Christian faith takes courage, because embracing God's reign puts Jesus' followers in opposition to the "principalities and powers" of the world. United Methodists and other faith leaders march toward the U.S. Capitol on Feb. 25, 2026, during “Faithful Resistance: A Public Witness for Immigrant Justice” in Washington. Holding the left end of the banner are United Methodist Bishops Minerva Carcaño, LaTrelle Easterling and Cynthia Moore-Koikoi. (Photo by Mike DuBose, UM News)
Oboedire | May 2, 2026
Courage is a big-picture item in the spiritual life simply because to embrace Jesus’ core message about the reign of God (the kingdom of heaven) puts us, as it did him, on a collision course with the “principalities and powers” of the fallen-world (Mark 3:6). It is these, Paul wrote, that we are called to resist as we follow Jesus (Ephesians 6:12).
This being so, we must understand what courage is and how we go about practicing it. In both dimensions, I have found the writing of Parker Palmer to be helpful, as well as the Center for Courage and Renewal that he founded. [1]
Beginning with the nature of courage, it is not the absence of fear; it is the power of vision to rise above our fears. Courage names fear honestly, and honesty is the key that emancipates us from its grip. Courage is not naïve; it knows the cost of conviction and is willing to pay it. Courage is not blind obedience or knee-jerk reaction; it is what Richard Rohr calls “the practice of the better.” [2] Courage is the calm, nonviolent enactment of conviction.
With respect to the practice of courage, we find it expressed through the fruit of the Spirit in the Christian tradition: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness (generosity), faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23). Each aspect of the fruitful life has a counter-cultural expression. But speaking and acting within the context of the fruit of the Spirit keeps our courage meek—that is, power under control.
Courage is summed up in Martin Luther King Jr’s phrase “strength to love” [3]—the strength which moves us beyond tolerating the intolerable and living prophetically in an imperialistic culture that prefers darkness to light because its deeds are evil (John 3:19).
Without courage, we find ourselves “slipping into a familiar pattern of evasion” [4] that generates the downward spiral of denial, equivocation, fear, cowardice, and avarice. The lack of courage produces moral loss individuals, groups, and societies. The presence of courage produces moral gain in them. The gain is summed up in the words we pray, “thy kingdom cone, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven” (Matthew 6:10).
[1] Palmer’s book, A Hidden Wholeness, opened my eyes to a new understanding of courage, and the Center for Courage and Renewal continues to provide insights into the nature and practice of courage (www.couragerenewal.org)
[2] Richard Rohr, The Eight Core Principles (Franciscan Media, 2013), chapter three, “Zealots and Pharisees.”
[3] Martin Luther King Jr., Strength to Love (Harper & Row, 1963).
Steve Harper 2024
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The Rev. Dr. Steve Harper is retired seminary professor who taught for 32 years in the disciplines of Spiritual Formation and Wesley Studies. Author and co-author of more than fifty books.. He is also a retired elder in The Florida Annual Conference of The United Methodist Church.