Dan Scott: Resilience

There’s a word we hear a lot when it comes to our kids: Resilience.
 

The idea is pretty simple. Life will knock you down. Having resilience enables you to bounce back up and keep going. 
 

But when life knocks you down, it doesn’t just test your stamina, it tests your faith. Of course, being knocked down is relative. It could be something major like losing your job, or maybe it’s something more internal like wondering why you feel stuck in your current season of life.

This is true for us as leaders. This is true for the people in our care.
 

Regardless of the cause, whatever we experience can be a catalyst for evaluating what we believe about our faith in God and how life works. This might cause us to feel like our faith is gone. We may wonder if we’ll ever bounce back to the faith we once had. 
 

Well, maybe. But more than likely, we won’t.

When it comes to building a resilient faith, we need a new expectation for how we hope people process and evaluate their relationship with God.

So I wonder. What if instead of bouncing back, it’s more like bouncing UP like on a trampoline—allowing you to see God in ways you’ve never seen—not to stop believing but to believe more—or maybe it’s a bounce forward to a deeper faith, re-defined by your experience. 

In other words, resilient faith isn’t just bouncing back to a childhood faith. Rather, it’s believing that the difficult part of the journey isn’t the whole journey. 

Resilient faith is a willingness to trust God through life’s difficulties. It’s an ongoing pursuit with the hope that, although one’s faith might change, there’s more to come. It’s a faith that propels us forward and keeps us growing throughout our life.

But what does this have to do with the people we meet each week in our churches?

Well, as we grow up and mature throughout our life, what we experience forces us to re-think what we’ve been taught about anything. We let go of what no longer works, rearrange what needs tweaking, and hold on to what continues to make sense and move us forward. This is a normal part of life. 

As normal as this process is for human development, the church has often dismissed it, especially when it comes to faith formation.

Yet, this process is something anyone goes through when they want to take ownership of what they believe and decide how they’ll live as a result. 

We can’t prevent people from doing it, but we can help them prepare for it.

So, how do we ensure the people in our care have something to hold on to when—not if—those questions and doubts show up? 

First, it starts with understanding that humans live integrated lives. Author Brian Muraresku wrote, “No faith is built in a vacuum.” This is especially true when it comes to this idea of resilient faith. Everything we face impacts every part of us. When we help people understand their faith, we must remember that if they’re suffering physically it will impact them spiritually and emotionally, and vice versa. We need to help people process their faith journey holistically, considering all aspects of life that are impacting them. 

Next, we can help people understand that the journey of faith is a marathon and not a sprint. The decision to follow Jesus with one’s life is a goal, but it’s not the ONLY goal of faith formation. God is inviting us into a process of faith here and now, in this life. It’s a dynamic unfolding understanding of Christ that grows and matures over time as one experiences the work of God through the Holy Spirit in their life. 

Of course, the decision is a milestone on that journey of faith, but it’s not the journey in and of itself. It is a tension between belief and becoming—belief that Jesus is who He says He is, and becoming more like Jesus throughout your life. And so as leaders, we need to honor each person’s journey and not rush the process for anyone.

Finally, we should lead by example. Not a single one of us has arrived, and we need to be honest about that. Now, this isn’t to say we air our dirty laundry when it’s not appropriate, but we should allow the people we serve some insight into our own personal faith journeys. 

Find a community of trusted friends where you have a safe place to wrestle with your own questions. Then, as you’re ready, share what you’re learning. Post the books you’re reading, or create discussion groups for others who have similar experiences and questions. Allow the people you serve a glimpse into how you’re processing life and seeking a resilient faith. 

If we want the people in our communities to experience an everyday faith in Jesus that transforms how they love God, themselves, and the rest of the world, we need to let them experience a faith that impacts them every day. It’s that sort of faith that will lead to resilience.