Riding the Wave

The sweet spot in ministry

On vacation last year, I attempted to do some body surfing. I’m not even sure if I was doing it right, but when I timed things correctly, a wave would carry me 20-30 feet towards the shoreline of Lake Michigan. I had heard the phrase “It’s like riding a wave” before, so I asked AI this question:

Am I correct that when you are trying to surf you need to ride the wave at just the right moment? If you hit the wave too early it will wash you under, and if you hit it too late it will go under you without letting you surf. Is this correct?

The large language model gave me this specific response:

Too late - You’ve got this exactly right. If you try to catch a wave after it’s already broken or passed your position, you’ll miss it entirely and it will just roll by underneath you.

Too early - If you position yourself too early (too far outside where the wave will break), you’ll simply sit there as unbroken swells pass harmlessly under you. However, if you try to paddle for a wave that’s already breaking or about to break right on top of you, then you can get tumbled by the whitewater.

So your core insight about precise timing being crucial is absolutely correct - there’s definitely a narrow window where wave-catching works optimally.¹

In a lot of ministry work, we really need to consider this wave-riding concept. We need to do things at the right time… not too early, and not too late.

But I specifically wanted to apply it to us, personally, as pioneers in ministry. I want to apply it to the things we are doing to make disciples who make disciples. As usual for me, here are some quotes to consider:

If what we must do exceeds our abilities, we have anxiety and stress. If what we must do falls short of our abilities, we get bored.²

There is, as in most things, a sweet spot. When the trust offered or the stakes involved are too low, it’s simply trivial. But if we’re way out on a limb, feeling insufficient, unsupported, and ready to fail, the trust and stakes might feel too high.³

It should go without saying, but completing the Great Commission, or even making one disciple of a lost person, is above our abilities. We must fall back on Christ and our identity in Him. We can’t do it without him.

But God has called each one of us to specific and ongoing tasks toward the Great Commission. He wants each of us to make disciples who make disciples.

When it comes to that, do you feel anxiety and stress? Or do you feel bored? Do you feel like your ministry work is trivial? Or do you feel unsupported and ready to fail?

Yes, our churches and ministry organizations have a role to play here (And I am hoping to do a future series on that), but for you, right now, what do you need to own?

If you are about to get washed under by the wave, where can you go to find support and encouragement? What skills do you need to grow in? What can you do to center your heart back in Christ and your identity as His child? The waves are going to keep coming, so you'd better figure out how to surf.

If you’re bored or feel like the work you do is trivial, what changes do you need to make to put yourself on the edge? (Hint: Usually, for me, this involves getting closer to lost people. Jesus must have known this because he was often with lost people.⁴) If God wired you as a pioneer, you’re going to feel bored if you’re not settling new territory for the Kingdom.

I can’t tell you where your personal sweet spot is, but I can tell you that the place to be is riding the wave.

1. If you know about surfing personally, please correct me!

2. Pink, D. H. (2011). Drive: The Surprising Truth About What Motivates Us. Penguin Publishing Group. p119

3. Godin, S. (2023). The Song of Significance: A New Manifesto for Teams. Penguin Publishing Group. p141, strikethrough and emphasis mine.

4. Luke 19:10, Mark 2:17