It is human nature to avoid risk. Scientists tell us that our brains are wired to be on constant lookout for threats on the horizon. That nature kept us from being eaten by dinosaurs and now keeps us from walking into dark alleys late at night. Pastors and politicians know that making us afraid is easy to do—much more easy than making us hopeful and optimistic.
So it is that one of the most used phrases in scripture is, “Fear not.” God knows that we worry, fuss and get fearful of all the things that can go wrong. Even when angels appeared to our ancestors, their first thought was to fear something bad, rather than be excited over what was about to happen.
Most of us cannot count the times we have attended meetings in church and the subject of doing something new comes up. There is resistance. There is negativity. There is the old familiar cliché, “We’ve never done it that way before.” Rather than see such thoughts—and such people—as negative or problematic or just plain obstinate, we might try seeing them as human beings. They are worried about what could go wrong. Implicit questions such as “will we lose money?” or “will we lose people” or “what if it fails” are all linked to the larger question, “will we survive?”
While there is a healthy place for assessing risk, a thoughtful leader will also ask the questions:
- What could go right?
- What if we weren’t afraid?
- If we succeed how will this change us?
- How can we reduce some of the risk but still make it happen?
- What part of this is our faith talking? What part is our fear?
- Do we even have to survive? (Jesus didn’t survive either, but resurrection was waiting)
- When we pray, what do we feel the Spirit calling us to do?
These are stewardship questions. They sit at the intersection of our God, our faith, and our resources. That is always where stewardship lives—aware of risk, self-aware of fear, alert to possibilities, seeking faith, and open to victory.
Your Heartland Methodist Foundation wishes your church a healthy “fear not” for the days ahead.
