career"---now there's a word---it's more complex yet with a smoother sound----do you want a job?!or do you want a "career"? Do you notice that on commercials for technical colleges, you never even hear the word "job" without "dead-end" in front of it?"

In high school, I remember being so much like the kid in the drama---I wanted something significant to do --- something that mattered and something that kept my attention. Did you?

I remember on several occasions talking with Ray Porter, who was my best friend in high school. I remember wrestling with what to do with my life---I would ask Ray, "What do you think I should do---be a journalist or a musician?" I had a deep love for both:

I had played music since I was 4 years old and grown up in house that always had music in itit was just a way of life for me. And putting words together became something that I enjoyed more & more beginning in elementary school---and in both music & writing, I had come to be recognized and awarded for them in high school.What was I going to do with my life?

Either one---music or writing seemed they would suit my expectations----They both allowed me to be creative-----both seemed that every week could bring a new assignment, or a new song, or situation. Both would be challenging----I'd have to really apply myself in either field to be successful. It seemed either of my two choices would fit me well

Let's turn a few pages forward. As it turned out, I did not become a professional journalist. I did not become a professional musician. Decisions I had made, both conscious and unconscious had written pages into my life that were quite different from my high school aspirations. And as it turned out, in my definition, I indeed had a string of "jobs."

Almost all of them could have been careers but not to me, not to my expectations. They lacked significance---they didn't challenge my intellect or most times call on my creative side at all. They all offered financial rewards, but ultimately, I learned that wasn't what motivated me.

In a nutshell, the thing that I wanted when I was in high schoolthe element that I wanted in that thing that I would do all day long, five days out of seven, was something that would satisfy my "Passion."

Passion----in every one of us---if we will look closely enough, perhaps go back in time to a place where we were more idealistic----we will find something or some things that we care deeply about.

For those this morning that are saying something like, "Morgan you just don't get me---I'm not an emotional personI'm not a passionate person---I never have been and I never will be." Let me simply give you a different word that means basically the same thing---"Vision"---what's your "vision" in life? Thereeverybody, the thinkers and the feelers are happy.

Things that we're passionate about or that we have a vision for "energize" us---If someone a few feet away starts a conversation about something we're passionate about, we want to walk over and jump right into it---our heart-rate picks up a few beats. We smile more when we talk about our passions.

Let's take a time-out before we go any further,---- I have to ask you to do me a favor----It can be nearly impossible to really grasp the concept of passion in light of your everyday responsibilities. So for now, I want you to forget that you have any obligations.

In fact, let's all do this together right now..ok, pick up your obligations---put them in your hands----now place them on the floor next to your seat---I realize the people behind you may not be able to see now! There, aren't you more comfortable???

Passion is one of the key points of the Network class that is coming up in 2 weeks. This is my second year teaching this course and I want you to know, in case you're foggy right now on this passion thing----that in all the classes I've taught, THIS---the subject of passion--- is the toughest concept for people to grasp. So stay with me, my prayer is that you will be more clear on this before I'm done.

There's an assessment in the Network course that has you write down 5-7 positive experiences and write down why they were meaningful to you. Let me show you what this looked like for me.

Why? Because I felt integral in the process that resulted in a finely honed show----I worked closely with the band director and led and motivated my classmates to achieve a level of excellence.

Why? Because he and I had talked for years about God---I had seen him come close but not cross the line. I helped him seal his eternity and hopefully change his and his family's lives for the rest of their days on earth.

--I wrote down a conversation with Sandra where I helped her realize that she was putting expectations on her mother, that she really needed to expect from God.

So I took these events and then tried to draw a conclusion. I wrote, "My passion is to share or communicate with people to help them get to a new or more significant place." I love to see people move further along---I love to see them accomplish new things----I love to see light bulbs go off in people's heads---and I love it when I'm fortunate enough to be part of that process. It's not very specific---but passions usually start very broad and get narrower over time.

That's a simple way you can go about finding your passion. Make a list of important things that have happened in your life and then try to find a common denominator.

Now to make things confusing----a passion can be A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G. One guy in a Network class said, "Anything huh? How 'bout golf?" I said yep, even golf. I told him there was this PGA pro named Wally Armstrong who goes around the country putting on golf clinics and does motivational speaking on golf and ties it into the Gospel of Christ. (In fact we had him here for our golf outing last year.)

I also said it's possible that a Christ-follower who loves golf AND God, could have plenty to say to someone who's seeking or dissatisfied with life during 18 holes of golf. A passion can be anything.

My wife took the Network class and the only thing she could come up with for her passion was "food"---she said she was passionate about food. Well, we talked on and off for weeks, and we discovered that what she is really passionate about is making people feel welcome and accepted and loved.

Now the way she does that is through the gift of hospitality, or making food for them----it is nothing for her to whip up a very nice meal and take it to someone----someone who's lonely, or ill, or needs some comfort. Sandra loves to work in the kitchen. She loves all of her 639 kitchen gadgets----she is to kitchen tools and appliances what Bob Villa is to Craftsman tools. And she uses that love of preparing food to minister to people. She has learned that one way you tell someone you're sorry they're ill or that you're glad that they're a part of this body is not necessarily just by telling them---it is by showing them---giving them something very important---some of her time and expertise in the form of a meal.

And my wife's not the only one like this, Michelle Ebert heads up the Care Co. which is group of women here at the church who makes meals and take them to people who could really use them. Food becomes ministry. Golf becomes ministry.

Passion, like most Biblical concepts for me, was somewhat difficult to grasp at first. Initially I got an understanding of what it is---but it's over time that I've really better understood it and seen how my passion plays out.

Let me explain. At the point I did my passion assessment where I listed the important events & why they were important---I hadn't really done much variety of ministry. So the only perspective I had was as a drummer on the music team. Naturally I know I am passionate about music, that's a no-brainer. But in my list of important events, only 1 thing had anything to do with music.

Well this past year and a half of doing ministry has been a huge eye-opener One thing I do here is oversee a lot of the staff. So what happens is I get in these long conversations about what's going on in a particular ministry and most often by sheer objectivity, I'm able to help someone be more effective---or help them with a roadblock---or simply shine some fresh perspective on a situation that allows them to get clarity.

Now you can't tell the staff this, because I've got this rough façadethis tough reputation to protect ---but sometimes in the midst of one of these conversations, I'm likely to take off my glasses and act like this---as if my eyes are bothering me.

What I'm really doing is getting emotional --- because of the significance of the situation. In that moment, I realize how lucky I am to be sitting across the desk with a friend discussing how we can work better to bring more people to Christ----or how to better serve you. When I realize we're making progress and that things are "clicking"I can feel it in the moment and I can't help but get emotional. My passion is to help people see light bulbs---to help facilitate "A-ha" moments that are going to help someone else for all eternity---man that stirs my passion!.That rates a 10+ on my significance meter!!

Something else I've had the opportunity to do this past year is this..To seek God and beg him to use me---as flawed as I am --to give his message to you on a Sunday morning. Do you remember what two things I was struggling with in high school? One of them was being a writer.

Well the part of a message that comes before presenting it, is writing it. I barricade myself in my office and with God's leading, I write a 10-12 page message, figuring out how to take sometimes complex concepts and make them as smooth as a glass of milk and sprinkle it with motivation and passion in such a way that you'll want to go the next step closer to full devotion to Jesus Christ---or that you'll at least have an "A-ha" moment. Now, aside from being intimidating, humbling, and as challenging as it comes. ---- This process, my friends, is a flat-out kick for me----A friend of mine that's been coming here for years has said to me a handful of times this past year and a half, usually after I've given a message, "You're enjoying yourself aren't you?" Yes sir I amI absolutely am.

God has given me the desires of my heart----more abundantly than I could have wished. One of the things God has revealed in me is that I love to teach---in a small 32 person OakBrook U. class or here on Sunday morning----my passion gets stirred.

There was one more thing I thought about in high school. Being a musician. Folks, I am privileged to sit in the best seat in the house most Sunday mornings playing with the world's most dangerous church band. As a musician outside of LA or Nashville's recording scene, I don't think I could wish for anything better. Do you realize I've been able to play songs by:

James Taylor, Billy Joel, SmashMouth, The Who, James Brown, The Beatles, Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, The Allman Brothers, Rush, Led Zeppelin, Miles Davis, Syro Gyra, The Rippingtons, The Yellowjackets, Dave Brubeck, Bachman Turner Overdrive, Chicago, Dave Koz, Fleetwood Back, Kenny G----what?! sorry that's a type-o! Carole King, Doobie Brothers, U2, The Eagles, Don Henley, Michael W. Smith, Steven Curtis Chapman, Jars of Clay, Nicole Nordman, Chris Rice, Dave Weckl (who?),

All of which I have been able to play right here on a church stage---with high tech gear and absolutely the best musicians around, for the most significant of reasons.

From a passion standpoint, my cup runneth over---My wife used to say I was the luckiest guy she knew---the reality is I am a blessed man---blessed in the area of my God-given passions---no doubt about it.

Psalm 37:3-5 says, "Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart." (emphasis added)

Friends, I have seen this verse come leaping off the pages of the Bible and into my life---God has given me the desires of my heart----and attached them to building His Kingdom---Which I have found to be second to none in significance---second to none.

This verse says God will give you the desires of your heart. We need to understand that the word "heart" in the Bible, means: The center of the human spirit, from which emotions come, thoughts, motivations, courage and action.

For some people that's easy enough to understand---you are naturally an "emotional" being----you are "in-touch" with your emotions. But that's not true of all of us. Some of us have to try harder than others to connect with the emotional part of our being---the part of us that gets excited or motivated about something

Allow me to say this----for some this morning, the pile of obligations you put on the floor next to you a few minutes ago is huge---you recruited half the row you're sitting in to help you set it down. Maybe it's the first time you've metaphorically put it down in years---maybe decades.

I am confident that in this room there are people who haven't had a chance to dreamto ask yourself "What interests me?----because life has been making a living, and taking care of your family since you can remember----and like the theme song to Cheers says, "Making your way in the world today takes everything you've got."

And with total respect to you---- I want to say, "I understand." I am 35 years old. When I struggled about what to do with my life I was between 17 & 18 years old. It's only taken me about 17-18 years to get to a point where I can thank God for the passions he has unleashed in my life.

Between 18 and 35 have been times of struggling to make it financially----learning how to be married, unmarried and married. There were years that I didn't play music at all. There were years I didn't write anything but checks to pay bills and the occasional birthday card.

So I want to say, it is possible that where you are today is not a season of life where you can really embrace what I'm talking about today. That's ok---but you must listen anyway---because eventually, God wants to unleash your passion.

God did not promise a life of working like a dog, reclining, flipping channels and then going to bed---and then repeating. God did not intend our life to reads like shampoo instructions:

So here is my respectful challenge this morningAre you in a season of life that really keeps you from dreaming about what God has in store for you? Or has this season turned into years.and the years into a way of life.and have you resigned that this is your life.this is your place in this world?

Ohif it is, I beg you, please don't let it be so. The God I believe in is so much larger than your pile of obligations. He's bigger than every obstacle that has come into my life and said, "Morgan, you can't do that because."

If you're restless or squirming a little right now---I want to tell you--- that is a good thing---it's a good thing. Andy Stanley writes, "Anyone who is emotionally involved---frustrated, brokenhearted, maybe even angry---about the way things are in light of the way they believe things could be, is a candidate for a vision (or passion).

Let's have a moment of clarification----Please don't hear me saying there is anything wrong with a particular type of job, profession or career. For a point of reference, the apostle Paul was a tentmaker---nothing seemingly spectacular about that. But that's not who he was----it was a necessary part of his life, but his passion was sharing the Word of Jesus Christ.

Let me just make my controversial statement of the day: And you don't know how much this pains me---because I'm a fairly liberal thinker, which means I hate to make exclusive or closed-ended statements---But here I go anyway: You will never have "life to the full" or "the desires of your heart" without using your God-given passion to help build God's Kingdom. (pause)

Peter Kimani shared with us about his life as a man called to the church in Africa. We hung on every word he said---we were motivated-----we were emotional----the longest line of people I have ever seen in this church, stood and waited to talk with him----by the time it was done, we were all ready to hop on the next bus to Nairobi. Why?

Because he's a charismatic speaker? Although he is, I would not say that is why. We were moved because we believe that Peter Kimani is living life to the full, building God's Kingdom.

In that moment last week, we all understood that "Life in the full" has nothing to do with money---and everything to do with significance----We listened to him and said to ourselves, "Oh to be able to do what he does."(pause) Peter Kimani spilled some of his passion on us last Sunday night---and passion is contagious.

Life in the full is achieved by being used by God---every one of us. I think we know that----I think we know it in the back of our minds---but we refuse to bring to the forefront ----for lots of reasons----it means changing habits and patterns----we're scared of what we may be asked to do----we don't think enough of ourselves---

When we talk about passionwe're talking about very personal stuff---stuff we revere---we hold in high regard. What do they say about social get-togethers? Don't talk about politics or religion. Why?

Because their volatile. Why are they volatile? Because people have strong personal convictions about them. That's not unlike our passionin a way, it's a strong personal conviction. If we unleash our passion---if we decide to make it known what we're passionate about or what our vision is----somebody may not resonate with it ----or if I serve in my passion area with my gifts, what if I'm not good enough? There's a possibility of pain. We are exposing a little bit of the sacred part of us.

This is a great church---- but there's a downside to the way we do ministry here. I've heard it on several occasions. What we offer in the first 30 minutes is pretty coolyou have to admit----great music, great drama, great multi-media. It's a pretty decent level of excellence.

But then when someone up here talks about building the Kingdom, we look on stage and say, "I could never do that----what I do? Oh, you wouldn't be interested in that---

And I say that's fine---fine indeed--- Because Joseph was just a slave. Moses was just a shepherd. Paul, just a tentmaker. David was just a boy with a slingshot.

Karl Stoneking? He's just an insurance man. Chuck Binkerd is just a utilities manager. Mark Malin was just an idealic youth pastor. And I was just a finance manager.

To know more about who you really are involves looking inward and upward. Look up to God and prayerfully ask Him to help you discover the passion he has put inside of you. Then, look inside of yourself----do a passion assessment:

What are the 3-5 meaningful things that have happened in your life?maybe it was when you were a childmaybe not. And why are they important to you? What's the common denominator?

The other way to find your passion is to get your feet wet---get involved in an area of the church you think you might like. Or get involved in an area of ministry with someone you are naturally drawn to.

t's hard, if not impossible to know what's a good fit without trying a few things on for size. Let me say it again---you don't know if it's a good fit without trying a few things on for size.

Here's another thought---I believe in my heart, that many people sitting here today will be integral in starting ministries that don't yet exist at OakBrook. We haven't even begun to realize this body's potential---not even scratched the surface.

And it can all start with passion. In the scheme of God's Kingdom, passion answers the "where" question. Where do I fit in? Am I passionate about kids? About sports? About making new people feel welcome? I am passionate about______________you fill in the blank.

Ephesians 2:10 says, "For we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." We are God's workmanship. Say, "I am God's workmanship." (repeat) Now, say it like you mean it. You are God's workmanship and by going after your God-given passion He will let you know what He has for you to do.

Aren't there enough "I've got to's" in your life? What did you used to dream about? What have you closed the door to in your life that you wish you could do? Passions don't become one more thing you HAVE to dothey become something you GET to do---something that feeds your appetite for something in this world that matters.

Andy Stanley writes, "You cannot wring enough life or meaning out of secular accomplishment to satisfy your soul." Write that on your fridge: "You cannot wring enough life or meaning out of secular accomplishment to satisfy your soul." Enough said.

Passion makes all the difference in what kind of life we lead. Stereotypically, those that are continually drained, tired, discontent---are not dialed into their passion on any kind of a regular basis.

You can't fake passion. If you don't live it, people won't get it. We can't leave a legacy to our children of how to live "Life to the fullest" without utilizing the passion God gave us. You can't fake passion---if you want your kids to get it, you have to live it. The opportunity exists for us to change the status quo---by modeling what it is to live life to the fullest by living in our passion on a regular basis. (pause)

I really appreciate your attentiveness on this very "abstract" topic this morning. And I would like to offer you 2 tools to help you find your passion. One is this book, "Visioneering" by Andy Stanley. This is one of those books that from everyone from the stay at home parent to the corporate vice presidentit will speak to you with practical easy to understand ideas---it will make this concept or vision or passion clearer.

The other is the Network class on the 15th. I teach all day on how spiritual gifts & passions work in the church. There are diagnostic tests and we get a chance to look more in depth at what I touched on today.

Now here's the truly beautiful part. All you have to do is turn the page-----and it's blank. This afternoon---tomorrow----are all blank. Your choices are what you write in this. It can read with all the excitement of your VCR manual or it can read like an adventure novel, co-authored by the Divine one.

The beauty isto Godyesterday is buried in the bottom of the sea. He is concerned about what you will write today, ---to Him, yesterday was written in invisible ink and it's gone now.