The two faces of momentum

ONE OF THE WONDERFUL LAWS of nature is momentum. It is a great force to have in order to keep going. But it also has a deceptive dimension.

Momentum is essential in ministry. It is what keeps the people and organisation moving forward. Leadership plays a key role in triggering this motion. A leadership that is in step with the Spirit of God will find that there is a supernatural impetus to what it is called to do. Leaders will find that there are forces at work to aid the process along that cannot be explained simply by what they have planned and executed. Sometimes, things do not turn out as they have planned, but yet there is a forward movement that they know is of God.

Not all forces in ministry momentum, however, are of God. As the pace increases, more people are drawn into the movement, and with it a diversity of personalities and views. Not all will be motivated by noble aims or will apply legal means. There will be those who are driven by ego and ambition. What develops therefore is a community seeking to do God’s will that upholds a mixed set of values, some driven by the flesh, and others truly in step with the Spirit. But the momentum has been gathered.

A car does not stop at the instant that the brakes are applied. It moves some distance before coming to a complete halt. That is the result of momentum. 

We can be deceived into believing that just because we are moving forward that everything is all right. In reality, what may be happening is that, like the car coming to a halt, deadness has already set in. But the ministry still keeps going. There is therefore a dark and deceptive side to momentum. When we are caught in the midst of it, it is very difficult to determine which force is propelling us forward. But it is still possible to know: remember Peter’s ability to discern the profit-making motives of Ananias and Sapphira in the midst of the thriving spiritual environment?

It takes leaders who are in step with the Spirit of God to be able to recognise “the unseen world of spiritual realities” (to borrow a term from John Stott in his commentary on Ephesians) and differentiate between the divine and the demonic forces moving us along. 

The Rev Dr Wee Boon Hup is the President of Trinity Annual Conference.

QUOTE:

“Not all forces in ministry momentum are of God … As the pace increases, more people are drawn into the movement … Not all will be motivated by noble aims … There will be those who are driven by ego and ambition. What develops therefore is a community seeking to do God’s will that upholds a mixed set of values, some driven by the flesh, and others truly in step with the Spirit.”