Significant steps of faith often lead to dramatic victories that increase the amount of leaders, laborers and resources in your ministry. Surprisingly these victories can start to feel like burdens as the time and energy needed to sustain these surges of growth zaps current resources.
Each stage of a ministry’s growth draws leaders or laborers that enjoy supporting and developing that particular stage. What often happens is that when it’s time for a ministry to take a new direction that the very people who supported and championed innovation are now fighting it.
The weight of past ministry victories can stifle future growth in a variety of ways:
- An unwillingness to empower young or new people for fear of departing from the current stage.
- A majority of time spent on maintenance of the present instead of expansion for the future.
- An overdependance on methods rather than principles.
As a ministry moves from one stage of growth to another it’s important to remember that what produced the change was the Holy Spirit, bold steps of faith, and a vision of a future not yet realized. Leading from this platform instead of demonizing or over-spiritualizing a previous era will produce much better results.
How can you lead in such a way as to free up the weight of the past to pour into the things that will get you to the future you want?