arrogance vs. passion

so today, i was engaged in a conversation with multiple people about Jesus and pastors; specifically joel osteen. i've heard quite a bit about joel lately and some opposing viewpoints about his way of preaching and teaching. so i became curious. i even showed 3 videos on my facebook that explored joel's "people focused" messages versus paul washer's "God focused" messages. being a fan of pastors like mark driscoll, paul washer and john piper (who's style is very different than joel's) i began to wonder why is that 7 million people are drawn to joel's sermons every week (this would include his television audience). i made a statement/asked a question why do people watch this man when it appears that he is only preaching what is known as the "prosperity bible"...that God is good; we are good people; and that God will bless us with prosperity and enriched lives if we only follow Him.

needless to say this sparked some heated debate. as it should and as i had hoped. see, i come from a perspective of always evaluating my faith. my biggest fear is blindly following a pastor because they teach what "i want to hear" rather than exploring pastors who may tell me what "i need to hear"...

now, i'm not using this blog to say that joel is wrong or right...or any other pastor for that matter. but what did come to my attention is my attitude. and so i thought, "there is a fine line between passion and arrogance." i'm on fire for God; i believe there is an urgency in the world to spread God's Word to as many people as possible, because we do not know when Jesus will come again.

by definition, arrogance is stated as such:
"offensive display of superiority or self-importance; overbearing pride"

likewise, passion is defined as such;
"any powerful or compelling emotion or feeling, as love or hate; a strong or extravagant fondness, enthusiasm, or desire for anything"

so in my search and in my observation, some of my comments may have come off as arrogant...whereas, i saw them as passionate. as a child of God, the last thing i want to do is mislead or disrespect people. similarly, i expect this out of the pastors, who are called by God, to reach people. i fear that people worship pastors and think God is the gravy on top of the mashed potatoes. that they go to church to hear a man speak and miss the message.

i'm not sure all of this makes sense...and i'm definitely not trying to create any more division in the church than there already is. i don't think any one person or pastor has it right. but as my brother-in-law stated, the only shepard who had it right was Jesus. ultimately, i cannot judge, for that is His job. i can only ask and continue on this journey, persuing God's Word as He has intended it. i will fall, i will meet people who are more versed in the Bible than i. i will meet people less versed than i. but it is not for me to judge...and therefore, "there is a fine line between passion and arrogance."