Facing Fear

Anna Hampton

Description

Developing an Anti-Fragile Faith 

Violence against Christ-followers is increasing globally. The lived reality for many Christians involves daily threats, risks, and persecution. When evil casts its shadow on us, and we’re tempted to despair, it is vital to develop anti-fragile faith and the guts to endure in hard places.  

Facing Fear is a practical guide for believers who long to have bold, mature courage. Cultivating this courage is necessary to endure wisely for Christ’s sake. Anna Hampton integrates exegesis and psychology to explain how humans respond to fear and how the Holy Spirit enables us to make a different choice than our normal. Learning to face our fears, name them, and manage them requires learning specific steps to reduce their impact on us.  

This book is a pastoral and practical resource for those working to advance the gospel in the world’s most dangerous places. You’ll gain valuable skills to become “shrewd as a serpent” and stand with unshakable faith in unsafe situations. Risk can be an offering of worship. Jesus is worthy of whatever pain you go through, whatever loss you experience, and whatever fears you have. 

Introduction

 

Part One: The 21^st Century Challenge

Chapter 1 - When Your Back Is Against the Wall 

Chapter 2 – The Squeeze, the Smash, And the Rhomphaia

 

Part Two: Biblical Background

Chapter 3 - The Grammar of Fear and Courage

Chapter 4 – Temptations, Idols, and Ancient Heresies

Chapter 5 – Anti-Fragile Faith

Chapter 6 – Put the Candy Jar on the Lower Shelf 

 

Part Three: Essentials of Decision-Making In Risk 

Chapter 7 – Shrewd as A Serpent

Chapter 8 – Thinking About Thinking

Chapter 9 – Witness Risk Axioms

Chapter 10 – Becoming Shrewd as a Serpent

Chapter 11 – Information and Death-Threat Analysis 

Chapter 12 - Risk Decision-Making 

Chapter 13 – Risk Communication and Trust

Chapter 14 - Embracing Grief and Loss 

Chapter 15 - Standing in the Tragic Gap

 

Part Four: Leadership

Chapter 16 – Systems and the Liminal Moment

Chapter 17 – Ten Mistakes Leaders Make

Chapter 18 – It’s Time to Member Care Job’s Wife

 

Part Five: Contagious Courage

Chapter 19 – Hope Like a Sewer Rat and PTSJ

Chapter 20 – Mature Courage and Spiritual Nobility 

 

Witness Risk Glossary

Appendix A – Greek Terms Thresholds for Departure/Benchmarks for Return

Appendix B – System Risk Audit Questions

Appendix C – Thresholds for Departure/Benchmarks for Return

Appendix D - Choosing to Stay

Appendix E - Risk Assessment and Management Training (RAM Training)

About the Author 

Endnotes

Bibliography

Sujets

• Religion
• Christianisme
• Religious Intolerance
• Missions
• Christian Ministry
• Philosophie et théologie
• Minister (Christianity)
• Research and development
• Persecution
• Conflict

Informations

• Publié par: William Carey Publishing
• Date de parution: 16 mai 2023
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781645084709
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Fear is an emotion that we all deal with at some stage in our lives. I can remember often asking my children, What are you afraid of? I suppose we could all ask ourselves the same question. Anna Hampton has captured the essence of this question as she considers the global risks and dangers that we face today as we share the gospel in high-risk environments. By unpacking the biblical truths related to fear and courage, she guides the reader through a practical process of facing fear as we build our framework of trust in the Lord. I m grateful that Anna takes a section of her book to address those in leadership. Barnabas International has greatly benefited from implementing various practices that Anna has outlined in her earlier book Facing Danger ; Facing Fear has once again provided room for growth- it is a must-read for anyone serving in church leadership.
P ERRY B RADFORD Executive Director, Barnabas International
Everyone involved in modern gospel advancement knows the need for this book! The places yet to be reached by the Gospel are dangerous, risky, and require those who go to have mature courage and a vibrant life-sustaining and courage-promoting faith in God. But this book is not only for global workers as the reality of hardship and persecution invades the Church at large with new ferocity. In this book, Anna Hampton draws on her personal experiences serving in dangerous places, and her knowledge in subjects as diverse as neurosciences, theology, sewer rats, Hebrew and Greek etymology, and Awassi sheep to help the reader understand and prepare for the journey of courage that followers of Christ must walk. Well researched and written, this book is truly a seminal treatment of preparing for and facing risk and persecution. Every international worker (indeed, every Christ follower!) should read and meditate on it!
H AMILTON T. B URKE , PhD, Clinical Psychologist Executive Director, Great Commission Consulting Author, Serving in Hazardous Places book series
Safety, risk, and fear have dominated global headlines over the past few years. How we think about these topics has huge implications for how we carry out our tasks as Christ s ambassadors. While persecution is promised in the New Testament, we must see it through spiritual eyes with an understanding of appropriate risk-taking. This book raises the bar of our understanding of the challenges we face as kingdom activists in a dangerous world.
T ED E SLER , PhD President, Missio Nexus
Brilliantly written, deeply thought-provoking, and practicable, Anna Hampton has done it again! This sequel to Facing Danger is a must-read for anyone engaged in cross-cultural or intercultural witness work, and for the organizations that send and support those workers. In this guide to facing fear, Anna manages to combine profound spiritual truths, biblical realities, and hard-won personal experience. Page after page, she gives us practical guidance and inspired wisdom on risk, mature courage, Spirit-led discernment, and what it takes to face risk wisely amid persecution, laying out a model for witnessing for Christ from a place of peace, love, and trust. I couldn t put it down, and I can t wait to share this book with everyone in my organization.
S ARAH G RAINGER Executive Director, Family Missions Company
Facing Fear is a movingly spiritual pilgrimage which every believer must read. Anna Hampton traces with such compassionate audacity the deep heart transformation from fear to mature courage that I often just put the book down to reflect and worship. This book is like the song of ascent for our lives: the beginning point is our everyday life now but it prepares us for the hardest persecution. This practical book fills a void in our increasingly volatile world, as it spans from biblical basis and spiritual discernment to risk decision making and crisis management. Facing Fear draws from years of personal experience serving in a high persecution context; counselling, training, and equipping others in high-risk areas; and extensive and deep research. Facing Fear is a guidepost for our times.
M ARY H O International Executive Leader, All Nations
What a rich and impactful book! Like a stone in the lake that creates ripples of resonance, Anna educates, challenges, and renews the reader s mind, with real-life stories, illuminating references, and in-depth theology. It s easy to write a book about courage, but it s strenuous to write about fear. Fear? No one likes it! We all have it! Many global workers face it daily and need to face it intentionally. As you read this book you realize that fear and courage are inseparable in the twenty-first century. As the coordinator of the Global Member Care Network (GMCN), it is my honor to endorse this book and recommend it as a must-read.
H ARRY H OFFMANN Coordinator, Global Member Care Network
Rooted in personal experience, comprehensive field research, and a thorough biblical analysis and understanding of risk, Anna Hampton once again invites us to live in deep and mature courage-one that undergirds a life that is lived with prudence, boldness, and conviction. It is no light task to tackle the issues of safety and risk, especially in a world where safety is so highly valued. As someone working in the anti-sex trafficking sector, the pertinence of Hampton s words cannot be ignored. I am walking away better equipped to ask the right questions for myself and my team in situations of risk, while still walking more deeply in the courage instilled through the Holy Spirit.
A NDREW L ARSON Anti Sex-Trafficking Specialist, (Nea Zoi), Athens, Greece
I have been an avid devotee of Anna Hampton since reading Facing Danger . I have twice attended the Hamptons RAM Training and now have been privileged to read Facing Fear . Anna has done the heavy lifting: bringing the various streams of research on risk management together with the theological framework with which to approach witness risk in a way that no one else has. Her own experience as a global worker and the risks that she has faced bring an element of real answers to serious risk questions in addition to the consultations that she and her husband have had with many sending organizations and churches. To say that I highly recommend this book is to discount its importance. I desire that every global worker, and even every believer, who chooses to enter into the inherent risk of following Jesus where he leads, would read and meditate on the contents of this book.
E DWARD N YE Global Security Coordinator, Assemblies of God World Missions, USA
Facing Danger opened my eyes to a biblical process when faced with excruciating decisions, and Facing Fear opened my eyes even further and challenged my perspectives. Anna Hampton joins biblical scholarship with real-life experience. She has built for us a unique bridge that spans the chasm of the fears we face. The book is anchored in the bedrock of orthodoxy and provides a way across the chasm built with sound orthopraxy. Facing Fear is not a trite response or reckless approach to fear. It is an honest expos of the reality of fear and the response of courage.
R EV . J AMES P ETERSEN , ThM Executive Director, ReachGlobal Personnel, Evangelical Free Church of America
For years now I have incorporated principles from Hampton s Facing Danger into the training for our new kingdom workers. Now, with Facing Fear , Anna is challenging us to break down our own cultural constructs of fear, leaving our own biases at the door to explore how the ultimate authority, God s Word, addresses the subject. As many security professionals in global ministry are leaning heavily on a secular paradigm of risk, she has presented a holistic analysis of fear, courage, and risk; incorporating the fields of neuroscience and professional risk management, as well as an earnest dependence on the Holy Spirit and scripture. This work comes from a place of raw transparency, drawing on authentic past experiences and God-given insight. I am ecstatic that this resource is available and will be highly recommending it to leadership and field workers alike.
R EV . M ICHAEL W. R EEVES Captain, US Army, Director of Security, SIM USA
After equipping Christ s followers in Facing Danger with the much-needed concepts and decision-making skills to respond to intense risk in ministry, the author now focuses on the hearts and souls of the faithful as they experience a normal response to danger: fear. In this book, you will find thoroughly researched, biblically profound, and practice-relevant nuggets; a detailed and instructive study of the Hebrew and Greek words used for fear in the Bible; applied neuropsychological concepts of fear and attachment; an exploration of how to move from fear to courage; cross-cultural considerations of risk-related decision-making; and wise counsel about preparing for and managing risk. I recommend this book to all who seek to prepare their hearts and minds to courageously face fear with increasingly mature courage.
F RAUKE C. S CHAEFER, MD , Psychiatry Barnabas International Christian Counseling and Therapy, Psychiatric Care
Facing Fear is a book for all believers. Author Anna Hampton dives deeply into the Hebrew and Greek words for fear and courage, explores the neuroscience of fear and attachment and their implications for our relationship with God, and shows us a better way to respond to the grief and suffering of others through her compassionate treatment of the wife of Job. For those living in dangerous situations, she also offers a roadmap for assessing risk and discerning the next right step. Facing Fear offers comfort, courage, and a way forward even in the darkest of circumstances.
E LIZABETH T ROTTER Editor-in-chief, cross-cultural website, A Life Overseas; Author, Serving Well: Help for the Wannabe, Newbie, or Weary Cross-cultural Christian Worker

Facing Fear: The Journey to Mature Courage in Risk and Persecution
2023 by A