Is Fear a Factor for You?

Moment of truth: Jeff and I are currently sitting together in the 200churches studio at 11:30 PM Sunday night realizing that this blog post needs to be written.

Weirdly, I think we're afraid of what it would mean if we didn't write it.

What if we skip just one Monday, just once, and no one notices? Or worse, what if we skip one Monday and just start to get into the habit of skipping Mondays? We've been at this for over a year now, and with the exception of a (much needed) Christmas break, we've been very consistent. It's just one post, but the implications of that post can be scary.

Jeff just said that if we start skipping posts, it will only get easier to do it, and, we have learned a ton blogging thoughts and ideas with you over the past year, and we wouldn't want to give that up!

This week the blog and podcast are focusing on the topic of fear. That dark little feeling inside that what you're doing isn't right. Or that you're not good enough. Or that your church is going downhill. 

Fear is that thing that keeps you up at night when you're so exhausted sleep should come easily. Fear is the tightness in your chest when you think about meeting with that one member of your congregation, or preaching out of that book that you know will cause controversy. If we let it, fear can start to control our thoughts and desires - our decision making and relationships. We're prone to fear, but the truth is, there is no room for fear in a Spirit-led ministry.

In 1 John we see that perfect love casts out fear, but how often do we forget that this truth applies to our ministry? God's love leaves no room for fear, because fear is a tool and weapon of the enemy. As true as that is, we all know it's hard to really lean into God's love in our own lives, let alone in the life of our church. It's easy to start wondering how God's love will pay the utility bill or fix that buzzing in the sound system. It's even harder to see God's love when your board is getting deadlocked or a group of people decide to walk out of your church. As pastors, we know God is love, but sometimes it's hard to feel that.

This week we're talking with Dave Jacobs on the podcast, and he has some great insights on how pastors can deal with the fear that is controlling their lives. It's a message that's so important, but at the same time is hard to swallow, because the first step is admitting to yourself that you are letting fear guide your decisions in the first place. 

Our encouragement to you this week is to really dig down deep into yourself and look for fear. Look for how the enemy has tricked you into believing things about God and yourself that aren't true, and how those lies are leading your decision-making in your ministry. It might be a hard look to take, but ultimately it is so important to your ministry that you recognize those places where fear has taken hold. You have an important mission to your church that has been entrusted to you by God, and we want to encourage you to be the leader that God created you to be.

Let's not let fear be a factor in our ministries!