{"id":424,"date":"2008-04-28T01:01:37","date_gmt":"2008-04-28T01:01:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.beliefnet.com\/markdroberts\/2008\/04\/passionate-spirituality-part-1.html"},"modified":"2008-04-28T01:01:37","modified_gmt":"2008-04-28T01:01:37","slug":"passionate-spirituality-part-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/2008\/04\/passionate-spirituality-part-1.html","title":{"rendered":"Passionate Spirituality, Part 1"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"st.Yesterday I preached my first sermon in my new home church, St. Mark Presbyterian Church in Boerne, Texas. The topic had been assigned to me by the pastor, John Watson. It was sermon three in a series he’s doing on Natural Church Development<\/a>, a biblically-based curriculum for healthy church growth. My job was to preach on “Passionate Spirituality.” (Photo: The chancel of St. Mark Presbyterian Church.)
\nBeginning with today’s post, I’m going to share that sermon with you. I believe it’s relevant, not only for my new church, but for all Christians who seek to live as disciples of Christ, and for all churches that seek that grow as healthy communities of Christ.
\nSo, on to today’s sermon, beginning with my Scripture reading.
\nScripture Reading: Galatians 5:16-25<\/strong>
\nLive by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh; for these are opposed to each other, to prevent you from doing what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to the law. Now the works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. I am warning you, as I warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.
\nBy contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.
\nIntroduction<\/strong>
\nPastor John is in the middle of a series on Natural Church Development<\/em>. It’s a fine approach to church health and growth, and I’m glad to be able to preach one of the sermons in this series. The first sermon focused on “Empowering Leadership.” In healthy churches, the leaders encourage and empower the members to be ministers of Jesus Christ. John’s next sermon in the series explored “Gift-Oriented Ministry.” In this message last week, John explained that each of us received the gift of the Holy Spirit when we became Christians. The Spirit empowers us to do the ministry of Christ, not in our own strength, but in the power of God.
\nToday’s sermon is really an extension of last week’s message. It’s called “Passionate Spirituality.” A healthy, growing church will be characterized not only by “Empowering Leadership” and “Gift-Oriented Ministry,” but also by “Passionate Spirituality.”
\nPassionate Spirituality<\/strong>
\nWhat comes to mind when you hear the phrase passionate spirituality<\/em>?
\nPerhaps you remember a time in your life when you were excited about being a Christian. Maybe it was when you were a new believer, when you just couldn’t get over the fact that God loves you, when you just couldn’t get enough Bible study.
\nPerhaps passionate spirituality<\/em> makes you think of people you know who are still excited about their Christian faith. They’re always talking about it, even though they have been believers for years. (Maybe you secretly feel a little envious of those people. Or maybe they drive you crazy.)
\nPerhaps, for you, the phrase passionate spirituality<\/em> seems like a contradiction in terms, an oxymoron, to use the technical term. Passionate spirituality<\/em> may be like deafening silence<\/em>, or working vacation<\/em>, or jumbo shrimp<\/em>. Maybe you think of spirituality as something quiet and mysterious, something peaceful you’d rarely associate with excitement. Passion, on the other hand, is getting fired up about something. It’s expressive and vibrant. It gets your blood pumping. You might think of passionate sexuality<\/em> rather than passionate spirituality<\/em>. Or, given that we’re in Texas, maybe you’d be inclined toward passionate football<\/em>, or passionate hunting<\/em>, or passionate cheering for the Spurs<\/em>. So what are we to do with passionate spirituality<\/em>?
\nPassionate Spirituality According to Natural Church Development<\/strong>
\nPastor John was good enough to give me some of what the Natural Church Development folks have written about passionate spirituality. What they mean by this phrase has less to do with strong emotions and more to do with “the degree to which faith is actually lived out with commitment, passion, and enthusiasm.” When it comes to passionate spirituality, the Natural Church Development people ask: “Are the Christians in this church ‘on fire?’ Do they live committed lives and practice their faith with joy and enthusiasm?”
\nIt certainly makes sense that if church members are living out their faith with commitment and passion, their church would be growing. Faithful discipleship is contagious. But I wonder why the Natural Church Development folks call this sort of thing passionate spirituality? Why not “daily discipleship” or “active commitment”? Why call enthusiastic living out of our faith passionate spirituality? <\/em>
\nThere is a good answer to this question. It comes to us from Paul’s letter to the Galatians. I’ll begin to offer this answer in tomorrow’s post.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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Roberts","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-content\/wphb-cache\/gravatar\/f2d\/f2ddf5f080861f66ea230384f9d1bab2x96.jpg","caption":"Mark D. Roberts"},"description":"The Rev. Dr. Mark D. Roberts is a pastor, author, retreat leader, speaker, and blogger. Since October 2007 he has been the Senior Director and Scholar-in-Residence for Laity Lodge, a multifaceted ministry in the Hill Country of Texas. Before coming to Laity Lodge, he was for sixteen years the Senior Pastor of Irvine Presbyterian Church in Irvine, California (a city in Orange County about forty miles south of Los Angeles). Before his time at Irvine Pres, Mark served on the staff of the First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood as Associate Pastor of Education. (Thanks to Janel Pahl for taking the photo to the right.) Mark studied at Harvard University, receiving a B.A. in Philosophy, an M.A. in the Study of Religion, and a Ph.D. in New Testament and Christian Origins. He has taught classes in New Testament for Fuller Theological Seminary and San Francisco Theological Seminary. Mark has written several books, including No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer (WaterBrook, 2005), Dare to Be True (WaterBrook, 2003), Jesus Revealed (WaterBrook, 2002), After \"I Believe\" (Baker, 2002), and Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Word, 1993). His most recent book is Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John (Crossway, 2007). He is currently working on a commentary on Ephesians that will be published by Zondervan in 2014. Mark writes a devotional for The High Calling of Our Daily Work, a website associated with Laity Lodge. His \"Daily Reflections\" can be viewed online or sent as a daily email. If you wish to receive this email, just visit TheHighCalling.org and sign up. Mark serves on the editorial board of Worship Leader magazine, where he publishes articles and reviews, including his regular column \"Lyrical Poetry.\" Additionally, he has published dozens of articles in leading magazines and journals. He often speaks for churches and other Christian groups, and has been interviewed on over seventy-five radio programs nationwide. Mark is married to Linda, who is a Marriage and Family Therapist, a Spiritual Director, and a retreat speaker. They have two children, Nathan and Kara.For Publicity Photos and Bio Statements for Mark, please check here. Mark's Dossier Professional History: Senior Director and Scholar-in Residence, Laity Lodge, October 2007 to present. Senior Pastor Irvine Presbyterian Church, June 1991 to September 2007 Adjunct Assistant Professor Fuller Theological Seminary, 1994 to 2007. Courses: New Testament Theology and Exegesis. Adjunct Instructor San Francisco Theological Seminary, 1995 to 2001. Courses: New Testament Greek and Exegesis Associate Pastor of Education First Presbyterian Church of Hollywood, 1987-1991 Teaching Fellow Harvard University, 1980-1983 Education: Ph.D. in the Study of Religion. Harvard University, 1992. Area: New Testament and Christian Origins M.A. in the Study of Religion Harvard University, 1984. A.B. magna cum laude in Philosophy Harvard University, 1979. Phi Beta Kappa; Danforth Fellowship Books: Can We Trust the Gospels? Investigating the Reliability of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Crossway, 2007 No Holds Barred: Wrestling with God in Prayer. WaterBrook, 2005 Dare to Be True: Living in the Freedom of Complete Honesty. WaterBrook, 2003. Jesus Revealed: Know Him Better to Love Him Better. WaterBrook, 2002. After \"I Believe\": Experiencing Authentic Christian Living. Baker, 2002. Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther in the Communicator's Commentary Series. Word, 1993. Contacting Mark: You can reach Mark at: E-mail: mark@markdroberts.com mroberts@laitylodge.org Phone: Laity Lodge: (830) 792-1216 Address: Laity Lodge 719 Earl Garrett Kerrville, TX 78028","url":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/author\/mroberts"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/214"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=424"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/424\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=424"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=424"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/markdroberts\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=424"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}