***I may have circulated this earlier, but I believe it to be the most relevant now as you prepare to navigate 2023.
“A great leader’s courage to fulfill his vision comes from passion, not position.”
—John Maxwell
I had a dream recently that I believe included a word for men in 2023 regarding vision and passion. I had recently been reading about these two terms and their relationship to effective leadership. In the dream the faces of younger men, age 25 to 45 maybe, became known to me. I understood that I was to tell them about passion because it would be fuel for the vision God had given them and enable and guide certain gifts relating to their purpose. I saw other young men in another place who were full of passion but not connected with a heavenly vision…I was greatly saddened…it was like talents being buried. I was awakened…it was about 2AM and I had a few moments to reflect on this dream.
I was back asleep in a few minutes and had a second dream. I was telling some men of all ages about the two terms fear and courage. This time it was as if I was talking to them one at a time in fast sequence. I was telling them of the Native American story of a father telling his young son that he had two wolves inside, the courage wolf and the fear wolf. As the story goes, we must decide on which wolf to feed and which wolf to starve. There has been much “fear food” in the past two years from Covid, civil unrest and now there are war and economic-issue-type-food presented daily for “eating”.
I told these men that they must feast on the Word…the Bread of Life and bask in His presence—that The Word would fill them with courage…that it would starve the spirit of fear…that it was power…His presence was love…it would give them a place to stand and fight with courage. Each one seemed to understand…that was the end of this dream.
A few years ago, I came across an amazing quote on the often-misunderstood relationship between passion and vision: “Vision does not ignite growth; passion does. Passion fuels vision and vision is the focus of the power of passion. Leaders who are passionate about their call create vision.” .
Ken Hemphill, Barney Barnes, 12-28-2022, Faith Men’s Prayer Coordinator
A man with great conviction is hard to ignore. His passion fuels him to action in thought, word, and deeds.