{"id":31144,"date":"2022-09-10T15:18:37","date_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:18:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/the-ministry-fear-seizing-church-leaders-right-now\/"},"modified":"2022-09-10T15:18:37","modified_gmt":"2022-09-10T20:18:37","slug":"the-ministry-fear-seizing-church-leaders-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.biblia.work\/sermons\/the-ministry-fear-seizing-church-leaders-right-now\/","title":{"rendered":"The Ministry Fear Seizing Church Leaders Right Now"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Evgeni Tcherkasski photo – Unsplash<\/div>\n

By Kent Annan and Jamie Aten<\/em><\/p>\n

Are you experiencing holy FOMO?<\/p>\n

Since COVID-19 we\u2019ve started noticing that pastors and church leaders aren\u2019t immune to the phenomenon commonly referred to as FOMO, which stands for \u201cfear of missing out.\u201d<\/p>\n

But unlike traditional FOMO, holy FOMO occurs within the unique context of ministry among church leaders who fall into the trap of comparing everything their ministry does with what other ministries are doing.<\/p>\n

As people dedicated to serving others, church leaders naturally want to identify and use the most effective streaming technology, employ the most innovative strategies for offering pastoral care, and find new ways to continue serving those in need.<\/p>\n

But when their Facebook feed shows a neighboring church leading worship from the roof of their building, transmitting the gospel drive-in movie style to the FM dials of cars lined up in the parking lot, it can be hard to celebrate the fresh, creative solution.<\/p>\n

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More often, it simply feels like someone has raised the bar we all now have to struggle to clear. And then someone in your church, when you\u2019ve already done your best, may send a not-so-subtle email that says something like, \u201cLook at what so-and-so church just did!\u201d<\/p>\n

We already know this is how we\u2019re wired. Study after study has proven that the more individuals use social media, even for the best of reasons, the less happy we tend to be.<\/p>\n

The research of Holly B. Shakya (UC San Diego) and Nicholas A. Christakis (Yale University) demonstrates this phenomena we\u2019ve all experienced: \u201cWe found consistently that both liking others\u2019 content and clicking links significantly predicted a subsequent reduction in self-reported physical health, mental health, and life satisfaction.\u201d<\/p>\n

In a nutshell, being exposed to the apparent happiness and success of others chips away at our perception of our own.<\/p>\n

In a conversation during a recent Humanitarian Disaster Institute event with Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals, we discussed an unlikely, and yet keenly apt, biblical model for this moment.<\/p>\n

2 Chronicles 30 describes how the Passover ritual was being reinstated by King Hezekiah after years of not being observed.<\/p>\n

Sending a royal proclamation throughout Israel, people were called to come to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover to the Lord. That\u2019s when, despite the best laid plans, things went south.<\/p>\n

For starters, the community was unable to celebrate the feast at the appointed time because \u201cnot enough priests had consecrated themselves and the people had not assembled in Jerusalem\u201d (2 Chronicles 30:3).<\/p>\n

Leaders weren\u2019t ready. So they chose a rain date and invited everyone to come out again.<\/p>\n

This time, many of the worshipers who showed up had themselves<\/em> not prepared properly, and so were unable to eat the Passover meal. To be clear: The entire community worshiped at the wrong time and in the wrong way.<\/p>\n

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See also  Why Pastors Must Acknowledge Their Own Needs<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Sound familiar? As church leaders today are wrestling theologically with what it means to not gather physically together as a body we\u2019re also dealing with FOMO, worried that what we are<\/em> providing isn\u2019t enough.<\/p>\n

The constant scroll of fresh creative ideas others are implementing isn\u2019t bringing life; it\u2019s only reminding us of the ways we\u2019re falling short.<\/p>\n

This is different from conversations with colleagues and deliberately following trusted sources that can help you find support and innovative solutions to problems none of us have ever faced before.<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s why Hezekiah\u2019s prayer to God, that their not-quite-right-worship would be pleasing to Him, is the prayer for this very moment:<\/p>\n

\u201cMay the LORD, who is good, pardon everyone who sets their heart on seeking God\u2014the LORD, the God of their ancestors\u2014even if they are not clean according to the rules of the sanctuary\u201d (2 Chronicles 30:19-10).<\/p>\n

Had his prayer been broadcast as a catchy five-second TikTok video, it might sound something like, \u201cGod forgive us; we\u2019re really doing our best.\u201d<\/p>\n

And God\u2019s response <\/em>to Hezekiah\u2019s prayer is one whose echoes inform our life today: \u201cGOD responded to Hezekiah\u2019s prayer and healed the people\u201d (2 Chronicles 30:20).<\/p>\n

God received Israel\u2019s worship, and God receives the worship of our hearts today.<\/p>\n

Walter Kim emphasizes, \u201cIf the Lord was so gracious back then, how much more will He be gracious to the church now as we are groping and muddling our way through trying to figure out what does it mean to honor God in this moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Though most folks aren\u2019t bragging about the groping and muddling on social media, it\u2019s where most of us are living today. We\u2019re all trying to figure out what it means to honor God in this moment.<\/p>\n

And when we turn our eyes away from \u201clikes\u201d and \u201cshares,\u201d and to the One we\u2019re hustling to know and serve in the first place, we receive the healing and abundant grace God offers.<\/p>\n

Now there\u2019s something to share.<\/p>\n

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Kent Annan<\/h2>\n

@kentannan<\/strong><\/p>\n

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Kent is director of Humanitarian & Disaster Leadership at Wheaton College. He is author of\u00a0Slow Kingdom Coming\u00a0and\u00a0After Shock: Searching for Honest Faith When Your\u00a0World Is Shaken.\u00a0Follow him online at\u00a0kentannan.com.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n