Which Is It: Fear Frustrating Faith or Fearless Faith?

The church I serve, Oakdale Emory, wants to build a $3 million expansion in the midst of a recession. Last November, at a special meeting of the congregation, 86% of the people present voted to move forward. Now, maybe everyone thought we would be out of this economic mess by now, and that is why they approved the plan. Then again, I say, why wouldn’t we vote that way—then or even today? After all, Phase 1, which was the only thing voted on, seeks to do three things: 1) Add a much-needed gathering space, a “family room” if you will, so that we can invite people in the community to “come and see” what Jesus is up to in us and through us. 2) Add much-needed flexible space for the many groups and ministries that use our buildings as tools for discipleship, and 3) Update and correct some of the technical difficulties (inadequate restroom facilities, for example) our buildings suffer from now.

But an interesting thing happens when I talk to people about this. An enormous number of them react with fear. They are afraid we will fail. They are afraid we won’t be able to raise the money. (This is different than failure, in my opinion, and I’ll explain why in a second.) They are afraid people won’t give. They are afraid we are wasting our time. Fear! Fear! Fear! The Bible tells us in Timothy 1:7, “God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.” Too often, our fears frustrate and stop our faith when God’s desire is for us to experience fearless faith.

There are many ways we could fail. We could do nothing and just expect that the money will magically will appear. We could run such a stupid Capital Campaign that no one even knows what they are giving to. But in my mind, going to the congregation with a plan, asking for their prayerful and sacrificial support, and then tallying up where we stand is our next step of obedience. If, after we do our own due diligence, we cannot afford to build right now, then we will wait until we can. How have we failed?

On the other hand, if in the midst of this economy, we canvass our family and God opens the gates of generosity and we receive what we need, then we have a story to tell of faith in action! Because we can announce to ourselves and to those in our community “come and see” what God has done! This may be just the witness God wants us to have. In a “good” economy, we might have been tempted to say, “Look what we did!” But who is going to say that if, over the next three years, we are able to raise $3 million in a down economy? God is looking for glory and praise. God wants a people who will live by faith. There are plenty of places where my fears want to stop my faith, but today I am choosing to turn fear away and live with a fearless faith!