The Non-Anxious Pastor

A quote from Pastor TREY from his book “The Non-Anxious Pastor:”

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I never truly dealt with the root problems of my anxiety because it always seemed to benefit me. Stress turned me into a straight-A student. Fear of failure gave me the ability to consume and create content at a very high level. 

My insatiable desire to appear successful to others created a charisma people found charming and reassuring. Anxiety is a superpower until it’s kryptonite. 

See, anxiety gives you the illusion of success. It convinces you nothing would get done without it. It promises major results with minimal side effects. (Let’s ignore what anxiety has done to my skin, stomach, and sleeping habits.) 

In my mind, these were worthy sacrifices to climb the ladder of success. By God’s grace, this moment in the hospital made me realize my ladder was leaning against the wrong wall. 

Anxiety does the opposite of what it promises. It produces minimal results with major side effects that ruin your soul, your family, your church, and the world. 

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I want to be careful using the word “anxiety” here because it’s a clinical term and I’ve heard a *ton* of well-meaning Christian advice that sounds like “You just need Jesus” or “you need to spend more time in the word” or other things that sound nice but really aren’t super helpful. If you need help, get help. For real.

This book has a been a real eye-opener for me not because I want to be a pastor but as someone who is building something and feels the weight on the construction it opened my eyes to some of the deeper issues of things I deal with. 

I can’t recommend it enough; and that’s not just because Trey let me create the cover art. 😉