| Fear Factor - The Tension Between Protection and Outreach |
| Fear Factor or The Never-ending Tension between 'Protection from Others' and 'Outreach to Others' |
There will always be a tension between ‘protecting oneself from’ and ‘reaching out to’ the people as listed below.
I have included everybody on this list so don’t be offended when you find yourself described there. For some of
you, many people on this list are no threat, for others, certain people on this list are a real or perceived threat. It
depends on what you grew up with and who you know. We want to minister to people but we don’t know what to
do when they actually show up. Do we love them or fear them? This creates major tension in churches and in
people. Here is an example in diagram form.
I have included everybody on this list so don’t be offended when you find yourself described there. For some of
you, many people on this list are no threat, for others, certain people on this list are a real or perceived threat. It
depends on what you grew up with and who you know. We want to minister to people but we don’t know what to
do when they actually show up. Do we love them or fear them? This creates major tension in churches and in
people. Here is an example in diagram form.
You are, or your church is, somewhere between the two points on the above diagram. You are either hard over
toward the ‘protect from’ side, hard over toward the ‘outreach to’ side or somewhere in-between. Where you are
on this diagram determines how much outreach potential you or your church has. This is what cripples many
churches from reaching out to others who are different from themselves. For the church or the individual to be
missional they must change their priorities. They must shift from a ‘protect the church priority’ to a ‘reach the
non-believer priority’. Sadly many churches and individuals are either unwilling to do this or afraid to do this. It
makes them uncomfortable. But Jesus never called us to be comfortable. (Acts 5:41, Romans 8:7, Phillipians 1:
29-30 and 3:10-11) He calls us to be witnesses for him (Mark 13:9, Acts 1:8, II Cor. 5:20) Because of this tension
you may have to do this alone or with a small group. It may be too difficult to convince others to join you due to
their fears or comfort level. They may not want to go where they think it is dangerous. They also may not want
to have 'those' people in church with them. When this happens you will have to make a decision - to stay with
that church or leave, and / or to follow Jesus where he is leading you, or to not follow Him.
In Jesus’ day, devout people avoided like the plague those not like themselves. They did this due to fear of harm
or fear of being made unclean or perhaps some other unknown reason. What is known is that Jesus hung out
with the outsiders. He healed the demoniac (Mark 5:1-19). He touched the leper (Matthew 8:2-4). He went
through Samaria (which most Jews avoided) and spoke to a woman there (John 4:4-30). He touched people that
were dead (Mark 5:38-42) and raised them to life. He was / is a light to the Gentiles who were looked down on by
the Jews of the day (Luke 2:29-32). He touched the sick (Matthew 14:35-36). He preached good news to the poor
(Luke 4:18-19). He pardoned the adulteress (John 8:3-11). This is what Jesus did and we are called to do the
same. So if you are going to share the love of Christ with any of the people on this list you will need to get over
or deal with any fears you may have. When you do, I suspect you will find that at least some of your fears were
unfounded. And I believe you will find that your fear has been replaced with love, knowledge, and faith.
Authentic Christianity takes risks. Missionaries that go to foreign countries that are hostile to Christianity take
risks. But for those of us in local mission fields there is a real or perceived risk as well. It is my prayer that God
will give us the willingness to go, the courage to go, and the protection that we will need to follow Him where-ever
He leads.
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be
ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by
the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but
because of his own purpose and grace. (II Timothy 1:7-9)
toward the ‘protect from’ side, hard over toward the ‘outreach to’ side or somewhere in-between. Where you are
on this diagram determines how much outreach potential you or your church has. This is what cripples many
churches from reaching out to others who are different from themselves. For the church or the individual to be
missional they must change their priorities. They must shift from a ‘protect the church priority’ to a ‘reach the
non-believer priority’. Sadly many churches and individuals are either unwilling to do this or afraid to do this. It
makes them uncomfortable. But Jesus never called us to be comfortable. (Acts 5:41, Romans 8:7, Phillipians 1:
29-30 and 3:10-11) He calls us to be witnesses for him (Mark 13:9, Acts 1:8, II Cor. 5:20) Because of this tension
you may have to do this alone or with a small group. It may be too difficult to convince others to join you due to
their fears or comfort level. They may not want to go where they think it is dangerous. They also may not want
to have 'those' people in church with them. When this happens you will have to make a decision - to stay with
that church or leave, and / or to follow Jesus where he is leading you, or to not follow Him.
In Jesus’ day, devout people avoided like the plague those not like themselves. They did this due to fear of harm
or fear of being made unclean or perhaps some other unknown reason. What is known is that Jesus hung out
with the outsiders. He healed the demoniac (Mark 5:1-19). He touched the leper (Matthew 8:2-4). He went
through Samaria (which most Jews avoided) and spoke to a woman there (John 4:4-30). He touched people that
were dead (Mark 5:38-42) and raised them to life. He was / is a light to the Gentiles who were looked down on by
the Jews of the day (Luke 2:29-32). He touched the sick (Matthew 14:35-36). He preached good news to the poor
(Luke 4:18-19). He pardoned the adulteress (John 8:3-11). This is what Jesus did and we are called to do the
same. So if you are going to share the love of Christ with any of the people on this list you will need to get over
or deal with any fears you may have. When you do, I suspect you will find that at least some of your fears were
unfounded. And I believe you will find that your fear has been replaced with love, knowledge, and faith.
Authentic Christianity takes risks. Missionaries that go to foreign countries that are hostile to Christianity take
risks. But for those of us in local mission fields there is a real or perceived risk as well. It is my prayer that God
will give us the willingness to go, the courage to go, and the protection that we will need to follow Him where-ever
He leads.
For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. So do not be
ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by
the power of God, who has saved us and called us to a holy life--not because of anything we have done but
because of his own purpose and grace. (II Timothy 1:7-9)
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