Gary Hamel said, “Extraordinary things are done by communities of passion.” And I think it’s true.
Yet it’s difficult. Finding your passion is hard enough.
Committing to it is harder still.
But finding and joining a group of people for whom interest has crystallized into passion – now that’s rarely done.
What we get instead is “whatever.” It’s studied insouciance. Not enough to leave a mark on the universe. Not enough to build a life on.
I want to find a community whose passion matches Jesus’ own when he said. “I will keep on driving out demons and healing people today and tomorrow, and on the third day I will reach my goal.” (Luke 13:32)
This past weekend, we hosted about 300 of them (mostly World Race alumni) at a gathering in Gainesville. I think most of them have this yearning I speak of. And this week, 40 of them stuck around to go through a one another week exploring various communities of passion that they might somehow join.
Have you ever been a part of a community of passion? What did it feel like?
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I am getting closer…and for this I am thankful…I see glimpses of it on the horizon and hope that I will be one of several that come together to form such a community.
One of love and service that puts Jesus first in every day life yet is held together over common ground. I sense a part of this in the online cohort I am a part of through George Fox University in an evangelism course I am taking led by Dan Kimball, but I know there is more…
In our experience community came from a shared effort and the miraculous gift of God. The people we are in relationship with came together to do a short term mission trip. That shared effort has now involved over 150 people, lasted for eight years and counting, and drawn us into such close relationships that we consider these people more like family than some of our family. Some have moved in and out of the closer fellowship and been led to serve in new areas. This is ok. This is what God has brought and why would we ever strive with that? Passion is sustained through commitment not feeling. My description of Community:a secure covenant of love, a continually shared labor and a genuine concern for maintaining fellowship.
God did this. We sought to be available, we worked together in unity, and we were given the gift of community.