To stop a man who is running at full speed, a well-aimed wrench might do it. To stop a car going at full speed, a well-placed boulder might suffice. To stop a 10-ton truck going at full speed, well, that will take some doing! Even if ‘full speed’ is only 80 km/hr, all that momentum will be a problem.
A simple definition of momentum is the strength or force that something has when it is moving; the strength or force that allows something to continue or to grow stronger or faster as time passes.
An Unstoppable Church
Jesus said of the Church that He is building, that ‘The gates of hell will not prevail against it’. The picture I get is of a church that is resolute, immovable, and unstoppable. Looking at our history, it is clear that satan has thrown everything at it but the kitchen sink! In the Kingdom, momentum is more important than speed.
A church with momentum makes a big impact with far less effort.
A church with momentum makes a big impact with far less effort. This is possibly what Christ had in mind when He said, ‘Therefore if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind. Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.’ (Philippians 2:1-4)
Sounds a bit like a rugby scrum doesn’t it? Imagine the momentum of a body of believers thrusting forward with such a selfless singularity of purpose!
Momentum is defined scientifically as Mass x Velocity. The vision Christ has for the Church is not a loose affiliation of super-gifted ‘speedy’ players who wow the crowd. In fact, ‘do nothing out of selfish ambition’. Not only is vain glory not honouring God, but it is also a waste of mass! Much more effective is a tight-knit unity of believers, willing to lock arms and add their ‘mass’ to the slowly building momentum in the Church that satan cannot thwart. Now we’re rolling!
Momentum Principles in God’s Kingdom
The principles behind a good rugby scrum will serve us well in the Kingdom.
1. Add Your Mass
Don’t wait until you have worked on your character to perfection – God will work on it on the job. Don’t wait until your kids are in school, out of school, in college or out of college – you get the point. Don’t wait until you have worked on your marriage. Don’t wait until you measure up to someone else’s gift. Don’t wait until the leaders make a space for you. Don’t wait until you have healed of your wounds from the past.
In short – don’t wait.
Be there. Get on the field. Participate. God has given you gifts for building up the Church, not presents for you to admire, enjoy or pack in the cupboard. We need them!
2. Push in the Right Direction
It doesn’t help if you are a power player but haven’t locked into the common purpose. In an age of vain glory, where gifted individuals value their own dreams and rally others to their own causes, Christ requires that we bury our dreams, gifts, and causes within His purpose in the Church.
Many visions spells ‘di-vision’
It is naïve to believe that if we all pursue our own visions, we will somehow find each other on the way. It doesn’t work that way in any team sport I know of. Elders set the vision in the local church, but the momentum comes when every individual willingly and joyfully throws their weight behind it. Many visions spell ‘di-vision’.
3. Pull Together
Unity requires loving each other intentionally, guarding against offence, and covering each other’s weaknesses.
Don’t do it just for yourself, according to your feelings. Feelings are good for warning us about the state of our hearts, but our feelings are fickle and easily affected by things such as physical tiredness. Momentum requires consistency from all of us that is not based on how we feel on any particular day.
We might go faster if we break rank and sprint ahead, but we are stronger together.
We might go faster if we break rank and sprint ahead, but we are stronger together. We wait for and mend the weak ones and, in turn, receive ministry when we are weak. This is the church for which Christ died, and it is the one which will withstand the fiery trials that come against it. In this way, we imitate Christ, who could quite easily have destroyed all the works of the devil in His own might but instead turned back for us, to bring us into His mission.
*This article was originally titled ‘Momentum’, published in November 2016. It has since been revised.
