Finances Winter 1987

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Treatment for Slipped Disciples

Restoring Your Spiritual Passion by Cordon MacDonald Oliver Nelson, $12.95 Reviewed by Mark Galli, pastor, Grace Presbyterian Church, Sacramento, California

I write with a bias. I was trudging through one of those stretches of passionless ministry when I read Restoring Your Spiritual Passion. To lie frank, I review as one whose passion for ministry has been restored, and this book played no small part.

Author Gordon MacDonald writes "Who of us does not crave the passion or the power to be godly people? To give witness to our faith, to serve and give selflessly? To own control of our drives and dispositions? But for many it is easier to talk about passion than to find it or, having found it, to maintain it."

That rings true especially for those in positions of spiritual leadership. The smuggle to maintain and nurture my spiritual passion remains one of the greatest challenges of my ministry. When passion evaporates, ministry seems trivial. Yet, when filled with SpititUAi passion, I find it difficult to imagine more significant or rewarding work.

MacDonald, who spent twenty-two years in the pastorate before becoming president of Inter-Varsity Christian Fellowship, understands the weariness that can weigh down Christian leaders. This weariness, however, cannot be identified simply with the psychological states of stress and bumout. In a phone conversation, MacDonald said it goes deeper than that; it is "when the whole spirit just sags."

MacDonald sees a number of reasons why this weariness troubles us today. The hurried pace of modern life and the unceasing demand for church programs are but two. He moves on to thoughtfully analyze seven conditions that threaten spiritual passion, such as the Drained ...

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