What Are You Afraid Of?

Reading Ed Welch's book Running Scared: Fear, Worry & the God of Rest last year helped me realize that fear is a bigger part of my life than I had realized. Our fears reveal our idols: comfort, approval, safety, and so on. It turns out I had (or have) more fears and idols than I'd realized. When we say, "I'm afraid of…" we're usually saying is, "I have an idol."

I've thought about church planting for years. I thought it was a crazy dream. It's easy to rationalize why it's not a good idea. Slowly my excuses crumbled, and I was left to confront my fears. It's one thing to think that church planting may not be a good idea. Not everybody should be a planter. It's another thing altogether when the thing holding me back is that I'm putting some of my idols at risk.

If you're struggling with fear, I highly recommend Welch's book. But I've found some other books to be helpful as well. The Flinch is a good, quick read, and it's free on Kindle. Seth Godin's book Linchpin was also very helpful.

What are you afraid of? Follow your fears, and you'll probably find your idols.