Fear and Risk...

I have come to the conclusion that it is very possible that the single, most inhibiting, negative characteristic in the church today is fear. And I am not just talking my church, little c, but THE church, the entire organized body of Christian believers. I especially think that this is the case here in America, as we really don't see that same attitude in the church abroad. We live and act and walk like a people afraid. We make rules that say who is in and who is out because we are afraid that we won't be able to control the group otherwise. We come up with bylaws, church guidelines, policies, and laws to protect ourselves from getting sued and to make sure that everyone fits inside a certain box because we fear what might happen if we didn't have these boundaries. Many times we meet together and are urged to live a life worthy of the gospel of Christ with fear as our motivator. And most of the time that motivation fails because deep down the church is more afraid of the world and it's opinion of us than we are of failing Christ.

Last night in our midweek student services we talked about the disciple Peter. We looked in Matthew 14 where Peter walked on the water with Jesus, but took his eyes off and almost drown. We looked at the story in John 18 where Peter was in the garden of Gethsemane and cut off the ear of the Roman soldier. We even looked at the following chapters in John where Peter denies even knowing who Jesus is. Each story gives us a picture of a Christ-follower who was passionate, aggressive, brash, and jumped into things with both feet (most of the time without thinking through the consequences). For the most part, this kind of decision-making and living usually had Peter ending up in some kind of dilemna that really wasn't part of what he bargained for. For those of you who are Chris Farley fans like myself, Peter is kind of like the Tommy Boy or Blacksheep of the group of disciples. Try as he might, with all his good intentions, it just never goes his way...

But I think God took great pleasure in Peter's attempts. You can hear the story of Peter walking on water told again and again in church. Usually it ends with some statement or conclusion that if Peter had just kept his focus on Jesus and not on the storm and waters around him, he would have been ok. I won't buy that cow. I believe that until Peter's dying day he probably had dreams of the day he stepped out of the boat and walked toward Jesus, even if it was only a few steps. I believe that while the other disciples played it safe and stayed in the boat, Peter's RISK brought honor and pleasure to God. While everyone else was afraid and decided to ere on the side of safety, Peter risked it all to get closer to Jesus. And God smiled. Then Peter heads to the Garden with Jesus on the night the Roman guards come to arrest him. As the guards try to take their Master, their Teacher, their Rabboni, most of the disciples just stand there watching, afraid of what the soldiers are going to do to Jesus and to them...But not Peter. This fisherman who was probably terrible with a sword pulls out his sword anyway and attempts to defend his Master. Even in his attempt, he only pulls a Mike Tyson on the guard and cuts of his ear, which Jesus reprimands him for. But notice that Jesus does not reprimand his desire to defend him or his willingness to risk his life for the sake of Christ, but only his methodology. They were not people of the sword and Jesus reminds Peter of that...But deep down inside, and maybe even outwardly, I think that Christ smiled on Peter's willingness to take a risk while everyone else watched in fear, and I think that it brought honor and pleasure to the Master to see that one of his followers would choose risk over fear. And then Peter really blows it. If you have spent much time in church at all, you've heard Peter's last and most famous blunder. After Jesus is arrested and taken into custody, Peter and John follow the soldiers to see what they will do with Christ. Upon entering the courtyard several people recognize Peter as one of those Christ-followers and confront him about it. Each time Peter commits a grave error by denying Christ, in essence letting his fear overtake him. But one thing that I notice about Peter even in this passage is again his willingness to take a risk. Even though fear eventually wins in Peter in this passage, he took great risk to even put himself in a position to face that fear. In this story, where are all the other disciples? They aren't in it...Becuase they went home. They ran off. Their master was arrested and they went home to hide and worry and be afraid. From the very beginning of the Garden scene, fear had won in them. But not Peter and John...They press on and take the great risk of following Christ as he is taken captive. Luke 22 says that Peter is following close enough to Jesus that after he denies him he sees Jesus' face and they make eye contact. Wow. I can't imagine what dissapointment Peter must have felt in himself at the time. And while I know that it had to hurt the heart of Jesus to know that Peter had denied him, I think God had to take pleasure in the fact that at least Peter took the risk of putting himself close enough to Christ in the situation to be given the opportunity to fail. At the end of the day, and at the end of each of these passages, I think that Peter shows us something great about our own, personal walks with Christ - they must involved risk.

Yes, we may fail. Yes, we may get out of the boat and not realize how rough the water is until we are six feet out in it. Yes, we may pull our sword and start swinging, to only then realize that we are not swordsmen. But at least we took the risk to do something. At least we were willing to take a risk instead of be afraid. I believe that the church in America is in a perilous time. I believe that those who truly are Christ-followers are living in an incredible moment in history. And I believe that the church is filled with people who are afraid. We fear that the world is against us. We fear people who look different that us. I mean, after all, what on earth would we do if "those" people started coming to our church? We live fear that we are going to lose control or some semblance of power that we have dreamed up the church and Christianity is about. And, deep within my being, I believe it breaks the heart of God to watch his children live in such fear...But it doesn't have to be that way. Over and over again in the Bible God teaches us that he is honored when his people take great risks for him. We see time and time again in history how God uses those who are willing to take risks for him.

So here we sit, at the crossroad of fear and risk. What will we do, church? Our answer to this question will determine how God works among us and it will determine what future generations believe about the power, strength, and trustworthiness of our God. And our answer to this question will determine our involvement in reaching a world, a community, a neighborhood, a school, or a neighbor that so desperately needs to know the love and grace of Christ. So join me in fighting your fear. Take the risk. Be like Peter. God takes pleasure in our risks because it means we have more faith in Him, than in ourselves...