What is your passion area? Passion is defined as:
pas·sion ( P ) Pronunciation Key (pshn)
n.
A powerful emotion, such as love, joy, hatred, or anger.
Ardent love.
Strong sexual desire; lust.
The object of such love or desire.
Boundless enthusiasm: His skills as a player don’t quite match his passion for the game.
The object of such enthusiasm: Soccer is her passion.
An abandoned display of emotion, especially of anger: He’s been known to fly into a passion without warning.
Passion
The sufferings of Jesus in the period following the Last Supper and including the Crucifixion, as related in the New Testament.
A narrative, musical setting, or pictorial representation of Jesus’s sufferings.
Archaic. Martyrdom.
Archaic. Passivity.
What do you have boundless enthusiasm about? I have that about working with emerging leaders in a variety of formats. Coaching, StrengthsFinder, Volleyball, Church Leaders, etc. I had lunch today with a student named Jacob. Jacob is just finishing his first year of seminary and is passionate about serving people. He is also passionate about church ministry. It is fun to sit down with him and hear his heart about serving others. I do not look at my watch when I sit with people and try to help guide them a bit, it is not work for me.
What is not work for you? How can you get paid to do what is not work for you? That is the question - what is your answer? Are you surviving or thriving? JVD
I feel very similar when it comes to working with people. When I’m in a place where I can help people connect the dots in their life and lead them in a new (or rediscovered) direction, I can be there for hours and not feel like I’m working.
On the other hand, I’m a pretty strongly expressed introvert. Wednesdays are the days I have most of my meetings like this with people, and I always find that at the end of the day, I’m completely wiped out. It’s a good tired, but tired nonetheless. Does that happen for you?
Oh, I guess I get paid to do what I’m doing, so I’m happy about that!
this afternoon i spent almost two and a half hours coaching another church’s youth worship team, helping them work through a worship set, learning how to arrange a song, work together as a team and facilitate worship rather than performance…that kind of stuff. even though it came near the end of a long day, i was definietly more energized after than before. for me , this was really living!
grace and peace- tt
I am passionate about teaching (ecclesiology, theology, ethics, history), giving advice and insights into the nature and function of the Church, having coffee with new friends, scheming about how to do contextual ministry, and just talking with friends about how they can be faithful to the provocative call of Jesus in their life.
We must get into our passion area. Then we will be able to make it through areas where we are not strong. But, we cannot live in our area of weakness. We have to manage around it. JVD
I’ve just finished reading Alex’s post from last year about leader types. I think I am a strategic leader. I was surprised and yet not surprised to read your comment that this type accounts for only about 4% of leaders. During a job interview yesterday, I was told by one of the pastors that my combination of Admin and Vision/Strategy was rare. I have been told this before and it did make me wonder if I was being accurate in assessing my work style. StrengthsFinder helped me better understand me. In thinking about my “brain” and strengths, it makes sense to me that while I don’t want to spend my life entering data into a computer, I like to see first hand what is going on in the information I’m getting. It helps me “see” what to do with it, from how to categorize, to how to mobilize. The position is for a new ministry at our church, which is exciting to me, the “new” always is. My passion(s) is(are) getting things going, having influence in what/how they’re done and getting people on board. If I were to get this job, it would be one of those “I can’t believe I get paid for this” types of jobs. As usual, your post is so helpful at an important time.
thanks - I said yesterday to my coworker once in a while I spit something out that makes sense to others… JVD