Passive guilt complex- Donald Miller writes about his interview with a surgeon whose opinion was that evangelicals are motivated by guilt. This came from Don asking the surgeon why he does what he does. The response was “because it is fun!” This shocked Donald and me. The surgeon could have said, “Because I help save people’s lives” or “because I have an obligation to give back to society.” I would accept that answer and even think it noble but is it the best answer?
Don is a proponent of joy in work and ministry much like the church in Acts. This interaction with the surgeon pushed Don to stop engaging in the “ought to.” He says that we should get in touch with services or ministries that “come out of our skill sets and passions”. Donald Miller poses the question that I would ask of your ministry, do you live with a feeling of “ought to” in your life?
In cohort we talk a lot about duty, a lot about potential threats, a lot about things to avoid, but we also talk about leading out of our particular skills and particular likes and dislikes. If we aren’t motivated by passion and joy, what then are we motivated by? My fear is that when we are motivated solely by “ought to” we end up creating a performance based leadership not a passion based. I wonder if we lead out of a sense of “ought to”, would we wake up one morning in a place we don’t want to be in?
sure... i'll do this one...
ReplyDeletereally...sure? don't do me no favors Miles :)
ReplyDeleteread it like, "ABSOLUTELY!!! I'LL EAGERLY DO THIS ONE!"
ReplyDeleteDoes that sound better?
Wow. This is simply refreshing, and seemingly long overdue. I’m going to tweak what you’re saying a little bit. I understand that what you’re saying isn’t exactly this, but I think it’s the next step.
ReplyDeleteMinistry should be fun! This point hasn’t been mentioned, that I can think of, at all in our cohort classes. We’ve referred to it as rewarding, challenging, painful and the like, but I don’t know if we’ve been reassured that it will be fun. All of the above adjectives come from our sense of duty. When we accept the call, our duty becomes a central focus.
I understand that our professors are trying to (rightly) prepare us for the difficult, dark, tempting, obstacles of ministry because one needs more cheer leading to get through those times than the joyous ones. I appreciate the realism that has scented our discussions about what ministry will be/is. However, I wish the scent was a balanced Cucumber melon, instead of what seems now like a Limburger diesel. The aroma of realism has nearly made the other side of ministry imperceptible.
I pray this isn’t my own innocence, and it has been confirmed by those MUCH older than me (Sherwood), but ministry must be, all the things we’ve discussed, and fun!