As a minister of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, it is my passion to invest in the lives of "faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim.2:2). In spite of disappointments, the passion always remains the same. Maybe that is because my passion is to see God grow and mature His people in the deeps truths of Scripture. Is this passion just of the preacher or is every child of God to have this perspective? If Matthew 28:19-20 was given to the first disciples of our Lord who in turn were to invest into others, the call is no different today. John Piper gives us this perspective of the pastor-preacher. As you read this don't limit it to your pastor, but apply it to your life as you help "people" to lose "everything this would can give."
"Preachers must have a passion to produce people whose satisfaction in God is so solid, so deep, and so unshakable that suffering and death - losing everything this world can give - will not make people murmur or curse God, but rest in the promise, "In His presence is fullness of joy, at His right hand are pleasures forevermore" (Psalm 16:11). But how shall men preach like that? The answer is that the preacher must suffer and the preacher must rejoice. The preacher himself must be hurt in the ministry, and the preacher must be happy in God" (John Piper, "Preaching to Suffering People," in Feed My Sheep: A Passionate Plea for Preaching, edited by Don Kistler [Soli Deo Gloria, 2002], p. 247-248).
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