Perfect Love Casts Out Fear

I write this from Chicago, on the eve of the start of the Council of Bishops meeting. As many of you know, this is the meeting where we will receive the report from the Commission on the Way Forward and discern and deliberate on what will be presented to the Special Session of General Conference 2019.

There is so much anxiety and fear within our denomination right now. What will the church look like in February 2019—will there still be a United Methodist Church, or will we be an Untied Methodist Church? Will we reconcile with one another and our differences, to find a way to include all persons in the life and ministry of our church--regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity--or will we allow differences to divide us and the body of Christ? Fear of the future causes many to press the pause button, waiting “to see what will happen.”

Within our Mountain Sky Area there is fear and anxiety as well as we consider a new way of being an annual conference. Since 2011, there have been task forces and committees and discussions and studies about how we in the Mountain Sky Area can be the Mountain Sky Conference. But change is never easy. There is never a “right time” to implement change. Even we who have agreed to follow Jesus sometimes shrink back from that which we are called out of fear of the unknown.

When I look over my own life and ministry, I realize that there are times when my fear has left me frozen in my tracks instead of heading into the future God invites me to. The demands of change were just too much for me and I shrank back from the path. However, those times when I pushed through my fear led me to experiences, growth, and blessings beyond my wildest imagination.

In these days of anxiety and fear, may we sink into God’s love. In I John 4: 18 we are reminded: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.” When you find anxiety clinging to your soul, when fear leaves you frozen, remember to open up to God, who is love. This love will help diminish your fear and free your feet to go where God leads.