Science Fiction teaches us that when a space ship approaches a black hole, gravity becomes infinite, things spiral down and get worse until the luckless crew passes the inescapable event horizon. Many churches are captured in a similar death spiral and I am convinced that elevating Spiritual Passion is the only answer.
Seven marks of low spiritual passion are:
- A reluctance to witness or share faith with others
- A lack of genuine expectation of prayer to change things
- A loss of interest in studying the Bible or expecting it to have truth that can be applied to daily life
- The inability to show any joy when talking about faith
- A lifeless feel to worship, even though the worship performance may be of excellent quality
- A disconnect between the work of the church’s committees and the faith that the church professes (what we believe doesn’t affect what we do)
- A loss of hope for the future coupled with a reluctance to try new things
The four ways to lift Spiritual Passion in a church are:
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- Cultivate a sense of Expectation when the church Prays – encourage people to share how God is answering their prayers. Turn every church committee into a prayerful small group.
- Always link Scripture with its Relevance to today’s world – have those who read scripture also say how it links with something they experienced this past week
- Witness with Joy – Nothing goes without saying. Teach people how to speak transparently about their love for Jesus
- Worship with Passion – Make sure that in every component of worship, the emotional feel of the act relates to the emotional meaning of the content. If the subject is serious, then make the emotional feel of the act, reflective. If the content is about heaven, be joyful. Bring passion back into the practice of our faith.
For more, see Ezekiel’s Bones by Bill Kemp available at www.notperfectyet.com