There are those times when the church starts to get momentum in a right direction. Then there are those times when the church gets headed in an awesome, God-inspiring direction. The result is an increase in energy and more of a desire to express faithfulness.
However, I have found that there is another interesting dynamic when churches are what God wants them to be. There seems to be an increase in barriers. Now it is possible that this is just my imagination as I become more focused and more intent on leading the congregation. And yet my peers have seemed to notice similar dynamics as well. When things are moving forward for the betterment of God’s Kingdom, issues creep up that try to get in the way of ministry. Barriers are erected to slow down the process, seemingly from no one specific and mostly flukey kinds of things like websites going down. And the more churches progress forward, the more annoying and irritating these barriers become.
When I experienced this before, I was very frustrated and became discouraged. Then my mentor introduced me to the ministry of bulldozing. He showed me how to stay focused on the big picture and not let little pictures get me off track. He told me to plow ahead and keep my eyes on the purpose of disciple-making. It is in this way that, while I become frustrated about barriers to ministry, it does not distract me from tasks and goals that should be reached to dream, plan, implement and evaluate ministry that is focused on the purpose of disciple-making.
To share an example: If the website goes down, use emails. If the emails go down, use typewriters. If the typewriters go down, use a pen. If the pen goes down, use the phone. If the phone goes down, drive to people’s houses. If the car breaks down, bike, or run or walk…or crawl….or roll your way there. Whatever it takes to move forward in ministry with one another.
Bulldozer ministry: Satan hates it.
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