Spiritual Life and Leadership
Ministry leadership is about more than just growing your church or organization. It’s about participating in God’s mission in the world. But how can leaders know God’s mission or their unique place in it? Faithful ministry leadership is rooted in a life of deep and abiding faithfulness to Jesus. In “Spiritual Life and Leadership,” Markus Watson and his guests explore what it means to be faithful leaders whose ministry flows from their ever-deepening relationship with God.
Spiritual Life and Leadership
238. Lead with Less Anxiety, with Alan Fadling, author of A Non-Anxious Life
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Markus Watson
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Is it possible to lead a congregation without being consumed by anxiety and stress? How can we as ministry leaders manage the pressures and expectations we carry while maintaining a sense of peace and lightness?
In this episode, Alan Fadling, author of A Non-Anxious Life, unpacks how ministry leaders can navigate anxiety by creating a supportive network of friends and mentors, understanding God’s joyful nature, and how these realities can transform our personal life and pastoral leadership.
THIS EPISODE'S HIGHLIGHTS INCLUDE:
- Alan Fadling advises not bringing personal anxiety into a congregation but sharing it with friends, mentors, therapists, and spiritual directors.
- Alan Fadling highlights that his experience with managing anxiety has been supported by people outside his immediate church community.
- Referencing Lewis Smedes' Shame and Grace, Markus Watson illustrates how acceptance from others can help people feel less anxious and more acceptable.
- Discussing his book about anxiety with a church small group, Alan Fadling emphasizes the value of having outside perspectives to reassure one's concerns.
- Understanding God's joyful nature can lead to personal transformation and fuller acceptance of grace.
- Markus Watson relates a story about providing comfort rather than judgment, illustrating how fear and anxiety are addressed in a supportive manner.
- Categorizing anxiety as a sin is unhelpful, Fadling emphasizes, especially from a pastoral perspective.
- Referencing Eugene Peterson's interpretation from Philippians 4, Alan Fadling focuses on replacing anxiety with peace through prayer.
- We should recognize God's presence in anxious moments through prayer and reflection rather than avoid anxiety.
- Inspired by Dallas Willard, Fadling shares a personal practice of using scripture to find peace amidst anxiety.
- Psalms of Lament can help engage with and express anxiety while relying on God's support.
- Journaling with honesty, as practiced by Alan Fadling, serves as a personal dialogue with God and reinforces that God cares and one is not alone.
- Fadling’s early ministry concerns included whether congregants liked him, stemming from personal insecurity.
- Discussing a "recognition deficit," Alan Fadling notes the mistake of seeking validation from congregations instead of from God.
RELEVANT RESOURCES AND LINKS:
- Alan Fadling:
- Books mentioned:
- A Non-Anxious Life, by Alan Fadling
- The Wounded Healer, by Henri Nouwen
- Shame and Grace, by Lewis Smedes
- Emotionally Healthy Spirituality, by Lewis Smedes
- Related Episodes:
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