Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Afraid?

Guest post by Darryl Dash

"Fear is a daily battle that everyone in ministry is called to fight," says Paul Tripp. I'm finding this is true in my own ministry, as I wrote about here:

When we're young, we risk a lot because we have to, and because we often have little to lose. The same goes for churches. As we age, we have more to protect, and we start taking less risk. This makes sense to my financial advisor, but it also explains why a lot of people and a lot of churches stop growing.

Fear takes over when we're afraid to do what's required because of the cost, real or perceived. When you look carefully, fear reveals our idols.

If you're like me and find that you struggle with fear, Paul Tripp's article is a great help. His main points:

  1. Humbly own your fears.
  2. Confess to those places where fear has produced bad decisions and wrong responses.
  3. Pay attention to your meditation.
  4. Preach the gospel to yourself.

I also appreciated this piece on failure in the Harvard Business Review, if one of your fears is the fear of failing.

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