Every fire needs two kinds of fuel: kindling and firewood.
Kindling burns easily, but is quickly consumed. Our passions have kindling—ideas, insights, role models, or materials that cause our imaginations to flare up and kick us into high gear.
Firewood is the fuel that keeps the fire burning longest and hottest. The firewood of our passion usually requires much effort for a more sustainable yield, depending on things like research, practice, and personal investment.
Often, we rely too much on our kindling to keep our passion burning, but there are only so many times you can fall in love with that cute smile or experience the joy of jumping around just for fun. Eventually, that first spark ceases to flash and we become bored. When that happens, we must deliberately feed our passions with the long-burning fuel of intense discipline and intentionality.
The church of the future will both ignite and sustain passionate people. She will provide excitements that spark new enthusiasm and equip her people to burn brightly for a long, long time.
Adapted from Then. Now. Next.: A Biblical vision of the church, the kingdom, and the future.