What Scares Me

A few folks shared their fears since yesterday.
So, as promised, I'll share a few thoughts on what scares me.

First- what scares me about planting a church...
This may make NO sense to most people, so I apologize in advance if this is confusing.
For as hard and I pray, work, study and pour myself out for the success of Connections, I'm as much afraid of success as I am of failure.
Homer Simpson once told Bart, "Son, you tried and you failed, and thus you've learned the most important lesson there is in life- don't try anything." OK, I'm not sure how that fits in, but it's hilarious.

Success pulls you in deeper, raises expectations, elicits as much, or more criticism, than failure, is incredibly demanding, challenges and stretches me to grow beyond my current condition, requires my continued complete dependence on God, and forces me to consider how our success impacts lives. Failure is devastating, but success can be scary.

Second, my family. This ties in with my work of church planting, but I think all dads wrestle with this- how is my work affecting my family? For me it has the added dimension that through my work my kids are growing in their knowledge of God. So it scares me- am I doing right by my kids? What will they think of God, church, and the way we live in community? Will they continue to live in the faith we've been teaching/modeling for them? Will they make good decisions that bring blessing into their lives, or not?

Third, myself. My limitations scare me. We all have limitations. We need to know our strengths and weaknesses. Mine scare me.

There you go, more insight into me than you wanted to know.
But let me add that I really don't live in fear. Thanks to God we can hold every thought captive. (2 Corinthians 10:5)

In fact, this better describes me,

For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." Romans 8:15