Facing Fear

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Facing Fear

The Journey to Mature Courage in Risk and Persecution

Anna Hampton

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.

Endorsements

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.

Frauke C. Schaefer, MD, PsychiatryBarnabas InternationalChristian Counseling and Therapy, Psychiatric Care
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.

Sarah Grainger Executive DirectorFamily Missions Company
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.

Ted Esler, PhDPresident Missio Nexus
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 mission leadership.

Perry BradfordExecutive Director Barnabas International
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.

Mary Ho International Executive LeaderAll Nations
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.

Elizabeth TrotterEditor-in-chief of the cross-cultural website A Life Overseas and Author of Serving Well: Help for the Wannabe, Newbie, or Weary Cross-cultural Christian Worker