Week 45 – November 3-9, 2024: Churches Are Notoriously Anxious Systems

This week’s daily readings:

November 3-9, 2024

This week’s devotional:

Churches Are Notoriously Anxious Systems

by Rev. Lucy Albert

Scripture:

The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching. 

— Mark 11:18 (NIV) 

Reflection:

This verse is situated within a passage (Mark 11:12-25) in which Jesus foretells the destruction of the temple because it has become so corrupted that God is subjecting it to judgment. In a sermon or other in-depth teaching, it would not be right to assign meaning to the passage without looking through that contextual lens. In this brief devotional, I wanted to at least note this for you for future reference, even though it’s not today’s topic.

The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him… this truth struck me as interesting in light of what I’ve learned about churches: they are “anxious systems.” Much has been published about this; if you’re interested, reading references can be provided by informed church leaders. I’ve heard it said that the primary role of church leaders is to manage their own anxiety, and this makes perfect sense. How can we provide guidance to others if what flows out of us is not from the abundance of God’s care, but instead our worry? It makes sense that emotionally healthy disciples, whether officially church leaders or not, would be characterized by managing their anxiety (releasing it, not bottling it up) so that it rarely spills onto others.

I could probably fill a journal with examples of times I’ve not successfully managed my anxiety or have been on the receiving end of that of other church members. Growing in this way can be a slow process, and no growth is linear. Rather, it typically happens in a 2-steps-forward, 1.9 (or 2.5!) steps back pattern. 

Most people do not like change, but New Englanders will fight it harder than many! In this passage we see the chief priests and teachers of the law described as afraid enough, because of the revolutionary teaching of Jesus, that they decided to kill him. We don’t live in an era or country in which people can be killed for their beliefs, but sometimes I wonder what violence would occur in the body of Christ if it were legal. It certainly has plagued us in other centuries. 

What about you—how do you manage your own anxiety so that what flows from you is from the abundance of God’s care?

Prayer:

Amazing God, you sent your Son to earth to teach us from the abundance of your own knowledge. No wonder people were fearful and didn’t understand! We admit that your ways are far above our ways. Our anxiety is hard to manage. Today we pray for your church and its leaders, that peoples’ worries don’t get in the way of their ministries. If we can set our minds on Jesus and walk step by step with him, we might release our anxieties and have a more effective witness. Help us to see progress for Christ’s sake, though it might not look like that with every step. I trust you to guide my walk, in Jesus’ name. Amen