One of my biggest fears is wiping out in a road race. I’ve passed out before, the one fortunate thing (if there is any) about passing out during the road race is I woke up in a hospital so didn’t get to see people make that “Oh that sucks!” grimace. Yesterday I ran the Dreaded Druid Hill 10K, one of my favorite races because of all the hills, but with new gear on my feet (Vibram 5 Finger KSO) and steep hills, wiping out definitely felt like a possibility. These hills were steep and what didn’t help was the few mud patches that sat at the bottom, as I hit downhill number one, the thought that came to my head was, “What do I do with all this momentum?”
As I continued to chug down hill I slowed my momentum to a slow trott but a controlled pace. People flew by, I felt like a fool when someone yelled, “Let gravity take you!”, but I knew that if I just let it all go, I would wipe or worse I would pound my legs into jello (steep downhills do that, don’t believe me run down a mountain). What I didn’t know is that this reservation of momentum allowed me to tackle the next uphill with more energy. Instead of relying on a downhill sprint to pull me up the hill (which never seems to work), I had the energy and strength to move up hill at a quicker pace.
In student ministry there are programs and products that are going to accelerate us to speeds we can not handle. One example is managing a website; the world is web based, having a website opens your ministry to a whole new world. If you can’t manage a website, things will suffer, you can lose credibility, trust, communication, you can wipe out. What we need to do is ask two questions:
- What CAN I DO with the momentum?
- What CAN’T I DO with the momentum?
It all comes down to understanding our limits. When we understand our limits, we find strength. So before you plan a retreat, make a website, buy the Nintendo Wii for the youth room, look down the hill and ask, “What about the momentum?”
In your ministry where do you find it most difficult to control the momentum?