Momentum - A measure of the motion of a body equal to the product of its mass and velocity.

driving
power or strength

When running a race, you never get results unless you're moving forward. The same is true of our
spiritual "race," we only make progress when we're moving forward. In order to move forward we must
take control of ourselves and develop thoughts and habits that give us forward momentum. For five
weeks we will talk about some of the habits we need to develop and the purposes we need to refine in
order to capture momentum that will carry us all the way to the finish line!

Developing Your Life Picture

For the past several weeks we’ve been talking about momentum – and I think we’re
starting to experience it! It might be subtle, but there’s clearly a fresh wind blowing
through our church that has been stirred up by the Holy Spirit.

We started four weeks ago by firming up and committing ourselves to God in a deeper
and more meaningful way. That led us to a commitment to our growth. In just a few
weeks time, we’ve begun to see people drifting toward small groups and Sunday school
classes. Others are searching for new classes to become a part of.

When we talked about together, we were reminded that running alone is dangerous. The
story of Dick and Rick Hoyt was a powerful image of this truth. We really do need each
other. At the end of that service, many of us filled out response cards that indicated that
we were tired of running alone. Those of you who were seeking prayer partners will be
receiving a list soon of with names of others seeking someone just like you. Others
expressed a desire to be in small discipleship groups were you can grow, learn and
pray together. We’re in the process of exploring when those groups can meet and who
will call them together. Others were seeking mentors, others desired a mentor, and we
are in the process of pulling you both together so that you can begin to build that special
bond of trust and accountability. Many of you have realized that you don’t have to
struggle through life alone. “Alone” is being overwhelmed by “together!”

Last Sunday we began talking about vision. Vision that is formed, refined, growing,
articulated, shared, and acted upon. We’ll conclude that discussion this coming Sunday
by reminding ourselves why vision is important. I also pray that we will all leave Sunday
morning with the tools we need to begin refining and growing our “life picture.”

In anticipation of Sunday, here are some resources I recommend as you seek to

develop your life picture. One good place to start is by re-reading The Purpose Driven
Life by Rick Warren. This is a great foundation as you begin to form and refine your
vision. You might also want to check out The Purpose Driven Life Journal. Other books I
recommend would be The Dream Giver by Bruce Wilkinson (and the companion journal
the Dream Planner). A personal favorite is The Path by Laurie Beth Jones; a very
practical and easy to follow guide to putting together your life’s mission statement.
Our culture constantly shows how leaders have failed-from Bill Clinton's indiscretions to Martha
Stewart's deception, from the business collapse at Enron to the military meltdown at Abu Ghraib
prison. Many church problems likewise can be traced back to a failure of leadership. Such
problems are nothing new. Stories of leadership failures are chronicled throughout the Bible.

"If you can't lead yourself, you won't be effective at leading others. Self leadership precedes
strategic leadership." With this perspective, Michael Slaughter, lead pastor and chief visionary at
Ginghamsburg, explains his model for daily living, which he has adapted from the Psalms of
Ascent. His five life practices for balance and self-leadership together form the acronym

D-R-I-V-E:

Devotion to God,
Readiness for lifelong learning,
Investing in key relationships,
Visioning for the future, and
Eating and Exercise for life.

Mike Slaughter, lead pastor of Ginghamsburg (United Methodist) Church in Tipp City, Ohio, has
written another book on leading a church with courage and conviction, and this time it’s
personal. In Momentum for Life, Slaughter writes candidly about his own inner life, using the
Psalms of Ascent as a model and guide to the “lifelong ascent called transformation.”(p.163) He
believes that there is no leadership without self-leadership, and he uses the acronym of DRIVE to
organize his writing - with the D of Devotion to God, the R of Readiness for Lifelong Learning,
the I of Investing in Key Relationships, the V of Visioning for the Future, and the E of Eating
and Exercise.

This is book about self-discipline of course, but it is also a story of grace, which Slaughter tells
thoughtfully with illustrations from his own life and ministry, including his family life and his
own struggles with balance and health. This is a book about making sure that reality is reality.
Anyone who has ever surfed the internet for very long knows that there are a lot of things out
there that look good in two dimensions, but when you see them in real life, there is another
reality altogether. So it is in many ways in the personal lives of Christians. Many church leaders
look good on paper and occasionally look good from the pulpit, but how are they managing their
own spiritual lives, and how are they geared towards learning and relationships? Do they possess
a God-given vision for the church? Are they healthy?

For me as an evangelism and discipleship coach, this is a great text to share with pastors with
whom I consult, many of whom are searching not only for a strategy but for their unique way of
being God’s servant in the 21st century. This is especially poignant when some of them believe
that they are personally and spiritually on a plateau. So many of our pitfalls lie in the lack of
daily discipline and in the overly complicated measures we use in planning, implementation, and
evaluation. He believes we should simplify, and for him that means a simple, personal, annual
strategic plan.
Slaughter writes convincingly that “all physical realities begin with a mental picture” (p.108),
and many pastors are afraid to take the time to ask God for the picture. He calls for a rigorous
self-examination, and he is not afraid to pour the valuable commodity of time into the right key
leaders who can help the vision become a reality. This time engaged in “mission-critical-strategic
activities” (p. 136) shapes the work of his day, enabling him to make good choices with his
schedule. For me that was a real validation of ministry in its purest form, and it is a word to me
and to many others who pour their energy into people through coaching. We too must do what is
“mission critical.”

As a person who has met Mike Slaughter, has listened to his heart in a variety of settings, and
has visited the growing campus of his church, I can honestly say that his piercing truth about the
“incline of discipline” (p.150) that he describes in his book does come from his own experiences
of pastoring this particular church. He has been there since 1979, and he began with this reality:

"When I came to a small, semi-rural country church, I didn’t picture myself as pastor of a little
church with ninety people and a $27,000.00 annual budget in a two-room facility on less than an
acre of land. I envisioned myself as the pastor of thousands. I acted, thought, and planned as the
leader of thousands. That was the picture I believed was from God."(p.124)

I do not believe Ginghamsburg could have become the vital community of faith that it is without
his willingness to see such a future for it, not to mention his willingness to ask God for the
particulars of that vision.

As a reader I felt the emotion behind Slaughter’s description of all the people who have coached,
mentored, admonished, and disciplined him. He remembers their touch and the impact they left
on his life. He challenges us to envision the circle of people who have stood around us, and most
importantly, to take our “turn to stand behind someone else” (p.109) in all the places where we
have positive influence.

I finished this book judging it more by how I felt as opposed to what I thought; it had an
affective impact upon me. The honesty of this book is borne out of vulnerability, a vulnerability
that could only come from the growing spiritual maturity of its author.