Risk Assessment

 

Risk Assessement – the process of evaluating the risks of a proposed activity and weighing them against the potential benefits to determine if said action should be taken.

Recently the denomination in which I am ordained as a pastor covered a story in their monthly magazine. This story detailed the abduction and robbery of a pastor and five church members who were in Guatemala City on a short-term ministry trip. I have not seen or read the article and have only heard about it second-hand. What I have read is several messages written to me by concerned church leaders. The basic content of each of these messages is as follows:

“Have you seen this article and were you aware of the incident?”

“I am concerned, knowing that you host teams in Guatemala.”

“Is it safe to bring groups to Guatemala? Should you continue hosting teams?”

I have taken the time to respond to each of these messages respectfully and patiently. I have explained that the robbery occurred within a red zone (an area of Guatemala that is known for high gang and crime activity) and that, while we minister in some of those zones, we do not take teams unless all the members are adults who understand the risks and still want to go. I also explained that we take precautions to do all that we can to assure team safety. And, finally, I explain that no matter what we do, there are still risks involved. If a team comes to Guatemala there is a possibility of accidents, robbery, assault, abduction and even murder.

Of course, those same risks exist in the US on a trip to the local Wal-Mart. Granted, the risks are increased somewhat on a trip to Guatemala, but the reality is that our lives are in God’s hands. That is true whether we are serving Jesus in a foreign country or sitting on our sofa watching television. Right?

When did Jesus’ call to lay down our lives and go and make disciples get distorted into the mindset that God wants us to be comfortable and safe? How does that reconcile with the Word of God and a world that is dying apart from Christ? Are those that live in high-risk areas less deserving of the opportunity to hear the Gospel? Perhaps we should just tell them to go to hell because God wants us to stay safe and would never ask us to put ourselves at risk.

I grew up going to church. I remember hearing over and over about great heroes of the faith who gave their lives to advance the Gospel. How is it that we somehow feel exempt from the same sacrifice?

I hear some who say, “Well, I am willing to put myself at risk, but not my family. As a father, God wants me to keep them safe.” Really? Do we really think that a God Who established our salvation through the sacrifice of His only Son would tell us that we should place our own family’s safety above the importance of taking that salvation to a dying world?

One of my favorite books is The Barbarian Way by Erwin McManus. In it, he shares the following conversation with his son:

Not long ago Aaron asked me, “Dad, would you purposely put us in danger?”

“Yes,” I answered, “of course.”

Without blinking an eye his response was simply, “That’s what I thought. I was just making sure.”

Any good, Christ-following parent is willing to put his or her child in danger in order to do the will of God. Why? Because our highest call as parents is not to keep our children safe, but to teach them to follow Jesus wherever He leads, regardless of the risks. If we keep them safely cocooned but they enter adulthood following the safest path instead of God’s path, we have failed.

These risks that Christ calls us to extends beyond physical dangers into financial ones as well. There are numerous Christian financial counselors out there now that teach us to play things safe.

• - Make sure you have three months salary in savings in case you lose your job.
• - Make sure you are investing wisely for retirement.
• - Never make a purchase or commitment unless you have the money in advance. -

You get the idea. I am not saying that doing any of these things are wrong, in and of themselves. However, they can be. At times God calls us to step out in faith and trust Him for what we need. After all, that is what the spotless lamb as a sacrifice was all about. We are to give God our first and best, the sire of next years flock, and trust God to provide for the future. This does not mean that we run out and buy that big screen TV on credit or take out a loan for that boat we have been wanting, it means that we follow God’s call even when the money isn’t there.

Every month I find myself doing ministry that we cannot afford. Our regular giving just does not total enough for us to pay the bills. However, we lean on the promise of God that if we do what He asks us to do He will provide. And each month he does. But each month we realize that if God does not come through we will go under. We have invested almost everything we have in this ministry and have no safety net except God. No retirement. No health insurance. No property of our own. Our only insurance is Jesus, and He is enough.

Meanwhile, on a regular basis my oldest daughters (ages 14-22) load up in a van and go do ministry on their own in Guatemala. Brittney and Krishauna are both preparing to move to a remote region of Guatemala to do special education. My daughter, Carissa, is currently living and ministering in Uganda as a single lady. Teisha is beginning school to prepare for her move to Guatemala to do the same. My family and I live as high-profile targets in a high-crime country. Risky? Sure, from the world’s perspective. Our non-Christian friends think we are crazy.

But there is another side to all of this…the benefits that make the risks worthwhile. The benefit of being in the center of God’s will and feeling that assurance every day. The benefit of seeing our pathetic little skills being amplified by God to do so much more than we could imagine. The benefit of seeing changed hearts and lives. The benefit of seeing God do the miraculous on a daily basis. All of these and so much more make the risks seem minor and insignificant.

I believe that fear is the greatest weapon of the enemy against Christ-followers. He stirs up fear in our hearts to make the risks seem greater than the benefits when the opposite is true. He causes us to fear the step of faith in order to keep our faith from growing when we see how God catches us and causes us to fly. Jesus sets us free while Satan seeks to ensnare us with fear.

Are you being called to the risky and dangerous? I would be willing to bet you are. That is just how God works. The real question is whether you will allow fear to keep you from all that God has for you. Are you afraid? If so, take heart…you are not alone. You stand with a lot of great God-followers who wrestled with their own demon of fear. Think about Moses, Joshua, Gideon, David, Nathan, Samuel, Peter, and a whole list of others who had to face their fears to see God move. And as you look at their stories ask yourself this question:

What would they have missed if they had allowed their fears to win?

Then ask:

What will I miss if I play it safe?

Just a few thoughts from someone who has to battle his own fears every day. Blessings from Guatemala!

Daryl (Wanda and the Crew)