A Rare Commodity ... Passion!

I had an awesome day yesterday! I met the pastor of an NCMI church that I am thinking about attending while I am up in Birmingham. It's called "Birmingham Church International". (If you look at the NCMI website you will see a lot of their churches have the word "International" in it - says a lot doesn't it?) The lunch was great in many respects but most awesome of all was to hear the pastor expound his vision - not just for the local area the church is in, not even for the city but for the nations! He has an incredible heart to see the Spirit of God get into the universities and from there send the Gospel back to nations all across the world. It occured to me that passion can be sometimes a rare commodity and one that is all too easily lost. The pastor admitted it himself - that he had lost his fire at one point in the ministry.

I was re-looking at the mini-series that I have written on blogging.

1. "The Ethics of Spirit-Filled Blogging".

2. "The Power of Personal Blogs".

3. "Quoting on a Spirit-Filled Blog".

And this challenge faced me;

"How do we keep passion alive in our writing?".

Yes of course it is important to consider how we blog - the technical aspect of where to link and who to link to etc etc. But one of the things I loved most about the Puritan writings is how you can sense their passion for God soaking through the ages and affecting us here and now centuries later! Consider this; if by the divine will of God what we write here and now on our blogs was preserved for centuries later - what would those people make of them? Would the first thing on their minds be - "Wow - those people in 2007 were passionate for God?". Or would they be saddened at our obsession with petty secondary issues and not the glory of God?

I read this in a book I've been studying recently;

"Writing of course is a superb means for conveying precise and accurate information. It is ideal if you want to refer back to issues for analysis and reference. But there is a drawback ... As the old adeage states; "Written words objectify - spoken words personify" ... The limitations of writing are simple. It lacks the creative breath and charisma which is at the core of all good communication".

Let's strive to convey as much passion as we can through our writing and seek to emulate the example of our fore-fathers in the faith! Speaking of which - I have just brought Rob Rufus's book; "Living in the Grace of God". When I've finished reading it I will review it. It looks set to be a life-changer!