Risk
Inherent in each and every one of us is this desire to be safe… To be secure… Especially if we are leaders, we tend to want to make the safe decisions, the decisions that will not ruffle feathers. This isn’t always a bad thing, but when it comes to Christianity or leading a ministry there needs to be some risk. What does it look like when Christianity has no risk in it?
Unfortunately, we have all seen these results… We see it in every high school and church in America, We see the token Christians who go to church and youth group because, that’s just what good people do… But the moment that Christ calls them to do something- to give up something, to change something about their life; it is simply too much for them to handle… They are afraid of the social implications of changing… They are afraid that if they stand up for righteousness that they will be forced to stand alone, that friends will leave them, that no one will understand and they will become ostracized… But in reality it is the risks that we take that will ultimately define us. Following Christ is a risk. We have to be willing to be broken… To literally carry our cross daily… Dietrich Bonhoeffer knew this truth more than most. As a pastor in Nazi Germany his friends pleaded with him to leave the country in order to save his life… His response was taking a risk… “How am I to win my country, if I am not in it?” In following Christ he knew there must be risk- And yet we question if we should really give up watching “R” rated movies because we might seem like we don’t fit in with everyone else… “When Christ calls a man, he bids him come and die” (another Bonhoeffer quote)… I think this is perhaps one of the biggest things missing from western Christianity- The willingness to take risk in order to grow closer to Christ…
And it is this same risk that has permeated our ministries as well… In our fear of failure we’ve become safe and secure, not willing to try something new or change things (getting rid of sacred cows), but it is in taking risk that we reap the largest rewards. Obviously, I am not advocating risk for the sake of risk, or doing anything dangerous, or even against your church’s vision. But, there is a significant need to take risk, to make changes and tweaks in order to continue pursue the vision that Christ has called us to in our ministries… Let’s not be afraid of failure, but take risk, to step out of the boat, because it is in conquering that fear that we will truly advance the kingdom of God- if only in our own lives…
