I just finished reading Aftershock by Wiedemer and Spitzer. In this book, they lay out the next global financial meltdown and what to do about it. They show how disastrously the bubbles will burst, causing chaos and panic in all areas of life.  They go so far as to say “The party is coming to an end.”  The bubbles are real estate, stocks, private debt, the dollar, and government debt.  These are the same guys who predicted the crash of 2008 long before it happened. If you believe the scenario they lay out, you are fearful of the future.

The book is so disturbing I caught myself saying, “If even 10% of this is correct, I need to sell everything I have and leave the country. I’m not sure if their predictions that our way of life as we know it is coming to an end are correct, but I know enough about the insanity of our federal government on all levels and on both sides of the aisle that I am worried about two things: 10% or more inflation and much higher unemployment. Either of these are bad news for churches.

So what are Christians to do? We certainly shouldn’t panic and become fearful of the future, but we also can’t afford to keep our heads in the sand and pretend nothing is wrong.  Something is terribly wrong worldwide. The fundamentals aren’t in place anymore. And if it gets worse, we are all in for a rough ride. Many people are fearful today about a lot of things.  You don’t have to work with churches very long to be painfully aware of a chilling reality: Most church leaders are consumed with a wide array of fears. They fear change, fear rejection, fear failure, fear being hurt again, fear the unknown, fear strong leaders, fear running out of money, fear losing their pension, fear never finding a job again, fear conflict, and fear being bullied by controlling and intimidating individuals.

I refuse to accept that Christians are being filled with fear.
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Aftershock is the #1 best seller on the New York Times. The list of fears goes on and on. I can understand our nation going berserk. We’ve been a sheltered nation for a long time and have grown shallow in our resolve. Also, I can understand some individuals responding by going off half-cocked and writing a book like Aftershock. What I refuse to accept is that Christians are being filled with fear. Fear can possess us only when we shut faith, hope, and love out of our lives. When you realize that fear is the opposite of love, you understand why so many churches aren’t doing well.  When we shut faith, hope, and love out of our lives, we create a void that fear fills easily. Of course, we’ve always known the remedy – “There is no fear in love, but [mature] love casts out fear” (1 John 4:18).

Question: If not fear, what is the appropriate response to these dark predictions of our future? Share your thoughts in the Comments section below.

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