Unstoppable Plodder?

Some people are unstoppable for Jesus. They approach ministry as if the world is a sinking ship that is going down tomorrow and their job is to throw out as many lifelines and get people into the life rafts in the next half hour.

There is a lot to like about these kinds of people. They are taking Jesus at his word when he says He is coming back as a thief in the night, and they are the innovators of our churches - trying new things, pushing the boundaries and toiling 'night and day'. They are growing big churches, mostly through seeing people outside Christ come to trust Jesus. Find a church that is doing anything (more than paying lip service) to reach the lost - generally one of these guys is at the helm.

Other people are careful plodders for Jesus. They approach ministry as if setting out on a long voyage; i.e. you can only set out after every bit of preparation has been taken care of, all the stores have been loaded up and the sailors on board has been trained for every possible scenario.

There is a lot to like about these kinds of people too. They display a genuine trust that it is God who saves people by the gospel, and they know all too well that they are simply 'clay pots'. They rarely get sucked into fads that sweep through the church. The believers in their pews are likely to stay with Christ their entire lives, and many of them will be so inspired by their captain that they'll (to stretch the metaphor way too far) follow in his footsteps and end up running their own ship. Find a church where the believers feel genuinely built up in their faith - generally a plodder is at the helm.

Both of these are caricatures obviously, but from what I've observed most people in ministry tend to lean one way or the other. It's rare to meet someone who has effectively 'straddled' both of these areas - an 'unstoppable plodder'.
I've experienced working alongside and in both models. While both are prone to blind-spots, I'm thankful to God for the diversity of experiences he's given me as I've trained in ministry. For me, I'm asking God that he'll open my eyes to my own weaknesses and strengthen me for service in ways that will see both the lost won for Christ, and the saints strengthened for his service.