The Sustainist

Constructive Approach to Fear

In the last Sustainist post, I shared aspects of “fear-exploiters” and how they use fear to get people to do things for their own benefit. As the people of the United States get closer to the November election, both campaigns will use fear-exploitation to get you to vote their way.  I would like to give some suggestions on how to deal with these fear-projections and hopefully help you arrive at a sound decision for yourselves as to how you will vote.

Gavin de Becker in The Gift of Fear wrote, “What you fear is rarely what you think you fear – it is what you link to fear. Take anything about which you have ever felt profound fear and link it to each of the possible outcomes. When it is real fear, it will either be in the presence of danger, or it will link to pain or death. When we get a fear signal, our intuition has already made many connections. To best respond, bring the links into consciousness and follow them to their high-stakes destination – if they lead there.” This discipline of linking the fear to the high-stakes or worst-case destination does three things:

1. It helps us determine whether the danger is imminent and therefore requires immediate action.
2. Linking a fear to its most terrible destination helps us discern an unwarranted fear and therefore alleviate the anxiety that may be triggered by the fear.
3. When we are able to link a fear to its ultimate horrible destination, we can begin to see the fear in its wider context.

Let’s take two cases and work this through. First case: Donald Trump said that if you vote for Hilary Clinton, she will take away your guns.  When I try to link this to its most terrible outcome, here is what I come up with:  If Clinton becomes president, she will appoint a supreme court judge who is anti-gun.  When an anti-gun case comes up in the supreme court, the justices will vote for it and we would begin to lose our right to bear arms.  Eventually, Clinton will get congress to amend the Second Amendment or get rid of it all together. When my guns are taken away, I would be without protection. So, when I am at work, and there is a mass shooting; I am dead.

In this scenario, there are many steps from Clinton getting elected as president to me getting killed because I don’t have my gun with me in a mass shooting.  This should calm us down a bit because the imminent danger is not there and now we can do something about this fear that we have.  Let’s look at this in a wider context.  Why then do I have this fear of not being able to carry a gun?  When I am able to identify my real concern, I then am able to do something constructive to address that.  Perhaps it has nothing to do with who I vote for this November.  Maybe, I should be doing something locally in my neighborhood community to foster safety for the whole community.   

Second case: Hilary Clinton said that if you vote for Trump, he will abuse the president’s access to nuclear arms (the button) and starts World War III.  Let’s use the same technique and link this to it most terrible outcome. If Trump becomes president, he will have direct access to the use of nuclear arms. If another head of state says something about him that he considers a put-down, he could react in a “strong” way and call for a nuclear attack.  His military advisors warn him not to act so impulsively but he calls them “losers” and fires them. So he “pushes” the button and creates mass destruction and the other nations retaliate and send nuclear arms our way and I die.

Now, with any other candidate for president, this scenario sounds a little ridiculous.  But with Trump, given what we know about him and his temperament, this scenario, for me, is not that far-fetched.  And the distance between Trump getting elected and him pushing the nuclear arms button is very short.  This, to me, constitutes a greater imminent danger for me and I feel the need to act on this because Trump is literally only a few votes away from becoming the president.

You can use the same technique to deal with every fear that these candidates and their campaigns throw your way.  It’s even better if you work on each fear with a community of people.  Try this technique on Trump’s proposal to build a wall or how we should fear Clinton because of her use of email.  Try this technique on Clinton’s assertion that we will move backwards on all the gains we’ve made in civil rights and the economy if we vote for Trump.  As you watch the debates and the final days of fear-exploitations leading to election day, don’t let these fears throw you to and fro.  Stop, name the fear projected and do the discipline of linking the fear to it's worse case scenario and you will have a better idea of which fear to act on now.

Reflection Questions for Proper 21 (Year C) Jeremiah 32:1-3a, 6-15   Why is the ability to buy land important in God’s eye? Psalm 91:1-6, 14-16   What is God’s relationship with humanity? 1 Timothy 5:6-19   What does it mean to be rich? Luke 16:19-31   What do you listen to God?

Upcoming Opportunities to Study with The Sustainist and learn more about Holy Currencies and Gracious Leadership: October 23-27, 2016 St Columba Center, Memphis, Tennessee Gracious Leadership: Racial Reconciliation Catalyst Training Register at www.kscopeinstitute.org

Eric H. F. Law
Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org                

Fear and Politics

In this election season, I, once again, am puzzled by the U.S. presidential candidates’ rhetoric.  I was not able to understand them until I assumed a mindset of fear and scarcity.  If I believed that the world is a fearful place and that there is not enough of anything for everyone, then the candidates’ words made sense.  If you vote for me, I will help you with your fear and keep you safe.  Whether what they promised is actually going to address my fear constructively is not even relevant here.  The goal is to trigger our fears and then promise safety in exchange for our vote. 

The anniversary of September 11 is here.  I recalled how fear was such a dominant force in the subsequent decisions we made as a nation.  In response, I wrote a book called, Finding Intimacy in World of Fear.  I will offer my description from the book of the “fear-exploiters” for the citizens of the U.S. to reflect on as they move toward election day:

The fear-exploiters use the fear of rejection, isolation, chaos, psychological and physical harm and death to maintain control. In effect, the message is: If you don’t do what we want, you will be excluded, and harm will come to you. The fear-exploiters re-define the rules to give them advantages and to maintain their power. By defining the rules, the fear-exploiters define reality for others. They want this reality eventually to become accepted as daily rituals to be followed unquestioned.

The fear-exploiters propagate a spirituality of scarcity. They project a reality that says there are never enough of resources, power and love. Therefore, be competitive, take and keep, and be suspicious of those who have more. The fear-exploiters will cast this false reality in the name of whatever is the popular concept or language of the time. They will give the impression of peace without justice. They will sell the illusion of intimacy without love. They will promise security and safety while continuing to project fear. They will sell us symbolic substitutes that promise to make us safe while the goal is to keep us craving for more.

The fear-exploiters have an inherent fear of community, because if a community of respect and trust decided to come together and tell the truth of the people’s experiences, the fear-exploiter’s scheme will be exposed. Therefore, fear-exploiters want to divide communities by spreading misinformation about one group or another within that community. When the different factions in the community are not able to work together, the fear-exploiters stay in control. The fear-exploiters create distrust so that the people become suspicious of others. Where there is no trust, there is no truth-telling. When there is no truth-telling, there is no intimacy. When there is no intimacy, there is no community.

The fear-exploiters evoke fear to condition some in the community to be fear-conquerors. They become foot-soldiers in enforcing the rules and ritual. The fear-exploiters want to turn most people into fear-bearers, supporting the status quo without question. The fear-exploiters want to diminish our self-esteem and take away our dignity so that we do not trust our own ability to work through our fear. Punishment and conditional love are the weapons that fear-exploiters employ. Do what we want and you will be loved. Cross the line, and you will be punished.

The fear-exploiters use diversions to distract people from seeing and addressing the real issues. They do not want people to work together for real safety and security. The fear-exploiters pile fear upon fear in order to overwhelm people so that they will buy whatever substitutes that promise to alleviate their fear for the moment. They want to keep people in a constant state of fear. The fear-exploiters want people to be afraid of fear itself. The more the people avoid fear, the stronger the fear-exploiters will be in maintaining and increasing their control and power.

Reflection Questions for Proper 19 (Year C) Jeremiah 4:11-12, 22-28   How does this text apply to our world today? Psalm 14   What is God seeking in humanity? 1 Timothy 1:12-17   What does it mean to receive mercy? Luke 15:1-10   What do these parables say to us about our relationship with those whom we considered “sinners” ?

Upcoming Opportunities to Study with The Sustainist and learn more about Holy Currencies and Gracious Leadership: October 23-27, 2016 St Columba Center, Memphis, Tennessee Gracious Leadership: Racial Reconciliation Catalyst Training Register at www.kscopeinstitute.org

Eric H. F. Law
Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org                

Holy Currencies: A Reflection

Guest Blogger:  Pastor Jennifer Burns of Community UMC in Brookville, OH

Community UMC in Brookville, OH, has gone through dramatic changes in the last five years. Located in a rural/commuter community, the congregation has about 70-80 in worship on Sunday mornings. While the previous pastor at Community UMC was going through Crucible (clergy leadership training), the church got excited about structuring their leadership differently to empower rather than approve ministry. In the midst of this transformation, the imaginations of leaders were further captivated by the idea of Holy Currencies. While empowering ministry, we look toward all of our resources and seek sustainability over burnout.

Church leadership participated in Holy Currencies training and began using Mutual Invitation in the Leadership Team. New leaders were identified and lifted up as mature existing leaders began to contemplate, “How can I empower the next generation? How can I help identify, equip, and support the currency of gracious leadership?”

As things started rolling, I, Pastor Jennifer Burns, entered in without Holy Currencies training or experience, and without the same relationship currency that the previous pastor had. Yet I dove into relationship building and Holy Currencies study, and the Leadership refused to give up, despite numerous changes and losses. 

I think pastors and congregations frequently find that issues arise where they are in over their heads, and that is what happened to us. Only six months in, an issue arose that had the congregation starting to divide. The support I received to host a Circles of Grace conversation at our church was overwhelming and empowering. It took a lot of hard work, but in the end it was powerful and beautiful.

We invited all of the active youth parents to attend a Circle of Grace. Instead of specifically targeting the apparent issue, we thought deeper and wider. What does it take to be a leader of our youth? What qualities do we require? One parent had this to say:

"This issue has been around for years and we've never really talked about it. I think the evening went really well, as well as it possibly could have...I'm glad we did the first part [Bible Study] because it prepared us to speak not just from emotion. I didn't know what I was going to say or what I thought going into it! It got us in that frame of mind to begin with and helped us have our emotions in check as we thought about and talked about [the issue]."

We offered two more Circles of Grace as opportunities to widen the circle to the whole congregation (only one happened due to low response rate). Specific invitations went to youth workers and church leaders, as well as a general invitation to the church. Those who had been the loudest voices behind closed doors decided not to attend. They acknowledged that it was other people’s time to lead. These voices have remained much quieter since they had the opportunity to speak. Three children/youth leaders came to the Circle. There we heard the hurt that had occurred over the past few months related to this topic. We also heard a deep desire for space for these grace-filled, honest conversations.

I pray we are setting a pattern for the future of how to talk about difficult issues in a healthy, Godly way. I know we are discovering the power of Circles of Grace to bring Truth to light. Only when we hear each other’s truth can we find a path forward that is healthy, whole, and life-giving.

Reflection Questions for Proper 18 (Year C) Jeremiah 18:1-11   How has God been a potter to you? Psalm 139:1-5,12-17   How does this psalm inform you about your relationship with God? Philemon 1-21   What does this letter teach you about leadership? Luke 14:25-33   How does it mean to follow Jesus?

Upcoming Opportunities to Study with The Sustainist and learn more about Holy Currencies and Gracious Leadership: October 23-27, 2016 St Columba Center, Memphis, Tennessee Gracious Leadership: Racial Reconciliation Catalyst Training Register at www.kscopeinstitute.org

Eric H. F. Law
Kaleidoscope Institute
For competent leadership in a diverse changing world
www.kscopeinstitute.org