Commitment & Being a Non-Anxious Presence

Commitment & Being a Non-Anxious Presence
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November 14, 2025

This Sunday, Nov. 16, we will wind down our “Generations of Faith” capital campaign with our Commitment Sunday. We have laid out our vision for the future. I want to THANK everybody who has already made a commitment to move this vision forward. Our leaders are leading the way. This Sunday, we are asking our entire congregation to make a three-year commitment to support our vision for the coming years. It is now time to turn our vision into a reality. We are deeply grateful for your generosity and ongoing support of Woodmont. This vision will pave the way for future generations to grow in their faith and spread the love of Christ. If you haven’t already, you can click here to make your pledge online.

The world continues to feel chaotic in so many ways. The government has been shut down for many weeks with each party adamantly casting blame onto the other. Food assistance programs have been halted as a result of this. A young democratic socialist just shocked the New York political establishment by getting elected mayor of the world’s most capitalistic city. Affordability is clearly still a real problem for many working families and young people. Debates over immigration and ICE rage on. People argue over basic facts and where to go to find truth. It feels like every day, we get bombarded with news that alarms us and keeps us on edge. All of this brings fear and anxiety. Is it possible to become a non-anxious presence in the midst of all that is happening around us? I will talk about this on Sunday.

Jesus famously said, “My peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Let not your hearts be troubled and do not let them be afraid.” Becoming a non-anxious presence is important but requires intentional work. Non-anxious people understand the transforming power of forgiveness. All of us have been done wrong. Somebody has hurt us, offended us, disrespected us, or ignored us. We all have that in common. Jesus consistently taught forgiveness. Christians are good at talking about forgiveness but struggle to actually forgive. Forgiveness doesn’t mean you forget, but it does mean that you let it go. Forgiveness doesn’t mean that you set yourself up to be hurt again, but that you put your hurt in the past and move on. Forgiveness is not always easy but is always necessary. Some would call it a recipe for survival.

Non-anxious people realize they can’t control everything in life. Duke theologian Stanley Hauerwas, in The Peaceable Kingdom, says: “Our need to be in control is the basis for the violence of our lives. For since our ‘control’ and ‘power’ cannot help but be built on an insufficient basis, we must use force to maintain the illusion that we are in control.”

Some things in life are controllable but many more things are out of our control. We must accept that reality. Non-anxious people do not get sucked into unnecessary conflict with non-peaceful people. It always takes two to fight. If somebody is combative, manipulative, or passive-aggressive and you get tangled up with them, you then have to play by their rules or you will lose. Many times walking away is a much better option if possible. Jesus said turn the other cheek, go the extra mile. Non-anxious people have also learned to be fully present in the moment.

Somebody once asked a Zen Master what monks do, and he responded by saying, “We sit, we walk, we eat.” The person then replied, “Well, I also sit, walk, and eat, and I’m not a monk!” To which the Zen Master replied, “Yes, but when we sit, we know we are sitting. When we walk, we know we are walking. When we eat, we know we are eating.”

We have now mastered the challenge of multitasking with the help of technology and smartphones, but in the process, we have forgotten how to enjoy the moment and live in the present. Perhaps most importantly, non-anxious people have found peace with themselves. Those who are most combative, angry, and aggressive are almost always those who are not at peace with themselves, so they project it onto everybody else. Which begs the question, “How do we make peace with ourselves?” It starts with prayer, forgiveness, acceptance, balance, and cultivating gratitude, which is a lifelong endeavor. Inner peace will never be possible if fear pervades and we are at war in our own heart.

Our world needs more people who can live non-anxiously and not overreact. How can we make a firm commitment to deepening our faith and become one of those people?

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