Leadership and Fear

from Perry Noble's blog:
*part of a series-visit his blog on our links

My fourth hill: the hill of fear.
I have a philosophy when it comes to leadership and it is that God will allow us to go through fearful situations in order for us to renew our passion and desperation for Him!
One of the most ridiculous prayers that a leader or anyone can pray for that matter is God please take the fear away from me. A leader isn’t one who leads when everything is good. A leader is one who can face fear and still believe that God is completely sovereign.
I’ve spent most of my life as a church planter in fear.
I was scared to plant the church wondering every week are people going to show up (by the way, I still wonder that every single week).
I was scared when we went to one service to two services in the Sullivan Building at Anderson University thinking people were not going to come.
I was scared when I felt the Lord tell us to move from the 150 seat facility on the campus of Anderson to the 1,100 seat facility.
I was scared when God told us to build the facility we are currently in on our Anderson Campus.
I was scared when God told us to launch a church in Greenville.
I was scared when God told us to launch a church in Florence.
I was scared when God told us to build a Children’s and Youth Facility on the Anderson campus.
I have been scared as a leader most of the time and I am so thankful because if I were not scared then that would result in pride and arrogance. I know that I cannot do a thing unless God moves and interacts and my prayer for me is that I will always be willing to face my fears and know that God is in complete control.

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MY THOUGHTS:
One of the things I have been letting hold me back in ministry recently is this very subject! What if I step out and fail..........What if I step up and realize that I am not good enough...........What if I can't take the heat when it comes, and I know it will come............

Leaders that cares about the unchurched, truly and passionately care for the unchurched, will continually meet with these questions--AND you know who it most often is responsible for bring these questions to your mind? It is the other "churched" people around you.

They will question your passion to provide an environment that might make the unchurched more comfortable with the Sunday morning experience.

They will question your vision that God has placed on your heart to have a church that does not put personal desires in front of the unchurched.

Don't even get me started when it comes to the music that we play as part of the worship experience!!!

It often times becomes a mountain of doubt and fear when you constantly feel the "buttons" on the back or your head (Mark Hall from Casting Crowns-story) being pushed, especially when it comes from Christians who really don't understand your passion. I have learned alot in past months that I MUST face these fears, like Perry is talking about, head on and asking God for strength, endurance, and the will to keep the vision. A vision where ALL people are loved equally- the good, the bad and the ugly-ones that got it goin on and the ones that don't even have a clue!!

therevolutionproject is obsessed with making Jesus and His Love for all of us, our #1 vision. We believe that His Grace and Love is available for all and that we as "Christians" got to get our freakin selfish desires out of the way and be obsessively passionate about getting our hearts lined up with Gods desires!!! Listen now, it is truly not about what "Christians" want or like........
*not the music
*not the church environment
*not the lighting
*not the "buffet" of food in the foyer
*etc, etc, etc

It has to be about what makes a person or persons open to hearing about the Grace and Love that Christ offers them, AND it's about us "Christians" believing that the people who do not have a relationship with Jesus are the most important thing to us. I know that they are to God!

Fear can not be an option! There's too much at stake. Let's have short prayer together:
God, please help us meet the fears facing us, "head-on". Father help us learn from our fearful experiences and make us even more passionate about the things that BREAK YOUR HEART.
Amen.
**One Church...One Vision: the unchurched**