Key: Be passionate about God, self, and others (through the work we do).
Out of the abundance of a man’s heart, the mouth speaks.
A) For Spiritual Formation
Love is the sum of all righteousness.
Our passion for God, people, and work comes from fully experiencing God’s Passion for us. From that place of enjoying his passion for us, we proceed to have a passion for him and his purposes in the world.
The greatest commandment given above is at the heart of the Christian faith. Essentially, we are called to have a passion for God. But how does one do that? The source of that passion and the passion for obeying and glorifying God in everything else comes from daily living in the passion of God for us. We must first experience God’s passion for us daily before we can have a passion for God. As John Piper would say, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”
The greatest invitation in the Bible is for us to experience God’s passion for us. If we don’t first accept this invitation daily and delight ourselves in God, we cannot fulfill the greatest command that he gives us. The greatest invitation gives the power to carry out the greatest commandment.
What is passion? Passion = Great love; Passion is love in action; it is a passion for King and Kingdom
Passion comes from the ancient Latin word “passiō or passiōn.” It meant “to suffer.” It was also used to represent the sufferings of Jesus or a martyr. As the Bible says, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16). The idea here is a great love that a person has that allows them to suffer (if needed) to build a relationship with another or help that person. The kind of love that does whatever possible to help.
Passion for God = loving God with all our hearts, souls, and minds. By focusing on loving God, the people we serve, and the work we do, we fulfill the greatest commandment and the second greatest commandment. Out of that three-dimensional passion (love), prayers overflow from our hearts to God. As you will notice, our second core value (Relationships) further builds on these first two commandments.
Our love for Jesus fuels our love for those we serve which fuels our love for our work.
B) For Hiring, Performance Evaluation, and Improvement, etc.
We are full of faith in God, think big, and take bold calculated risks to advance the vision God has given us.
We have three loves: Jesus, the people we serve, and the work we do.
During interviews, we want to see a life story (past and present) that has evidence of significant obedience and passion for Jesus. We also want to see a Life story (past and present) that has evidence of a significant passion for the people group we are called to serve.
Representative Behaviors for this value:
- Passion for winning. Has passion and determination to win at work (by producing the right results and behaviors). Has the will to succeed; Is highly motivated to succeed. Why? Not simply to win but b/c we truly believe that the things we are fighting for are worth fighting for and that winning really matters to those we are fighting for.
- Loves what he/she does at work and has fun doing it.
- Demonstrates and creates enthusiasm for the work we do.
- Great Passion → Great Faith → Great Hope. We are full of faith in God, think big, and take bold calculated risks to advance the vision God has given us.
- Hunger. Is hungry. But not just any hunger; is hungry for the same things the team is hungry for. There has to be hunger and hunger alignment with the team.
- Has Grit: passion + perseverance for long-term goals.
- Hard work: Works hard and tirelessly to achieve results.
- Resilient. S/he is tenacious, persistent, and resilient. S/he falls down and gets right back up to continue fighting. Perseveres and never quits. Fights till the end if it is the right thing for our ministry.
- Fights as a praying warrior.
- Acts with courage even in the face of difficulty.
- Has a can-do attitude. Doesn’t believe the statement, “It can’t be done.” Instead, s/he believes that “where there’s a will, there’s away.”
** Passion for the work we do and the people we serve all flow from our passion for God.
What are our three driving passions? Jesus, those we serve, and the work we do (i.e., helping people live lives to the fullest).
Our love for God, “in the closet,”(cf. Mat 6:6) shows up in and shapes our love for others and the work we do. Our love for God, “in the closet,”(cf. Mat 6:6) drives everything.
Q: In what ways am I growing in my passion for Jesus, those we serve, and the work we do?
Bible Verses
“If you love me, keep my commands” (John 14:15). Since we cannot objectively assess a person’s hidden relationship with God, we assess passion for God by how a person passionately obeys the calling or mission God has given our organization. The apostle John also said, “If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.” In the same way, we cannot passionately love God without passionately loving our brothers and sisters whom God has called us to serve. As such, in the end, passion for God, self, and others becomes evaluated by looking for passion for the work we are called to do and the people we serve.
One day, a Pharisee who was an expert in the law tested Jesus with this question. “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law? Jesus replied: Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.’”Matthew 22:34-40
Jesus said, “Love the Lord your God with all your passion and prayer and intelligence.” Matt 22:37 MSG
Jesus answered him, “‘Love the Lord your God with every passion of your heart, with all the energy of your being, and with every thought that is within you.” Matt 22:37 TPT
“My passion and delight is in your word, for I love what you say to me!” Psalm 119:47 TPT
“1 As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. 2 My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God?” Psalm 42:1-2 NIV
The Greatest Commandment
“Hearing that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, the Pharisees got together. One of them, an expert in the law, tested him with this question: “Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the Law?”
Jesus replied: “‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ All the Law and the Prophets hang on these two commandments.” Matthew 22:34–40 NIV
“The entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Galatians 5:14 NIV
Love Is the Greatest
1 Corinthians 13:1-13
Our first call is to a relationship with God
“And he appointed twelve (whom he also named apostles) so that they might be with him and he might send them out to preach” Mark 3:14 ESV.
We are called first to be with Jesus, to love him, and to have a relationship with him. That’s the first call. Everything flows from that relationship (being with him). The second thing is that he sends us to do work to serve specific people. That work can be preaching (as it was for the apostles), or it can be something else. Regardless of who we are, our first call is to a loving relationship with God.
Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you
“You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.” Mat 5:43-47 NIV
43-47 “You’re familiar with the old written law, ‘Love your friend,’ and its unwritten companion, ‘Hate your enemy.’ I’m challenging that. I’m telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best—the sun to warm and the rain to nourish—to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.” Mat 5:43-47 MSG. Also, see this passage in the NIV version.
**Our first two core values directly cover the Great Commandment shown in Matthew 22:37-40 ESV. Our 9th value (Disciple-making) covers the Great Commission.
Resources
Patrick Lencioni: The ideal team member is hungry, humble, and smart.
https://www.amazon.jobs/en/principles
