Fear Not

In 2007 Vladimir Putin and Angela Merkel met together for a bilateral meeting in Sochi, Russia. This press conference, featuring Russia’s long-standing president and Germany’s first female chancellor, was not unusual: clamoring gaggles of the press, stuffy-looking furniture in a staged room, and obligatory small talk between the two leaders, totally normal. Then something odd happened – in walked Koni.

Upon seeing Koni, Chancellor Merkel’s demeanor visibly changed. She became tense, appearing distressed and uncomfortable. For a few moments, this new presence loomed so largely in the room that it inhibited Merkel’s ability to successfully converse with Putin. And then, Koni barked. Koni, who was a large black female labrador retriever, belonged to Putin. Because of a severe dog bite she endured in the mid-90s, the Chancellor was terrified of canines, especially large ones. Her fear of dogs wasn’t lost on Putin. The consensus of political commentators is that Koni’s presence was an intentional attempt to rattle the chancellor [1]. It was Putin’s political ploy to leverage Merkel’s fear against her and set the table for how their relationship would progress. At that moment, Putin embodied a leadership trait that Christians everywhere are called to openly and forcefully reject.

A leader who actively attempts to leverage the fears of others for their own political gain is called a demagogue. Demagoguing is a political strategy that tries to influence others – not by casting a positive vision of the future, but by raising people’s level of anxiety about a threat that is either real or made-up and then painting themselves, their leadership, or their ascension to power as the solution. It sounds like, “Give me power, and I’ll protect you from evil.” The irony is that while the leader gains the power, their followers never shake the fear. It’s a bad deal.

In American politics, demagoguing happens on both sides of the aisle and to varying degrees. Not all fear-stoking is created equal, but all of it contributes to a less free and equitable society. When Biden says, “MAGA Republicans pose a clear and present danger to American democracy,” he is trafficking in fear. When Hilary Clinton, during the 1994 campaign, called young men of color “super predators” she was fear-mongering. When Trump said, “They’re bringing drugs, they’re bringing crime, and some, I assume, are good people,” the politics of fear were on full display. These statements have various levels of cultural impact, but to be sure demagoguing is a bipartisan practice.

Some may argue that a leader is not being a demagogue if what they say is technically true. But this analysis misses the heart of the problem. At its core, this practice is rooted in identifying the basic anxieties that certain groups have about security and prosperity, which may be legitimate, but then elevating those fears in order to get those groups to give the leader power. It is a perverse misuse of public trust.

If you are a pastor or church leader, you know the folks under your influence, who attend your church, listen to your podcast, receive your newsletter, or attend your conferences are not immune from the anxieties of the world. The tides of financial instability due to inflation, automation, and economic turmoil are rolling over millions of Americans. And there are fear-mongering forces ready to oversimplify those problems, create enemies by casting blame, and offer false comfort in exchange for a vote. The question is, “What is your role in this toxic social dynamic?”

One of the most compelling challenges that Paul gives to leaders in the New Testament is in Acts 20:28-29. The Message paraphrase puts it plainly. Paul says, “Now it’s up to you. Be on your toes – both for yourselves and your congregation of sheep. The Holy Spirit has put you in charge of these people – God’s people they are – to guard and protect them. God himself thought they were worth dying for. I know that as soon as I’m gone, vicious wolves are going to show up and rip into this flock, men from your very own ranks twisting words so as to seduce disciples into following them instead of Jesus.”

Our spiritual enemy would love nothing more than to use these societal pressures to turn God’s people from trusting God and leaning into Christian community. But we are under heavenly orders to combat this. Below are some ways to lead faithfully through the fear we face.

Understand the logic of fear.

Why is fear such a powerful motivator? The answer is part biology and part sociology. Our brains are wired to spot danger and avoid potential threats in order to stay alive. The shot of adrenaline and cortisol our brain produces when we see a venomous snake or hear a strange bump in the middle of the night is meant to prepare us to either fight or flee. This is a good thing. But there is a flip side to fear that is not so helpful in the long term. Fear shrinks our brains and causes us to become less rational. When your body is flooded with fear, less mental energy is devoted to logical decision-making.

One of my friends was with his son on the playground when suddenly the young boy was gripped with a severe asthma attack. As my terrified friend rushed his little one into the emergency room, the nurses asked, “How old is he?” “Umm…I don’t know,” my friend replied. “What’s his birthday?” they asked. “I don’t remember,” he replied. “Any allergies?” In the grip of fear, his shrunken brain didn’t have room for these details.

That’s okay if you’re in a temporary crisis, but imagine what the long-term effect of a similar type of low-grade fear would have on entire segments of our nation. A nation gripped by a 24-hour news cycle, incentivized to push the stories that contrast differences, is fed by fear. A nation where a politician feels they can only win a primary if they can out-“extreme” their opponent, is a nation led by fear. Our nation is in a rolling tide of fear, economically, culturally, and politically — and it puts our democratic social order at risk. Am I using fear-mongering language to talk about fear-mongering? As you can see, even well-intentioned people can ironically fall into the trap of using fear to drive important points. This is a complex and insidious challenge, but here are some ways faith leaders can tackle it.

Our nation is in a rolling tide of fear, economically, culturally, and politically — and it puts our democratic social order at risk.

Be empathic.

University of Chicago philosopher Martha Nussbaum writes about how a society under the influence of fear can be negatively affected. Fear is a trickster that lures people into believing that complicated problems have easy solutions. Fear convinces them that they can conquer their feelings of helplessness through scapegoating, revenge, and exclusion. [2]

As a leader it’s vital to deeply empathize with the fears of those we desire to lead. People’s fears reveal what they value, what they stand to lose, and where they are vulnerable. When people are scared, they want comfort and assurance that they and those they care about will be okay. As a leader, you encounter people who have lost jobs, are living through demographic or cultural change, and are full of anxiety. They may also be tempted to manifest those frustrations by way of anti-immigrant comments, racist sentiments, or other views that oversimplify their troubles. To dismiss these fears as simply irrational is counter-productive. Even if you feel that a person’s response to their fear is irrational, the fear may be rooted in a legitimate concern for their well-being. To productively move away from fear, people must first feel heard.

As a leader it’s vital to deeply empathize with the fears of those we desire to lead.

Connect to Community.

Curtis Chang and David French recently spoke about the allure of conspiracy theories as a coping mechanism for fear [3]. A conspiracy theory, they said, is a way for a fearful person to cope with uncertainty. Conspiracies are relationships that bring their adherents comfort. Therefore, we can’t just fact-check people out of their conspiracy theory relationships. We must offer grander and more compelling relationships grounded in true community.

We must offer grander and more compelling relationships grounded in true community.

Are you building a community that offers this sort of compelling alternative? Have you committed yourself to building a space of belonging where people can connect with others and receive help in constructive ways? To combat anti-immigrant sentiment, you could connect your followers with an immigrant church in the area. For those seeking new employment, you could coordinate a job fair with local employers or offer a financial literacy course to those struggling to manage their finances. When people feel that their faith communities are a place where they can express their anxiety and see a positive path forward, they will be more resistant to the calls of fear-mongers.

So finally, if we cannot reliably look to Vladimir Putin for an example of healthy leadership, to whom can we look? Consider the example of Jesus. After years of fruitful ministry, he told his followers he was about to leave them to return to the Father. This was a great shock to his disciples, first because they were under the impression that his leadership would result in an overthrow of Roman oppression, but also because his followers had put their lives on hold, given up everything, and followed him. His followers were fearful that if they lost Jesus, they may experience alienation, disappointment, or be targeted by the Romans as traitors. How does Jesus respond to the fear that his followers have? A lesser leader may try to leverage their fear to gain obedience. Not Jesus; he gives his followers a path from fear into peace through trust. Jesus says in John 14:1-2, “Don’t let this rattle you. You trust God, don’t you? Trust me. There is plenty of room for you in my Father’s home.” Jesus saw his followers’ fear and distress and said, in essence, “You’re going to be okay; you are included; you are important enough that I am personally working to make preparations for your participation in God’s plan, and you don’t have to scapegoat anyone in the process.”

Those values of trust in God, peace, and connection to others should animate the way we lead those who are gripped by fear. Our country and our congregations are constantly assailed by the cultural winds of fear, but we, as Christian leaders, have the opportunity to build resilience in the midst of these dynamics with Jesus as our example.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and Koni the dog.

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Footnotes:

[1] Blake Hounshell, “Putin Uses Dog to Intimidate Merkel,” ForeignPolicy.com, June 14, 2007, https://foreignpolicy.com/2007/06/14/putin-uses-dog-to-intimidate-merkel/.

[2] Becky Beaupre Gillespie, “Martha Nussbaum Explores How Fear Helped Fuel a Political Crisis,” UChicago News, July 18, 2018, https://news.uchicago.edu/story/martha-nussbaum-explores-how-fear-helped-fuel-political-crisis.

[3] Curtis Chang and David French, “Evening Conversation | Towards a Better Christian Politics with Curtis Chang, David French, and Russell Moore,” The Trinity Forum, March 21, 2023, https://www.ttf.org/?portfolio=evening-conversation-towards-a-better-christian-politics-with-curtis-chang-david-french-and-russell-moore.