Fear And Ministry

Fear is a major problem in ministry. There are many things to fear: fear of counselling boldly, fear of numerical decline, fear of opposition, and so on. But fear seriously stunts ministry, and this becomes self-defeating. I once asked an intern to summarise a paper on fear in ministry. He wrote: “Fear dislocates the centre of life, it falsifies information, it develops knowledge for the need to control, it covers up, it hides the nature and function of grace, it shuns nakedness, and dulls the voice of God who calls us out of bondage.” The alternative is “the religion of love which is not aware of the dangers of the world, but rather than avoiding out of fear, confronts these dangers out of love. Self-preservation is forgotten, and the Word is carried forward out of faith, trust, and love.”