Addressing Fear

As a church, how do we address the fears of our children and youth? This question comes to mind because of two items to which I was exposed this morning.

The first was an interview on Good Morning America with Thomas Friedman, author of The World is Flat. He was promoting his new book, Hot, Flat, and Crowded: Why We Need a Green Revolution -- And How it Can Renew America. I've not read the book yet, so I can only speak to the interview (to see the interview, go to http://abcnews.go.com/gma).

Looking at the convergence of increasing world population, a growing middle class in the developing world using more and more energy resources, and global warming, one of his primary points is that "we need to change leaders, not light bulbs." He is critical of both Obama and McCain in the interview, believing neither goes far enough in pushing us toward new and renewable forms of energy. His answer: innovation in the marketplace.

The second news item this morning was in the Op/Ed section of today's Boston Globe. In an opinion piece written by guest columnist Allegra Goodman, we hear a very different and personal perspective on global warming. She writes about her twelve-year old son's "fatalism" about global warming. Thinking about the upcoming election he said to his mother, "It doesn't really matter as much for you, because you'll be dead...but I'm going to have to live through global warming, and I'm afraid by the time I can vote, it will be too late." Goodman also mentions a conversation with a friend who tells her that "her son can't sleep because he is so anxious about global warming." (Read the full column, at ://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2008/09/08/the_dark_dreams_of_global_warming/).

Her concern in the column is addressing her son's fear and anxiety. "What's a parent to do?" An excellent question and one that does not have an immediate answer. Having two teenage children, I can certainly empathize with her anxiety about her son's fear.

Expanding her question a bit: What's the church to do?

When I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s we worried about the nuclear destruction. I was born in the midst of the Cuban missile crisis. I lived through the build up of nuclear arms and the increased "sophistication" of these weapons. Living outside of Washington, D.C., I remember sitting in a high school history class when the teacher said, "If we heard right now that missiles are on their way, there would be nothing for us to do but to go outside, sit in a circle, sing songs, and wait. We would not be able to get away."

What was my church's response to all of this? I don't remember one. The only image I have is of signs in the church leading to the basement that read, "Fallout Shelter." As if the basement of the church was going to save us.

Perhaps the leaders of the church had no response. Perhaps the response was simply, "Trust in Jesus. If we all die, at least we'll go to heaven."

That response does not seem particularly adequate to me. It certainly doesn't address the very present and real anxiety about the future of our planet and of the ultimate survival of both the diverse creatures who live here and of the human race. How might the church address the fear and anxiety of a twelve-year old boy whose world view is fatalistic and pessimistic?

Do we preach about heaven? Do we go to the Bible and read the stories of Jesus walking on the water in the midst of the storm and telling the disciples not to be afraid (see Mark 6:47-51)? Do we say, "Trust Jesus and all will be well"?

I don't deny the foundational truth here. I do trust Jesus and I do trust that, in God's time, all will be well. But to leave it at that feels as if we are addressing the fear and anxiety of children with platitudes instead of hope and with simplistic escapism instead of faithful seeking.

In the face of the fatalism produced by global warming, what's the church to do? It certainly isn't to focus on internal church rules and institutional survival. My only answer today is that we must make people of faith a part of the broader conversation. We cannot allow this to be addressed only by Thomas Friedman, political candidates, and environmentalists. If we take seriously the idea that God created us to be stewards of creation, then we must accept the responsibility of engaging the reality of global warming and living in a way today that sustains our home for the future.

Children living in fear need more than scientific, business, and political answers. They need what a spiritual perspective can provide: faith, hope, and possibility. They need action. They need engagement and participation. They need adults to wrestle with reality faithfully. Whether it's a change in leadership or a change in light bulbs, people of faith need to begin living as good stewards today.