What are you afraid of ?

I remember reading as a kid many Bible passages where Jesus (or an angel) would appear to someone and they were afraid, then he would say something like “peace be with you” or “do not be afraid” — Come on Jesus!! You appear right in front of me with no warning and you don’t wand me to be afraid!?!!?

Today is Friday the 13th – which strikes fear into the hearts of some people. But there are also bigger fears in the world…..

I believe that most of our fears are learned not genetic.  That means we can learn to not have them!  I also believe since fears are learned that communities can develop a commonly shared fear.

Look at churches…..nothing blocks change quite the way fear does, and when its power is greater than our power to push through it, fear can prevent any change from happening.   Perhaps that is why it takes FOREVER to make changes in the church.

We want that stability in the church because we have constant change in our lives.  For example, we live in a mobile society so people are moving all the time, some lose their job, or they change jobs, and kids grow up.  The one thing that we are crave in our lives is stability – and we are looking for that in the church.

We want a church that is the same from the time we are born until the time we die.  So the question is what does fear prevent us (the church) from doing and what do we do about it?

If we are afraid we tend not to take chances, to take risks and to think outside the box.  We are afraid of having the wrong answers or making mistakes.  We convince ourselves that things should not change and in turn we end up not really knowing what we want or need.  It warps our perception of our community and prevents us from trying to make it better.

Instead of asking what do we want as the church, we should be asking — what does God want us to be as the church?

Fear also keeps us from asking for help when we need it or benefiting from the emotional support offered to us.  Churches can be amazing supportive communities.  We all need help in our lives and we are sometimes afraid to ask for help when we need it.  That’s when the church can step in.

As a pastor want to be there to support people when they are hurting or in pain — emotionally, physically, spiritually or any other way.  I might not have all the answers but I can be there.

However for many people, instead of looking towards the church for help they develop unhealthy habits and behavior patterns….because of fear.

Whey if they (the church) don’t like me, what if they don’t accept me, what if they can’t help me?  These are the questions that we ask, this is the fear that enters us when we need help and then we turn away.

Fear can control our lives if we let it. But we can push through it if we begin to develop a habit of taking well-chosen risks – small ones at first, then bigger ones.

We also can get into the habit of vividly seeing ourselves achieve success, we can overcome the effects of fear and move confidently into the good life we deserve.

What types of fears do you have that are preventing you and your community from positive change?

What steps, even if they are small ones at first, can you take today, or this week?

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