14 Aug Gaining & Maintaining Momentum, Part 3 by Jason Swann
You’ve hung in there with me for two blogs so far, and this is the last. But it’s a lot of information I’m trying to share, and I sincerely hope it’s helping you. Over the last few weeks, I shared with you 3 of the 4 V’s for gaining and maintaining momentum. They were Vision, Volume and Vitality. Now, we’re wrapping up with our final V – Velocity.
Velocity. Velocity is the speed that is imparted to something. I think a question we all have to ask ourselves is, Can I run the race that God has put me in? All of us have a race. I’m not trying to compete with Furtick or Groeshel or any of those guys. God has called me specifically for such a time as this in a place such as this. Can you run the race at the pace that God has called you to run it?
We get out of sorts when we try to set the pace for Jesus instead of allowing Jesus to set the pace for us. There are seasons where you don’t have to take many risks and momentum’s just there. And there are others that require us to put all the chips on the table and risk big. In those moments, you have to “get your ask up“ to God, as my dad would say. God says, “You have not because you ask not.” You have to risk and say, “Okay, Lord, I believe that this is You, so I’m pushing in the chips.”
I believe my church is a “bet the farm” risk-taking type of church. That’s who I am, and God’s called me specifically to lead this church. There are moments when God is going to ask me to give things that I don’t want to give. “No thanks, Lord. You blessed me with this, and I like the way it feels, I like the way it drives. I’m living the dream, and now You’re asking me to give the dream away?” But God says, “If you’ll give Me what I’ve placed in your hand, then I’ll give you what I have in Mine.” When we understand that, it’s easy to live in the high-risk moments because there’s a grace for the pace that God has placed in you. God’s pace always brings God’s peace. We know this. It’s one thing to preach it on Sunday but a very different thing for us as leaders to live it on Monday.
I heard one of my pastors, Gerald Brooks, say, “Faith is when we trust God, but faithful is when God can trust us.” When I think of velocity, I think of people who are running their race, who are faithful with the vision and the version that God has placed inside their heart. Sometimes we get to the bottom of the hill and it’s time for an uphill climb, and the question we must ask ourselves is, Do I have enough velocity to make it uphill? God will use those downhill seasons to help you to gain the momentum needed to take you up the next hill.
Pastor, if you’re struggling with velocity right now, if you don’t know that you can make it up the hill, here are some things you can do:
1. Look forward. 88% of people say that vision is the most important trait of a senior leader. I think of Bill Gates and how one of the three founders of Microsoft bailed two months before his payoff due to long hours and little pay. In his buyout he received enough money for a bicycle. Can you imagine the regret? He didn’t think it was going to work, so he bailed.
2. Look within. This is about God, not you. When you’re in His Word, you’re in His presence. I never have a silent God when I have an open Bible. Our strength is found in His Word, so we have to devour it. God’s Word will win. It’ll keep you separated from a world that is trying to control you. It’ll keep you sane.
3. Look around. Every disciple that Jesus called was working except for one. God doesn’t need lazy people. Recruit go-getters, people who are getting stuff done. Then you’ll recapture that momentum that you lost and continue charging the gates of hell.
Listen, every church has a personality. Every church has a purpose. The purpose is what unites you and your members, but it’s your personality that God has called. If He didn’t want you, then He wouldn’t have called you. You are needed for your church for such a time as this!
In case you didn’t know, God believes in you. If He didn’t believe in you, then you wouldn’t be where you are. He’s got a plan for you. He’s got a hope and a dream for you. He’s got a good future planned for you. It’s abundantly above anything that you could ever ask or think. Begin to pray and ask God to show you that He’s not just in you but in your church, in your leaders, in your members. He wants to speak to you. He wants to impart unto you wisdom, understanding and vision. It’s easy to say, “I’m not this” or “I’m not that.” But you are you. God doesn’t need another one of them. He created you, and you are mission critical to the kingdom. You’re not building castles; you’re building kingdom. God has anointed you, and you’re going to build a great church because that’s what God wants you to do!
Do what it takes to gain and maintain momentum. God is going to do great things in and through you. Trust Him, and trust me in this!