Unafraid: Living with Courage and Hope in Uncertain Times

by Adam Hamilton

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Author: Adam Hamilton

Publisher: Convergent Books

Hardcover:
ISBN 10: 9781524760335
ISBN 13: 978-1524760335

Fear is a complex emotion. Sometimes it saves us. More often it robs us of the life we want. But we can take our lives back.

You'd be hard-pressed to overstate the extent to which fear, anxiety, and worry permeate our lives today. Fear wreaks havoc on our relationships and communities. It leads us into making bad decisions. It holds us back from the very pursuits that promise fulfillment and joy.

Making matters worse, not a week goes by when some new threat or calamity isn't dominating the headlines. Why are there so many tragedies? we wonder. What will happen next?

As the senior pastor of a large, diverse church in America's heartland, Adam Hamilton has seen the cost of fear up close. When he surveyed his congregation on how fear affects them, 2,400 people responded--and what they said was eye-opening. Eighty percent admitted to living with moderate or significant levels of fear.
Unafraid: Living with Courage and Hope in Uncertain Times is Reverend Hamilton's insightful and impassioned response.

Drawing on recent research, inspiring real-life examples, and fresh biblical insight, Hamilton shows how to untangle the knots we feel about disappointing others, failure, financial insecurity, loneliness, insignificance, and aging. Then he helps readers understand and counter fears related to such outsize perils as terrorism, death, and the apocalypse.

Writing with generosity and intelligence, Hamilton shows how believer and unbeliever alike can develop sustaining spiritual practices and embrace Jesus's recurring counsel: "Do not be afraid." For anyone struggling with fear or wondering how families and communities can thrive in troubled times, Unafraid offers an informed and inspiring message full of practical solutions.

Review

“I want every American to read Adam Hamilton's Unafraid. There is no saccharine advice in this book, only honest assessments about the danger of nurturing fears and the power of facing them down.”
—Diana Butler Bass, author of Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks

“Fear is the great thief. It steals our peace. It quietly deprives us of one present moment after another, without our even knowing. In Unafraid, Adam gives us a thoughtful, literate, faith-filled guide to re-claiming our minds and our lives.”
–John Ortberg, senior pastor of Menlo Church in Menlo Park, California, and author of I’d Like You More If You Were More Like Me

“Fear can cause us to become discouraged, disheartened and even despairing. In its worst manifestations, it can paralyze us, rendering us incapable of any productive activity. But in his bold new book, Adam Hamilton gives us a way out and points us towards a hopeful future.”
–James Martin, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage

“Fear cannot be cured with a self-help book. We need a get-help book, and Adam Hamilton has provided exactly that. Informed by psychology and neuroscience, he applies practical wisdom gleaned from the Bible and from his years as a pastor. I could almost feel my blood pressure go down as I read.”
–Philip Yancey, author, The Jesus I Never Knew and What's So Amazing About Grace?

“This will be an indispensable volume for people of faith who want to rise above dysfunction and uncertainty, and remain the people of faith, hope, and love that God calls us to be.”
–Mike McCurry, Former White House Secretary/Professor and Director of Wesley Theological Seminary’s Center for Public Theology

“Fear is a powerful and paralyzing emotion. It can save us from danger, or lead us to resent, or even hate our neighbor. Adam Hamilton’s new book offers a roadmap for facing our fears with faith, one that leads readers to a life of courage and hope. This book is important and one I highly recommend.”
–Richard Rohr, author of Falling Upward

“More people than ever struggle today to understand and overcome fear, worry and anxiety. Whatever challenge you’re facing today, you will find Adam’s words are comforting, practical, proven, and inspiring.”
–John C. Danforth, former United States Ambassador to the United Nations; former three-term United States Senator from Missouri

“With the breadth of scholarship and spiritual wisdom he is known for, Adam Hamilton tackles one of the most important topics of our time: how to face our fears and not be controlled by them. Unafraid addresses nearly every fear imaginable—large and small, real or imagined, those within our power to overcome and those we must accept. For each type of fear, Hamilton offers a disciplined approach of facing facts, examining our assumptions, overcoming anxiety through action, and cultivating a life of faith. Read this book once to appreciate its tremendous value as a resource. Then read it again, as I did, to identify which chapters speak most powerfully to you and allow this consummate pastor to show you how to live with courage and hope.”
–Mariann Edgar Budde, Bishop, Episcopal Diocese of Washington

“A wise and compelling book.”
—Miroslav Volf, founder and director of Yale Center for Faith and Culture, Yale Divinity School; author of Flourishing: Why We Need Religion in a Globalized World

“Goes beyond mere analysis to offer spiritual practices which can bring real peace to struggling people. I enthusiastically recommend this book.”
—Ed Robb, senior pastor, The Woodlands United Methodist Church, Woodlands, TX

“Adam Hamilton has done it again serving as a postmodern spiritual guide for a nation in desperate need of renewal. Hamilton’s exploration of fear, the consequences created by it and the tools to overcome come these False Events Appearing as Real is a revelation. The mix of science, philosophy, practical biblical wisdom, storytelling and personal testimony make this book a joy read.”
—Otis Moss, III senior servant/pastor, Trinity United Church of Christ

"I’ve known Adam for decades. I’ve heard his sermons, read his books and watched him lead when he was fearful. I live for Christ and I’m grateful for Adam’s encouragement. In Unafraid, Adam writes, 'As you press through fear, you live…' He’s right. Read Unafraid. Let Adam encourage you to face your fears and live."
—Mark Beeson, founding pastor, Granger Community Church, Granger, IN

About the Author

ADAM HAMILTON is the senior pastor of the 20,000-member Church of the Resurrection, Kansas City, described by NPR as "one of the most influential churches in America." Reverend Hamilton is a leading voice for reconciliation and renewal in the Church, and the bestselling author of twenty-five books, including Making Sense of the Bible and Creed: What Christians Believe and Why. He and his wife, LaVon, have two grown daughters.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Afraid

There are two basic motivating forces: fear and love . . . all hopes for a better world rest in the fearlessness and open-hearted vision of people who embrace life.

--John Lennon

In 1947, w. h. auden published his pulitzer prize–winning book, The Age of Anxiety. If the postwar 1940s and 1950s was the age of anxiety, ours might be appropriately deemed the age of high anxiety.

We can hardly overstate the extent to which worry, anxiety, and fear permeate our lives. We worry about the future, about politics, and about our health. We fear violent crime, racial divisions, and the future of the economy. Deep rifts in our nation leave us with an increasing sense of uncertainty. Fear in the financial markets can wipe out billions of dollars of wealth in a single day. Our fears, in the form of insecurity, often wreak havoc on our lives and personal relationships. Google fear and you’ll find over six hundred million websites in 0.98 second.

My phone (and watch) vibrate multiple times each day with “breaking news,” most of it bad. Today alone I’ve been notified of a subway bombing in Russia, continued conflict in Congress, a constable shot in Texas, and three people killed in St. Louis when a boiler exploded, and it’s only noon. Stories from parts of the world we’d be hard-pressed to find on a map show up in our newsfeeds in close to real time. Put enough of those stories together and it seems as if the world is going to the proverbial “hell in a handbasket.” Molly Ball, writing in The Atlantic, notes, “Fear is in the air, and fear is surging. Americans are more afraid today than they have been in a long time.”*

In preparation for a sermon series, I recently conducted a survey of the congregation at The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection, because I wanted to know how fear might be shaping the lives of my congregation. Of the 2,400 people who took the survey, nearly half reported living with a moderate level of fear, while 35 percent reported living with a significant amount of fear. Eighty percent lived with moderate or significant levels of fear. Those under age fifty experienced more fear than those over fifty. The greatest fear of those over fifty was the direction of our country. Fears of failure and of disappointing others topped the list for those younger than fifty.

Nearly two decades after 9/11, religious extremists continue to spread fear by committing occasional but highly publicized acts of violence. We’re still recovering from the 2008 economic crisis that left millions unemployed and slashed the value of Americans’ retirement savings by trillions. Many people live with the awareness of how quickly our economy and livelihoods can falter. We’re polarized politically, with each side crying wolf on a daily basis. And then there are the universal worries people have felt in every age--concerns for our children, fear of failure, anxiety about death and dying and so much more.

What Fear Looks Like from Here

I’ve seen this climate of fear up close, as a long-time pastor of a large congregation planted squarely in mid-America. I’ve noticed that men are often hesitant to admit that they feel fearful because it seems to be a sign of weakness. Instead we talk about being “stressed.” But if you poke around our stress a bit to look for what’s driving us, you’ll find worry and anxiety--sometimes outright panic.

Years ago, I went to my internist because I was experiencing tightness in my chest. I dismissed the chest pains at first, but my wife, LaVon, asked me to please go to the doctor. After a series of tests, he told me my heart was fine, but he asked about my stress level. It was at an all-time high. I was leading a capital campaign at the church raising funds to construct the church’s sanctuary. I hadn’t had a day off in ages, and I was working sixty-plus hours a week. I admitted to the doctor that there were times I felt that the success or failure of the entire effort rested on me.

My doctor said, “No wonder you’re having chest pains! Listen, your heart is okay for now, but if you don’t figure out how to deal with this stress, it might well eventually affect your heart.”

Both men and women wrestle with insecurities, one of fear’s many faces. Like most people, I’ve learned to put a good face on my insecurities and (mostly) keep them to myself. But I’m surprised by how often this fear gnaws at me. Each week I stand before my congregation to deliver a thirty-minute message intended to teach, encourage, and inspire them. I’ve delivered thousands of messages in weekend worship, as well as at funerals, college baccalaureate services and commencement ceremonies, even the National Prayer Service for President Obama’s second inauguration. Yet, starting every Tuesday and continuing until I’ve preached the last of five weekend services on Sunday, I feel a persistent, gnawing anxiety that stems from my fear of failure--failing God, failing my congregation, and embarrassing myself. (I believe the fear of humiliation is the reason why public speaking consistently ranks among people’s top fears.)

My anxiety about failing in the pulpit occasionally shows up in my dreams, or nightmares, sometimes in humorous ways. From time to time I have a dream that the phone is ringing. Someone is calling from the church wondering why I’m still in bed when it’s Sunday morning and service has begun. I frantically get ready, drive to the church, and run to the pulpit just in time to deliver the message. But there is no manuscript waiting for me--nothing to say. Just then I hear people laughing. I glance down and see that I’ve forgotten to get completely dressed. I’m standing in front of the congregation in my boxers!

The fear of preaching in my boxers rates pretty low among things that worry me, but it represents, in my subconscious, the fear of public humiliation.

The Emotion That Profoundly Shapes Us

The reality is everyone worries about something. We all have things we fear. And most of us will have seasons when anxieties and fear simply overwhelm us. Fear is a powerful emotion that shapes all of us in profound ways we often don’t fully understand. Look behind depression’s door and you’ll often find fear. Addictions too. Peer beneath broken marriages and friendships, beneath prejudice and hate, and you’ll find fear. And look behind the causes of most wars throughout human history and you’ll find lurking behind all of the other reasons, fear, often manufactured by the leaders who led their people to wage war.

Often we fear things that will never happen; yet real or imagined, these fears have power. Sometimes our battles with fear take a more serious turn, becoming a debilitating struggle with panic attacks or anxiety disorders. There are other times when fear is well placed, and people have good reason to be afraid: they are facing life-threatening illnesses, the impending death of a loved one, potentially devastating legal conflicts, or significant economic distress.

Fear isn’t simply an American phenomenon: it is universal. My ministry has taken me around the world. I’ve found that people living in villages in Zimbabwe and Malawi, with none of our modern technology or first-world problems, struggle with fear. People in Haiti and Honduras have described for me their struggle with fear. And no religion or philosophy relieves us entirely of fear: Buddhists, Muslims, Jews, atheists, and agnostics, along with Christians, struggle with fear.

I’ve seen firsthand in the lives of people I love how fear can imprison us, paralyze us, and keep us from experiencing a fulfilling and joyful life. It was during a conversation with a friend that I first realized how much I needed to study and write about fear--both for myself and for others. I’ll tell you my friend’s story later, but as he described what it was like to feel completely overwhelmed by the fear of failure, stories of others who had conveyed similar struggles flooded my mind and reminded me of the very real scope of the problem. Before long, I was reading the work of experts in the field of fear. I spent time with people in my own congregation who have suffered terribly from anxiety, worry, and other kinds of fear. In addition to the survey I conducted with my congregation, I analyzed the latest national polls to see what people across the country rank as their top fears. I studied the many passages of scripture related to fear, and the way in which faith and spiritual disciplines have played a key role in helping people I know to find peace in the face of their fears. The book you’re holding is the result.

No, I don’t have the silver bullet that will keep you from ever feeling fear again (no one else does, either). For reasons we’ll see in the next chapter, you can never fully eliminate fear from your life (and that’s actually a good thing). The battle with fear is not a one-and-done kind of battle; rather, it is a regular part of our lives. But while fear is a persistent companion, we don’t have to be controlled by it. We can learn to address our fears, control them, learn from them, even use them, and we can press through them.

The Practical Promise of Unafraid

In the pages ahead we’ll look at both what the experts can teach us about overcoming fear and how people from time immemorial have addressed their fears. Modern psychology has drawn from this ancient wisdom and often improved upon it with new insights from science coupled with clinical experience on how to cope with fear. I’ll share with you some of the most helpful approaches for dealing with worry, fear, and anxiety.

I’ve spent the last thirty years shepherding my congregation and in the process becoming deeply involved with their struggles with fear of failure, irrelevance, illness, growing old, and death, to name a few that we’ll consider in this book. I’ve had the privilege of walking with them through economic downturns, two wars, terrorist attacks, and more personal tragedies than I can count. Together we’ve found consistent insight and comfort from the Christian faith we share and a variety of spiritual practices. I’ll share those with you too.

One of the most repeated instructions in the Bible is “Don’t be afraid.” These words, in one form or another, appear over 140 times in scripture. They remind us that ordinary women and men from the age of Israel’s patriarchs to first-century Christians struggled with fear. But they also show us that faith can be pivotal to overcoming fear and finding peace in uncertain times. In this book, we’ll consider scripture passages about fear and the spiritual practices that can bring real peace. If you’re not a particularly religious person, that’s okay--you’ll still find plenty of helpful material here. But if you are open to insights from Jewish and Christian scriptures and practices, I think you’ll see how the spiritual dimension of life holds a particularly potent key to overcoming fear.

Most of us have known times when fear, worry, or anxiety has robbed us of the life we wanted. At times it has led us to make bad decisions. Sometimes it has kept us from taking risks or doing things that would have brought great meaning, fulfillment, and joy to our lives. You can never completely eradicate fear--you need it. But fear doesn’t have to control you. As we’ll consider later in the book, courage is not the absence of fear; instead, it is doing what you feel you should do, or what you long to do, despite the fear. As you press through your fear, you live a life of courage and hope.

The Anatomy of Fear

There is no greater hell than to be a prisoner of fear.

--Ben Jonson

Let’s begin by acknowledging that our body’s capacity to experience fear, and our ability to respond to perceived threats, when working properly, are absolutely amazing. This marvel of nature, which I receive as a gift from God, is often referred to as the fight-or-flight response. You’ve no doubt experienced it on many occasions. When I was eleven years old, while riding my bike to school, an angry dog shot out from someone’s yard with every intention--I thought--to eat my leg. For a moment, I had superhuman strength. I pedaled faster than my Schwinn had ever gone before, and for a little while, faster than that dog. Fortunately for me and my heart rate, the dog gave up the chase.

Our five senses--sight, hearing, smell, taste, and touch--alongside other less familiar senses we possess, send signals to the brain’s amygdala, two almond-shaped structures, one nestled deep on each side of the brain. These structures have been described as the “center for emotions, emotional behavior, and motivation” within the brain.* Before your conscious mind has fully made sense of what you have heard, felt, seen, smelled, or tasted, your amygdala has already made an initial determination as to whether what you’ve sensed is a threat. And if it is perceived as a threat, the amygdala activates your body’s early warning system, releasing chemicals like epinephrine (adrenaline) and cortisol, the hormone commonly associated with stress.

These signals, along with other hormones released as a result of activity in your amygdala, create a cascade of physiological effects meant to save your life if you are in danger. Your heart begins to race, your breathing becomes more rapid and more shallow, your mouth gets dry, your muscles tense up--all aimed at helping you fight or flee. You will likely shake and perspire, your pupils will dilate, and you may even wet yourself--this is all part of the reaction to the hormones flowing through your system to prepare your body for action. In the moment you may lose peripheral vision and some hearing; these hormones also produce feelings of anxiety, dread, or aggression. If you struggle with panic attacks and anxiety, you will recognize a number of these symptoms.

Our responses to a perceived danger happen almost instantaneously--before the rational mind can process the experience. It explains why you can jump out of the way of an oncoming car before you’ve even fully comprehended the danger with your conscious mind.

Maybelle Charges; the Opossum Freezes

This reactive capacity is found not just in humans but in all animals to varying degrees. It is why the opossum that lives under my front step freezes when my little dog, Maybelle, comes charging outside barking at its scent (and why, when freezing doesn’t stop my dog from barking, the opossum bares its teeth and hisses). It is also why my dog runs barking and charging at the opossum (as well as at the raccoons that live out back). Maybelle--all seven pounds of her--is rising to a perceived threat. Maybelle charges. The opossum freezes.

* Molly Ball, “Donald Trump and the Politics of Fear,” The Atlantic, September 2, 2016.

* Neuroscience Online, http://neuroscience.uth.tmc.edu/s4/chapter06.html.

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