Podcast Guide:
Quarter 1: You Have More Fear Than You Realize
- Most people don't know how fear-driven they are. It's the water they swim in.
- Parenting decisions are driven primarily by what you want to prevent, not what you want to cultivate.
- Political convictions shaped mostly by who or what you're afraid of.
- Career choices made to secure against failure rather than move toward calling.
- Theology that's fundamentally defensive — protecting orthodoxy, guarding borders — rather than expansive.
- Relationships designed to minimize vulnerability rather than maximize connection.
- The news diet. Almost all of it is fear-delivery infrastructure. Outrage is just fear with an object to punch.
Action Items:
- Take one area of your life and mine out the fears that live there.
- One Day of Observation: Watch people around you and discern which of their actions appear to be actually fear-motivated. Make a list.
Quarter 2: Control is the Root of Fear
- Anxiety springs from what you can't control, namely the future
- Fear about your relationships springs from the truth that you can’t control people
- Why you squeeze even harder when you feel like the relationship is in jeopardy
- You try to become invulnerable, in life and in relationships, to shore up that lack of control
Action Items:
- Name what you cannot control and give it to God
- Name what you can control (short list) and take action to steward that
- Apologize/Repent to someone you love who you’ve been trying to control
Quarter 3: Acceptance is the Antidote to Fear
- Acceptance isn’t defeat. It is the place where fear loses its grip on you
- There is a time and season for all things
- We have the invaluable luxury of trusting in an all benevolent and all-powerful God. Trust in His goodness, even when it doesn’t look the way you would have it (because you DEFINITELY can’t control God).
Action Items:
- Pick one thing that is driving you anxious or crazy - Make a list of all the good reasons to choose acceptance over fear.
- Write out a prayer to God acknowledging your lack of control and your fear. Ask Him to help you release it to Him and thank Him for honoring your heart.
Quarter 4: Going on the Offensive (Living on Mission)
- The goal is not to arrive safely, elderly, and comfortably at death. The goal is to advance the Kingdom of God on earth.
- The opposite of fear isn’t recklessness, but Love. All Love is bold, and offensive to the enemy. It will often be difficult, uncomfortable, and entirely worth it.
- If you’re like us, you’re valuing comfort too highly. Comfort isn’t worth much, and most of your fear comes from being uncomfortable.
What IS worth something is generous giving, cultivating your gifts and callings, and pouring your life out for others, playing your part in the eternal story of God.
Action Items
- If you were thinking mission-first, what bold step would you take this week?
- Write down your gifts and calling. If you don’t have any, ask a friend to help you find them. Once you have the list, strategize on how best to use them.
- Name the fears that are holding back from bold obedience to God.