Visionary pastor Mike Slaughter calls us all to a renewed life of faith, health, and balance that will prepare us to fulfill God's plan and our own potential. Based on his book, Momentum for Life, Revised Edition, participants in this study will focus on five key areas -- devotion, lifelong learning, key relationships, vision, and healthy lifestyle -- to be our best selves and move forward to God's promised future. The Momentum for Life Workbook is designed for use by participants during each of the weekly six sessions of the study. Also available in the program:Momentum for Life Group Session DVDMomentum for Life Participant DVD JournalMomentum for Life Leader's GuideMomentum for Life Planning Kit

Momentum for Life Workbook

By Michael Slaughter

Abingdon Press

Copyright © 2008 The United Methodist Publishing House
All right reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-687-65303-4

Chapter One

Week 1 Momentum: Mass in Motion

Mass in motion. Quantity of forward motion. Impetus. i.e.: "A team that has momentum is on the move and hard to stop."

"I rejoiced with those who said to me, 'Let us go to the house of the Lord.'" (Psalm 122:1)

For all its storied history, the World Series rarely captures my attention. There was something different, though, about the series of 2004. The Boston Red Sox had not won a series since 1918, after which they had traded Babe Ruth, the Bambino, to the New York Yankees. Between 1918 and 2003, the Sox had appeared in only four World Series, losing each in game seven.

The curse of the Bambino (as people called it) seemed to strike again in 2004 as the Sox fell to the mighty Yankees in the first three games of the American League playoffs. No team had ever come back after being down three games to none. Boston would need to win four games straight, the last two of them in Yankee Stadium.

The Red Sox won games four and five, and then I turned on my TV. There was a growing confidence in the eyes of the players as they traveled to New York for the sixth game of the series. It appeared that momentum had begun to turn in their direction, and a team that has momentum is on the move and hard to stop.

Boston went on to accomplish what no other team in the history of baseball ever has. They won the championship series against the Yankees after being down three games to none, and then they swept the St. Louis Cardinals in four straight games to win the World Series.

Momentum for Life

Every baseball team goes into the season with the goal of reaching the Series and winning the prize. Some teams break out early, only to fade in the heat of August. Others persist, paying the patient daily dues of disciplined practice on the fundamentals. Likewise, you cannot get where you want to be in your faith, influence, relationships, vocation or physical-emotional health if you are not moving forward.

From priests to presidents, the landscape is littered with the corpses of talented people who failed to maintain the positive momentum of character development. From Bill Clinton's indiscretions to Martha Stewart's deceptions, from the executive failure at Enron to the hightech meltdown, from the Catholic sex-abuse scandal to a major Protestant denominational leader's admission of an extra-marital affair—people of influence in government, business, and religion alike stumble into the oblivion of moral and ethical failure. And what is true for them is true for all of us. Maintaining life-momentum is imperative if we are going to navigate our way faithfully through a world of clouded moral boundaries.

Pause and take inventory of your life. Are you moving forward (growing, making progress, seeing results) in the following areas?

Yes No

Faith ____ ____ Influence ____ ____ Relationships ____ ____ Vocation ____ ____ Physical-emotional health ____ ____

We are all people of influence. Each of us has an effect on those in our circles of acquaintance, a bigger effect on our circles of friends, and a still bigger one on our family members. Influence is more often about our actions than our words, and it can be negative or positive. Kind words and angry words, conscientious work and slipshod work—each can cause ripples that extend much farther than we can see. That means the integrity we bring to each action is vital, for it sets in motion events we often don't foresee. All progress, all positive influence, all leadership begins with self-leadership.

How would you define self-leadership?

__________________________________________ __________________________________________

Settling for Lesser Dreams

We dream about the incredible opportunities we have to influence the world for God's purpose. We know that through God's Spirit we can make lasting contributions that benefit the well-being of others. But having a dream and having the disciplined, lifelong dedication to realize that dream are two different things.

Most good things are the result of a predetermined desire, an ongoing commitment to build momentum for life. Faith is not an instant realization of a desired future, for nothing worthwhile can be acquired at once. "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see" (Hebrews 11:1).

Many young people start with dreams of walking closely with God and being used to make a difference on planet Earth. Yet so many bright, rising stars are tempted to compromise their idealistic visions. They begin to work for money instead of meaning. They settle for a job instead of a life calling. They focus their lives on personal achievement rather than enduring contributions. Young people are selling out, and older people are cashing out.

God wants so much more. God wants to build lifelong momentum toward what we were created to become. The apostle Paul compares the life of faith to running a race that requires the impetus of momentum.

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Corinthians 9:24-27)

Instead of climbing to new heights, too many people plateau when they meet resistance. It doesn't have to be that way. God wants to win the battle for the soul of the world, and it begins for each of us with the management of the world inside. I've learned this the hard way through several conversion-like crises:

• My marriage. On June 1, 1992, my wife, Carolyn, and I made the disciplined commitment to start our marriage over. After almost twenty years together we were headed toward divorce. Instead, I had a conversion about investing in that key relationship.

• My devotion. On August 17, 1994, I traveled to Korea with a doctor of ministry class from a nearby seminary. As we learned firsthand about the amazing revival sweeping that country, I saw that the real power was in the Korean church's commitment to prayer. I made the disciplined commitment to begin every day with a time of devotional meditation and prayer.

• My body. On August 18, 2000, I was at a restaurant and started to feel sick. Seconds later I collapsed and was rushed to the hospital. In the days that followed, a cardiologist said I haven't taken good care of my heart and body. My body fat content was in the 30s—a ridiculously high...