John needed passion to fulfill his God-given calling. Every pioneer needs passion. Pioneers cannot be satisfied with mere maintenance, for they have nothing yet to maintain. They create from nothing. The common folk often view them as eccentric – but their passion attracts other pioneers.

What gave John his passion?

1. He spent time in solitude. Before John began his public ministry, he lived in the wilderness and spent much time with God. He boiled with the presence of God and could hardly stay quiet.
2. He felt consumed with his mission. John knew of Jesus’ identity and His soon-coming advent. John urgently tried to prepare the way for Him.
3. He possessed a magnetic temperament and wiring. John is described as a voice crying out (Luke 3:4) and as an exhorter (3:18). Like a magnet, he repelled some and attracted others.
4. He possessed a strong sense of justice. When people asked John what they should do, he told them to do justice (3:10-14). This hunger for justice drove him. He wouldn’t sit still until he saw results.
5. He saw things as black and white. Like others with prophetic gifts, John saw most issues as either black or white. While this may sound narrow to most pastors or businesspeople, it is part of what gave John his passion.
6. He felt dissatisfied with anything but action. John was a doer. He didn’t want people to merely talk about repentance and faith. He told the Pharisees they should bring forth fruit to prove their repentance.

Passion makes for an effective ministry. So how can you increase your passion?

1. Take your temperature. Get an honest assessment from coworkers: Are you passionate about what you do? You can’t start a fire in your organization unless it first burns in you.
2. Return to your first love. Many leaders allow life to push them off track. Think back to when you first began your career. What drove you? What made you enthusiastic?
3. Associate with people of passion. Birds of a feather flock together. Hot coals stay hot when they remain in the fire. Find passionate people and let them rub off on you.

People who have a passion show it strongly. Great thoughts of passionate leadership from John Maxwell.

Luke 3:2-22

during the high-priesthood of Annas and Caiaphas, the word of God came to John son of Zechariah in the wilderness. ³ He went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. ⁴ As it is written in the book of the words of Isaiah the prophet:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.
⁵ Every valley shall be filled in,
    every mountain and hill made low.
The crooked roads shall become straight,
    the rough ways smooth.
⁶ And all people will see God’s salvation.’”^[a]

⁷ John said to the crowds coming out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ For I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ⁹ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.”

¹⁰ “What should we do then?” the crowd asked.

¹¹ John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

¹² Even tax collectors came to be baptized. “Teacher,” they asked, “what should we do?”

¹³ “Don’t collect any more than you are required to,” he told them.

¹⁴ Then some soldiers asked him, “And what should we do?”

He replied, “Don’t extort money and don’t accuse people falsely—be content with your pay.”

¹⁵ The people were waiting expectantly and were all wondering in their hearts if John might possibly be the Messiah. ¹⁶ John answered them all, “I baptize you with^[b] water. But one who is more powerful than I will come, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with^[c] the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹⁷ His winnowing fork is in his hand to clear his threshing floor and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” ¹⁸ And with many other words John exhorted the people and proclaimed the good news to them.

¹⁹ But when John rebuked Herod the tetrarch because of his marriage to Herodias, his brother’s wife, and all the other evil things he had done, ²⁰ Herod added this to them all: He locked John up in prison.

The Baptism and Genealogy of Jesus

²¹ When all the people were being baptized, Jesus was baptized too. And as he was praying, heaven was opened ²² and the Holy Spirit descended on him in bodily form like a dove. And a voice came from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased.”

David never figured out how to deal with the rebellion effectively; it was as though his anointing and authority had left him.

No one saw this more clearly than his son, Absalom. When Amnon raped his sister Tamar and David did nothing about it, Absalom became irate (13:22). HIs fury grew the longer the king delayed justice. Further, Absalom tried and failed to get an audience with his father. It was as though David had abandoned his role as spiritual leader over his family.

Finally, Absalom could take it no longer. He got everyone’s attention by committing two crimes. First, he avenged his sister Tamar by murdering Amnon; for this crime his father David banished him (13:37,38). After he was permitted to return, Absalom got angery with general Joab and set his field on fire (14:30).

Despite his action, Absalom couldn’t get the fatherly attention he wanted so desperately. Past the boiling point, he used his passion to sabotage his father’s leadership. He played politics and convinced people to bring their lawsuits to him. He lobbied for support of his leadership. Finally he raised an army to rebel against the king.

In the end, Absalom died as a maverick leader whose passion went awry. As you study his story in 2 Samuel 13-18, look for those lessons about passion gone bad:

1. Passion without perspective brings death (13:22-29).
2. Passion will find expression, in either healthy or unhealthy ways (14:28-30).
3. People follow passion over orthodoxy, even when it’s unwise (15:1-12).
4. Leaders who follow passion defeat leaders who follow protocol (15:13,14).
5. Self-centered passion alway skews the judgment of a leader (16:22).
6. Unchanneled and unbridled passion damages everyone near it (17,18)
7. When passion outweighs wisdom, leaders sabotage themselves (18:9).

The Good News

Absalom represents a leaders who can’t bridle his passion. When a leader embraces passion before he learns submission, trouble always follows.

Does this mean we should condemn passion? Absolutely not! Passion is one of the 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. Consider the benefits of passion:

1. Passion is the first step to achievement.
2. Passion increases your will-power.
3. Passion changes you.
4. Passion makes the impossible possible.

Passion helps develop your leadership. Passion must, however, pour from the heart of a leader who is wise, accountable, submissive, and unselfish.

2 Samuel 13:22-18:9 details the tragic fallout from Amnon’s rape of his half-sister Tamar, focusing on Absalom’s calculated revenge (murdering Amnon), his exile, and ultimately his rebellion against King David, culminating in David’s painful flight from Jerusalem and a pivotal battle where Absalom’s rebellion ends with his own death, causing David immense grief. The passage moves from family tragedy to civil war, revealing the deep sin and consequences within David’s house.

Insights of John Maxwell to grow leadership skills and hone your passion.