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Addressing Fear and Offering Tools

Addressing Fear and Offering Tools

Word From Wiese

Opening Doors Lenten Journey, 2026

Discussion Guide #4

Writer: Pastor Fritz and Pastor Wes

18 March 2026

This Lenten season, our WFW emails are a bit different. Instead of a reflection, they are discussion guides about Opening Doors.

As we celebrate Jesus going to Holy Week to break open the doors of death, sin, and despair, we want to explore how as Christians and a congregation, we can do the best job we can of opening doors of faith for our family and neighbors.

So, check out the questions below and see what you think. If you want, you can go the COS YouTube channel to check out Sunday’s sermon which launches the conversation. Thanks for being a part of the door-opening God’s leading this Lent!

In Christ’s hope,

P Fritz

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FOR THE GROUP

God’s blessings on the FOURTH week of our Lenten journey. Please use the following as a personal devotional or a small group discussion guide. Typical groups will meet for 30 minutes. But if your group members mutually agree to talk longer, go for it. Figure out what works best for your group: having one person answer each question in turn, or everyone chiming in. You’ll figure it out!

Leader note: please designate someone a note taker. We’ll gladly receive any summary notes and points you want to pass on to us at [email protected].

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“For where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I among them.” Matthew 18:20

Opening prayer: Thanks God for gathering us together for these fun and holy 30 minutes. It’s no fun when we experience dead ends or locked doors. We praise you, therefore, for Jesus opening the doors of life, joy, and meaning for us. Send your Holy Spirit upon us as we discuss how all of us at COS, in grateful response, can play our parts in opening doors of hope and grace for others. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Discuss these questions from Sunday’s preachers, Pastors Fritz and Wes, or as they re-named themselves for their tag team sermon as they wrestled with the two chapters, the Pastor of Disaster and the Minister of Sinister:

Questions for “Address the Fears.”

  1. This chapter featured four top reasons why people are reluctant to invite others to church or initiate conversations about faith: fear of fanaticism, fear of rejection, fear of harming, a good relationship, and fear of appearing stupid or foolish. Which of the issues do you experience most often? How do you process these feelings?
  2. Here’s a challenging question perhaps: How do you balance the fear of disappointing others with the fear of disappointing God? How might bringing up church/faith in conversation disappoint others? Conversely, how might avoiding gentle discussion of church/faith disappoint our friends and family, in the long run? How might avoiding gentle discussion about church/faith with others disappoint God?

Questions for “Give Them Tools.”

  1. What “tapes” tend to play in your mind when you think about sharing your faith with someone else? Do those inner voices encourage you to speak, or do they tell you that you’re not qualified?
  2. When have you experienced something in your life where you could honestly say, “Though I was blind, now I see”? In other words, where have you seen God at work in your life?
  3. Why do you think the man in John’s Gospel simply told his story instead of trying to explain everything about God? What might that teach us about how we talk about faith with others?
  4. Think about the ways Christ Our Shepherd already extends invitations, through worship, online ministry, or personal relationships. Where have you seen invitation happening naturally in this congregation?
  5. If being invitational sometimes begins with a simple conversation, who is one person in your life you could invite into a deeper conversation about faith, church, or hope?

Bonus question: What hasn’t been explored in this discussion that you would like to share?

Thanks everyone! See you next week!

Action please: Group leader, what are 2-3 key points that emerged from your conversation? Please send them to [email protected]. We want to listen to what the Holy Spirit might be telling us this Lent as we make future plans for opening doors the best we can.

Future Topic: Next week, we dig into the topic which author Dave Daubert calls the most important of the whole book, “The Power of With.” So see you next week!

Closing Prayer (as offered by Dave Daubert):

Loving God, you have come to us in Christ, and empowered us to believe and experience life in Jesus’ name. Help us overcome our fear, so we might activate our desire to share the good news, the opportunities to bear witness to the work of Christ, in our lives, and the things we need to do it well. Strengthen our ministry in ways that prepare us to always be ready to give reasons for the hope that lies within us, through Jesus Christ, our Savior and Lord. Amen.

Thanks everyone! See you next week!