This is might sound really stuffy, old-fashioned, and totally backward-thinking, but I’m going to say it anyway: Sometimes when I listen to church leaders discuss their leadership methods, I just shut down and stop listening because I can’t shake the nagging lack of biblical basis or justification for their methods. Parts of the Cultivate Conference on Tuesday was the same way for me. I took the Metra to downtown Chicago to hear from and meet some leading church innovators and practitioners in the communications arena. I prepared for greatness, but to be completely honest, felt mostly disappointment.
Perhaps the start of the conference is the most poignant example. The first breakout session I went to was called “
Small Explosions” and it was led by Terry Storch and Bobby Gruenwald of LifeChurch.tv. The basic concept of the the talk was that momentum in your church is created by small, rapid, well-orchestrated bursts of excitement around an idea, much like a combustion engine operates. Bobby specifically shared about how, when LifeChurch has a new initiative, they might not share much about it with the church until 3 months before launch, so that they can ride a great wave of momentum and excitement into the launch, rather than introducing early, watching excitement dwindle, and then launching off of that. That’s when my nagging feeling began to build.
I love Bobby Gruenwald and the amazing things happening at LifeChurch.tv. Heck, I gave them space on my blogroll among the few blogs I actually list on this site. They’ve really led the American church in breaking down turf and competition games by giving freely of their resources, as well as in constant technological innovation for the sake of bringing God’s Kingdom to previously untapped arenas (check out the YouVersion Bible and their Second Life church campus for some examples). And Bobby has been the lead strategist behind the wonder.
But the momentum concept was tough for me. I think my initial response was to wonder if launching projects off orchestrated momentum was perhaps a bit manipulative. Like maybe that method just capitalizes on some sort of strong emotional response and serves to involve people in something that they aren’t genuinely bought in to. But I was open to the method; I just wanted to know how the Scripture supported it. So I did the risky thing and asked Bobby how he’s arrived at this viewpoint from a Christian worldview. He didn’t seem to know.
To Bobby’s credit, I don’t think it’s in his job description to know. His job is to execute. But I still had a hard time wondering how someone could adopt this ideology in their work with a clear conscience without any kind of biblical precedent. I was even bold enough to tell him that, according to the Scripture I could think of in the moment, the biblical precedent in times where God was doing something new and lasting, the initiative was almost always preceded by a time of trial and waiting (Abraham and the promise, Joseph in jail, Moses in the desert, David and the Temple…just read Hebrews 11 and you’ll get my point) rather than excitement and momentum.
This probably sounds crazy, but what if the more godly method is to systematically kill all momentum that could potentially carry someone into a project for any other reason than a sincere conviction or Divine call, and then see who remains bought into the project, and move forward with those committed ones, trusting that God will still accomplish his will? (something like this seems to have happened in Judges 7, at least). That method sounds way riskier, but God never asks us to do things that don’t require faith. I think momentum can be a faith-replacer in church initiatives.
At New Life Church, much of our staff program is based off an incredible momentum-killer: fundraising. More campus staff is potentially our greatest logistic need as a church, and the ”Small Explosions” model would suggest giving some amazing vision-casting talk about the immense need for more campus staff, maybe show some emotional videos, and then sign people up and making it happen. Many churches recruit volunteers this way; I’ve seen it. But at New Life, the model seems to be to challenge students to consider staff carefully, warn them of all the difficulties, and give them a space to pray it out. And then have them raise all the necessary funds to do it (read: trial and waiting). I’m getting to know this sytem well.
I can’t think of a better way to kill excitement than to ask people to spend around a year asking others for financial help so that they can execute their ministry. But I think it actually works. The staff team at New Life is the most dedicated and passionate team I’ve ever been a part of, and I think it’s in large part due to a recruitment process based mostly on trial and waiting; not momentum. I cringe to think what the effects would be if we had a staff team that just rode some wave of emotional momentum into their job. I’m not sure we’d be effective at all.
(Endnote: Bobby actually responded to my question by saying that LifeChurch’s driving ideology behind this method is that they desire to see where God is working and put their best energies there rather than having to manufacture their own ministry excitement. I really love that idea, and think LifeChurch probably does a pretty good job of that. I just wonder if this timed momentum-creation method really falls under that umbrella all the time, or whether it can actually be an example of the thing they’re trying to avoid.)
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I really like this, Mikey. You did a great job of revealing a biblical principle (or at least a solid group of examples). At first when you asked the question, I was like, “How can anyone really look for Scripture that backs up their 21st century style?” But you’re definitely right. Momentum doesn’t seem to be a biblical value at all. It would even seem to hinder dependent faith.
An interesting thought….
5000 folks on the shore makes for a ton of momentum, but it didnt last. It didnt even last for the 12, or even Peter.
However, after the resurrection, things appeared to develop pretty fast, and I think the small explosive model may have played a role in it. I did a quick read and it appears the days of long dead zones, and trials disappeared post resurrection. Even when Paul was waiting for folks here and there, most certainly much was happening.