Unafraid Leader Guide: Living with Courage and Hope in Uncertain Times - Softcover

Hamilton, Adam

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1501853732 ISBN 13: 9781501853739

Publisher: Abingdon Press, 2018

Synopsis

Unafraid Leader Guide: Living with Courage and Hope in Uncertain Times

About this title

About the Author

Adam Hamilton is senior pastor of The United Methodist Church of the Resurrection in Leawood, Kansas, one of the fastest growing, most highly visible churches in the country. The Church Report named Hamilton's congregation the most influential mainline church in America, and he preached at the National Prayer Service as part of the presidential inauguration festivities in 2013. Hamilton is the best-selling and award-winning author of The Walk, Simon Peter, Creed, Half Truths, The Call, The Journey, The Way, 24 Hours That Changed the World, John, Revival, Not a Silent Night, Enough, When Christians Get It Wrong, and Seeing Gray in a World of Black and White, all published by Abingdon Press. Learn more about Adam Hamilton at AdamHamilton.com.

Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.

Unafraid Leader Guide

Living with Courage and Hope in Uncertain Times

By Adam Hamilton

Abingdon Press

Copyright © 2018 Abingdon Press
All rights reserved.

ISBN: 978-1-5018-5373-9

Contents

To the Leader, 
1. Understanding and Countering Fear, 
2. Crime, Race, Terrorism, and Politics, 
3. Failure, Disappointing Others, Insignificance, and Loneliness, 
4. Apocalypse, Change, Missing Out, and Finances, 
5. Aging, Illness, Dying, and Fear of the Lord, 

CHAPTER 1

UNDERSTANDING AND COUNTERING FEAR

Planning the Session

Session Goals

As a result of conversations and activities connected with this session, group members should begin to

• examine the role fear plays in the lives of contemporary people;

• explore biblical perspectives on fear and how God's people have been liberated from its power;

• experience faith as the critical background for understanding and controlling fear; and

• understand the goals for the study more clearly.

Scriptural Foundation

Do not fear, for I am with you,
do not be afraid, for I am your God;
I will strengthen you, I will help you,
I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.

(Isaiah 41:10 NRSV)

Special Preparation

• Prepare the room with the seating arranged in a circle so everyone will be able to see each other.

• Create a small worship space in the center of the circle with visual reminders of God's presence. This could include a cross, a candle, or a Bible.

• Have name tags available as well as pens and markers.

• Have available index cards, paper, and pens or pencils.

• On a large sheet of paper that can be posted in the room, print the following question for the opening activity:

* Where do you hold your fear?

• On another large sheet of paper (or several), print the following statements:

* "False fears and unhealthy worry ... keep us from living well."

* "So many of us live our entire lives paralyzed by fear, just a mile from the Promised Land."

• On another sheet of paper, print the verse above (Isaiah 41:10), broken into four lines as shown.

• Have another blank sheet of paper posted on the wall for the acronym activity. (Once completed, you can retain this paper for use in future weeks.)

Getting Started

Opening Activity

As participants arrive, greet them and invite them into the circle of chairs. Especially if it is a newly formed group, have each person write his or her name on a name tag and put it on. Begin the session with brief introductions.

Invite group members to consider the question posted on the wall: Where do you hold your fear? Note for the group that fear and stress have physical manifestations that we can feel when we are aware. Ask volunteers to share how they would answer the question.

As preparation for prayer, invite participants to get into a sitting pose that they can maintain comfortably for several minutes. Use the following suggestions to guide participants through a visualization:

• Place both feet on the floor and sit upright with your hands resting loosely on your thighs.

• Close your eyes and sense where there is tension in your body. It may be in your shoulders, neck, chest, or elsewhere.

• Visualize that tension as a brightly colored web of energy.

• Try to relax the part of your body that is holding the tension. As you do, imagine the colored energy moving to the palms of your hands.

• Make a fist with your hands and hold the energy tightly for a few seconds.

• Now open your hands, palms upward, and release that energy to God as we pray.

Opening Prayer

Pray together, using the following prayer, or one of your own choosing:

God who calms the troubled waters, we bless you for your presence in the midst of our fears and trials. We release to you the things we hold too tightly, and we trust your words of peace. Be among us in this session, and may our souls and bodies be secure in you. Amen.

Learning Together

Video Study and Discussion

In video Session 1, Adam Hamilton introduces us to Carlos, Ginger, and Marie, three people who face fears just as we all do. Afterward, he talks with a neuroscientist, Dr. David Zald of Vanderbilt University and asks how our brains play a role in how we experience fear. Dr. Zald is Cornelius Vanderbilt Professor of Psychology and Psychiatry and the Director of the Interdisciplinary Neuoscience Program for Undergraduates. Discuss:

• What are the fears expressed by the three people in the beginning of the video? How have these fears been a part of your own life?

• How does the faith of the people interviewed help them confront fear?

• Why does Dr. Zald say that fear "clearly is a gift"?

• What are some of the ways that Dr. Zald suggests for treating anxiety and worry?

Book and Bible Study and Discussion

Examine the Role of Fear in Our Lives

Ask a volunteer to read aloud the first two paragraphs of Chapter 1 in the book. Point out that Adam Hamilton lifts up the prevalence of worry, anxiety, and fear in our lives. Later in Chapter 1, he notes that many of the people who responded to his church's survey reported moderate or significant levels of fear. Discuss:

• What are the aspects of contemporary life that make people fearful?

• In Chapter 2, Hamilton says that fear may play a role in keeping us safe. Talk about a time when fear kept you safe.

• Hamilton also identifies false fears and unhealthy worry as things that can keep us from living well. When have you experienced your fear as something that kept you from living well?

• In talking about the promise of this book in Chapter 1, Hamilton expresses confidence that we can learn to address our fears, control them, and learn from them. What tools do you already have that help you deal with your fear? What are your hopes for this study?

Study a Biblical Perspective on Fear

Read aloud Numbers 13:32-33, and encourage the group to glance back over the first few paragraphs of the chapter. Discuss:

• What were the fears that kept the people from entering the Promised Land?

• Why do you think the people listened to the ten pessimistic spies rather than to the two spies who assured them that God was with them?

• Hamilton says, a little later in Chapter 3, that our visions of a Promised Land, or of a future we would like to see, can be clouded by our assumptions about the risks and dangers involved so that we can become paralyzed by the obstacles. When have you seen a group become paralyzed by risks and dangers? When have you been paralyzed by risks and dangers?

Now have the group visualize the situation of the Israelites as they sat one mile from the Promised Land.

• What hopes and dreams had the Israelites had for the land?

• What would their lives be like as nomadic people living in the wilderness?

As a group, choose a contemporary situation that causes a great deal of fear. Discuss together what "preferred future" lies beyond our fears.

• What would it mean to "stare down the giants" of our fears in this situation?

• What would our lives be like if we do not stare them down?

Define Faith

Have someone read Hebrews 11:1: "Faith is the reality of what we hope for, the proof of what we don't see." Discuss:

• What does this definition of faith tell us about the nature of faith?

In Chapter 3, Adam Hamilton talks about one aspect of faith as trust or confidence that things will get better despite whatever circumstances we face in the current moment.

• How does this definition compare with the definition in Hebrews 11:1?

• In what ways is it different?

In relating the story of Jeff, the corporate executive who lost his job, Hamilton describes how Jeff wrote his way to finding faith. Then, by acting on his faith, Jeff overcame his fears.

• What would an action plan look like for overcoming your own fears?

Consider the FEAR Acronym as a Tool for Confronting Fear

At the close of Chapter 3, Adam Hamilton introduces an acronym outlining four steps we will be exploring through the course of this study. Have a volunteer come to the blank sheet of paper on the wall and write out each of the statements that make up the acronym:

Face your fears with faith.

Examine your assumptions in light of the facts.

Attack your anxieties with action.

Release your cares to God.

As the volunteer finishes writing each line, read it aloud as a group.

Acknowledge for the group, as Hamilton does, that an acronym can seem like a flimsy response to the fears that we have, but it is one way to move us to action and out of paralysis. Discuss the acronym together:

• What about the four steps seems unclear right now? What more do you want to know?

• Which of these steps seems most difficult to you? Why?

Give each person an index card and a pen. Invite them to write the acronym on the card and take it with them. Challenge them to put the card in a visible place in their home (perhaps by a mirror they use each morning). Ask them to look at the card daily through the course of this study.

Imagine Your Own ThunderShirt

In the closing section of Chapter 4, Adam Hamilton describes a vest called a ThunderShirt that his family puts on their small dog, Maybelle, when there are thunderstorms in the area. Review this section and have participants discuss experiences when they have had to comfort a distressed pet.

• What actions seem to help?

• Why do you imagine that a ThunderShirt calms Maybelle?

Read again Philippians 4:5b-7 (the passage printed in the section titled "Maybelle's ThunderShirt"):

The Lord is near. Don't be anxious about anything; rather, bring up all of your requests to God in your prayers and petitions, along with giving thanks. Then the peace of God that exceeds all understanding will keep your hearts and minds safe in Christ Jesus.

Discuss the following:

• What promises are contained in these verses?

• What advice does Paul offer to the Philippian Christians?

Hamilton lists a number of spiritual practices that have a calming effect for many people, such as prayer, reading Scripture, singing hymns, and meditation.

• How have you experienced these practices as calming?

Now invite group members to reflect on a physical reminder of God's presence and the call to prayer. Perhaps the reminder is a piece of jewelry, a wristband, or a cross placed in a prominent spot in their home. Maybe it is an actual ThunderShirt — a sweatshirt or sweater they can wear for prayer time. Maybe it is a chair or corner devoted to prayer and Bible reading.

Ask group members to follow up in some way on this visualization by locating or creating this physical reminder. Ask them to use it during the course of the study and to observe how it affects their approach to their fears and their relationship with God.

Invite volunteers to share their ideas and intentions with the group.

Wrapping Up

Before the closing activity, tell participants that next week's session will be based on Part Two (Chapters 5–8) of the Unafraid book. Ask them to read as much of Part Two as they can during the coming week.

Closing Activity

Remind group members about the model of "conversational prayer" that Adam Hamilton illustrates in the section of Chapter 4 titled "Praying the Scriptures." Direct attention to Isaiah 41:10, written on the paper on the wall.

Ask participants to take a smaller piece of paper and use it to compose a prayer conversation with God that is inspired by the Isaiah verse. Suggest that they write a line of the verse to be spoken by "God" and then respond to it with a line or two of their own, expressing their response and spoken by "Me." Alternate lines of the verse with lines expressing their responses.

Encourage participants to be honest in their prayers, offering their true selves to God. Some may want to express their mistrust or skepticism in the course of talking with God. Assure them that this exercise is entirely between God and themselves. They will not be asked to share what they write.

Closing Prayer

Offer the following prayer or one of your own:

God of peace, you know our fears before we speak. You know how fragile our faith is and how difficult our struggles are to trust you more. For faith like a mustard seed in a fearful world, we pray. Amen.

CHAPTER 2

CRIME, RACISM, TERRORISM, AND POLITICS

Planning the Session

Session Goals

As a result of conversations and activities connected with this session, group members should begin to

• explore contemporary events and trends that engender fear in contemporary people, including questions of crime, race, terrorism, and politics;

• examine the biblical roots of courageous compassion and envision actions to incorporate this quality in their lives and community of faith;

• understand, using insights of cognitive therapy, the way disordered thoughts can contribute to fear; and

• appreciate and utilize the practice of lectio divina as a means of grace that addresses the spiritual injury caused by fear.

Scriptural Foundation

God is our refuge and strength,
a help always near in times of great trouble.
That's why we won't be afraid when the world falls apart. ...

Nations roar; kingdoms crumble.
God utters his voice; the earth melts.
The Lord of heavenly forces is with us!
The God of Jacob is our place of safety.

(Psalm 46:1-2a, 6-7)

Special Preparation

• Prepare the room with seating arranged in a large semicircle with an open area for the performance suggested in the opening activities.

• Bring several recent newspapers and spread them out around your meeting area. If you get your news online, print out recent headlines from several newspaper websites.

• Have a large sheet of blank paper posted on the wall or in a visible place in the room. Have markers for writing on it.

• The exercise titled "Test Out Thoughts About Crime" includes the option of exploring crime statistics for your community. The U.S. Department of Justice maintains a site for collecting reported crime information from most communities in the United States athttps://www.ucrdatatool.gov/Search/Crime/Crime.cfm. Use this resource to create a small table that you can share as a handout or as a poster for the wall.

• The exercise titled "Get To Know Your Neighbors" suggests using a map of your community. If you have one available, bring it and place it in a visible location in your meeting space.

• Have available a number of Bibles or copies of Psalm 46:1-2a, 6-7 on a handout. Also have available paper and pens or pencils for writing.

Write the lines of the FEAR acronym (printed below) on a large sheet of paper and hang it in a visible location for your group. (If you still have it, you can use the paper from last session's acronym exercise.) Retain the paper for use in future sessions.

Face your fears with faith.

Examine your assumptions in light of the facts.

Attack your anxieties with action.

Release your cares to God.

Getting Started

Opening Activity

As participants arrive, greet them and ask if anyone has had any experience doing improvisational acting. Ask for volunteers to do a brief improv based on the story of Henny Penny, which Adam Hamilton relates at the beginning of Chapter 8. Assign the following roles: Henny Penny, a rooster, a goose, a duck, a turkey, and the fox. (If you do not have enough group members to fill all the roles, you may reduce the number of characters beyond Henny Penny and the fox.)

Ask for a group member to read the scenario as Hamilton relates it in the second and third paragraphs of Chapter 8. Then have the volunteers act it out in their own way. Encourage them to have fun and bring out their inner "ham"!

Following the performance, applaud the actors and thank them. Then discuss the following questions briefly:

• How did fear lead Henny Penny and her friends to a bad end?

• Why did they not see the real danger that threatened them?

• What is an issue today that leads people to act like Henny Penny and her friends?

Share with the group that today's session will focus on things and events around us that can lead us to distorted thinking about the dangers we face. We will also explore how we can trust God.

Opening Prayer

Pray together, using the following prayer or one of your own:

Creator God, who set the stars in the heavens, give us the ears to hear the drumbeat of your steadfast love upholding the universe. Renew our senses so that we can be attuned to your ways. For courage in these days, we pray. Amen.

Learning Together

Video Study and Discussion

In video Session 2, Adam Hamilton explores the question of how we overcome our fear of other people. He discusses strategies for confronting these fears with his guests, Carlos, Ginger, and Marie. Then Adam talks with William H. Willimon about why Willimon wrote his 2016 book Fear of the Other. Willimon is Professor of the Practice of Christan Ministry at Duke Divinity School and a bishop in The United Methodist Church. Discuss:

• How did Carlos see the impulse to protect his culture as a help and a hindrance in overcoming fear of others?

• What role did gaining knowledge play for Ginger in overcoming misunderstandings about followers of Islam?

• What is xenophobia, and how does Bishop Willimon see it affecting our national life?

• How is the act of welcoming the other a witness to what Christ has done for us?

(Continues...)

Excerpted from Unafraid Leader Guide by Adam Hamilton. Copyright © 2018 Abingdon Press. Excerpted by permission of Abingdon Press.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
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Edition details

• Publisher: Abingdon Press
• Publication date: 2018
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1501853732
• ISBN 13: 9781501853739
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 64