Back on Mission and Free from Fear
The natural goal of fear is to promote self preservation - a fight or flight response. For a Christian, however, fear can take you from a place of faith and power to a place of anxiety and shut down the Mission of Jesus when people most need it. So how do we address the waves of fear and despair that continue to billow from every direction? Recognize that in as much as I am fear-filled, my life is still my own. It seems like many ministers are spending a lot of time telling their people how to apply their faith to "protect themselves" from the current "threat." In listening to this, it strikes me that the focus is placed on the individual and counterproductive. I don’t fault anyone for concern, but “faith” for self-preservation denies three important truths: 1) If I have given my life to Christ, it is no longer my life to worry about. 2) An inward-focused church is not a mission-focused church. 3. God's faith working by love within us is for others! 1) I...