Overview

Developing a Practical Theology of Risk In a world where danger and uncertainty loom large, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and unsure about how to tread wisely in ministry. Yet, imagine having a comprehensive guide to aid in discerning, reshaping, and skillfully handling the risks that come your way.  Facing Danger: A Guide through Risk is that resource. Against the rich backdrop of her family's own sojourn in perilous places, Anna Hampton presents a treasure trove of practical tools and profound insights to help you thrive in an increasingly hazardous world. With deep spiritual contemplation and meticulous research, she offers a unique viewpoint on cross-cultural service and the art of making sacrifices.  Missionaries, pastors, and those yearning to embrace a life of unyielding faith will find Facing Danger to be an indispensable resource. It includes a trauma recovery recipe, sixteen risk myths, a hermeneutical methodology, and risk assessment and management training. Facing Danger equips you to create a systematic action plan to faithfully traverse dangerous landscapes. Hampton empowers readers serving Christ to decipher and adeptly handle risk with wisdom and hope.

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9781645085041

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Reviews

"Facing Danger: A Guide through Risk is a compelling read for any worker living in a high-risk area. When I moved overseas nearly ten years ago, I did not have a theology of risk, and I wish I had this book in training. Anna Hampton is a veteran worker in hostile areas, and she helps bring clarity to a theology of risk based on decades of ministry experience, research, and a life led by the Spirit. After reading this book, I have more confidence in facing crises and better understand how God's call and risk work together.Leslie TaylorWorker in a Muslim Country Anna Hampton's book on risk is one of the weightiest books I have ever read on the subject. It is not a textbook; it is not a book on spiritual formation; it is not a theology of suffering and it is not a guidebook for leaders in times of risk and danger--yet it is all of these and much, much more. This powerful and profound book has many provocative questions, lists of key points, intriguing quotations from thinkers, and personal stories. Each chapter ends with a summary and points of application. This book is a classic for cross-cultural ministry workers in places of risk and danger. It should be required reading. The author has been there. The book is field-tested.I can't recommend it highly enough.Dr. Laura Mae GardnerFormer International VP for Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL International;Author of Healthy, Resilient, and Effective in Cross-cultural Ministry Having lived with our family for many years in high-risk countries and spiritually dark places, facing danger and threats on numerous occasions, I am thankful to Anna Hampton for writing this book. She challenges readers on various levels to be spiritually sensitive and discerning, follow God's call, and count the cost. Annashares deep theological insights from the Old and New Testaments, reflecting on the cosmic battle we are in and thus making workers aware that reaching challenging places with the truth of Christ needs more than an adventurous spirit. Her section on rearing children in risky environments is insightful and helpful. Anyone going to or already working in high-risk countries should read this book and assess their motivation, personal relationship with the Lord, and biblical understanding of risk.A. G.Psychologist, Member Care Partners Germany I have been involved in Anna Hampton's life since she was a teenager, shared leadership with her on cross-cultural trips worldwide, observed her and Neal firsthand in Afghanistan, and count them as friends. Anna has experienced terror, gone through the healing process, and studied the subject of risk in depth. She bringspersonal experience and well-researched, practical insights to this much-needed area. Although it is written for cross-cultural work, I have found it to be applicable for everyone, regardless of where they live or what they do. What could have driven Anna and Neal out of cross-cultural work instead has resulted in a unique and much needed ministry for those in cross-culture ministries.Rev. Louis InksFounder, Reign Ministries I respect few people alive today more highly than Anna and Neal Hampton. For years I have watched them wrestle in the chaos while grounding themselves and their team in a scripturally rooted, authentic, lived experience of God. In Facing Danger, Anna Hampton develops a much-needed God-centered understanding of risk forged out of her ""doing theology"" and learning to ""walk in the Spirit"" in Afghanistan. She takes the conversation deeper, avoiding the common moralizing approach to Scripture seen in many books on risk and suffering. Anna writes with the substance, practicality, self-awareness, and insight that develops by coming to know God anew from within the experience of prolonged risk. Facing Danger should be required reading for ministry leaders who send staff to high-risk areas, as well as by individuals who live and work in those locations.David Bochman, PhDOrganizational Development, Paraclete Mission Group In Facing Danger, Anna Hampton provides a thoughtful, practical theology and psychology of risk management from the crucible of ""living on the edge."" Drawing from a rich background of field experience communicated in breath-stopping and heartwarming stories, the author combines in-depth biblical exegesis about risk, current research, undaunted courage, and a mom's practical wisdom in the kitchen. Well-referenced with rich notes, checklists, diagrams, compelling personal stories, presentation outlines, charts, and other practical risk analysis and management tools, this timely book may be read far beyond the intended audience of international humanitarian and global workers. It provides a rich treasure trove of practical, field-tested wisdom that should not be ignored by helping professionals, as well as organizational leaders and boards, give advice and make decisions impacting the lives of their people.Leonard J. Cerny II, PhDCoauthor, CernySmith Assessment In all of my years of studying this subject, there has never been a book written by an individual who has been able to blend so well the excellence of biblical theology interspersed with relevant testimony and practical application. In Facing Danger: A Guide through Risk, academic rigor has neither dumbed down emotions nor has the importance of the emotions compromised robust and sound research. Practice informs theology as it should, but theology is not manipulated by the drama of reallife stories woven into each page. This is a rare and unique contribution to the study and practice of risk and the whole global church. Facing Danger has everything to say to a Christ-follower in Pakistan, a pastor in Iraq, or a student leader in a megacity anywhere in the world. Download it, buy it, give it away, and keep it. There will be nothing else like it.Kate WardGender and Religious Freedom Many books either focus on trusting God amid risk or contingency planning to mitigate that risk; this book walks the no man's land between those two extremes, the place where so many of us on the field actually live.Pastor to the International Christian Community, Kabul, Afghanistan Responding to God's call means facing decisions about stepping out of the boat when the wind blows and the seas are the roughest. Peter's first step onto the water was only possible because he knew with certainty that Jesus was reaching out for him. This outstanding book draws from years of living with risk and danger while ministering in Afghanistan and Central Asia. I found the personal stories of complicated and risky choices compelling; they gave life to the theory and its practice. This book is a must-read for those facing decisions about following Jesus into dangerous situations.Charles Schaefer, PhDCoauthor of Trauma and Resilience: Effectively Supporting Those Who Serve God Someone has said that the gospel has already reached all the easy places. It is now the riskier and more difficult places on the rough edges of our world that still need the good news of Jesus Christ. Facing Danger delivers more than what we would expect from an armchair theologian or missiologist. It is born from the author's diligent research set in the complicatedcontext of a decade of living and working in war-ravaged Afghanistan. Responsible leaders will read Facing Danger before placing workers in high-risk areas. It should find its way to the required reading lists of cross-cultural Christian courses. It is perhaps the most authoritative book in this field.Ronald Brown, DMinFormer International Worker, Africa, Senior Associate, Mobile Member Care Team, Missions Coach, Christian and Missionary Alliance in Canada There can be a tendency in the evangelical world to over-spiritualize or dismiss risk and its profound and lasting impact. Anna provides a path down the middle of those two extremes with this profoundly insightful and helpful resource. This book is not written from either a theoretical posture or a ""low-risk"" location; she writes from life experience in some of the most volatile areas in the world, having lost numerous close friends and yet being willing, along with her family, to live and work amidst these realities. This will be a book I will utilize for my own as well as organizational discernment as we have staff moving in and out of high-risk regions of the world.Scott E. ShaumAssociate Director, Barnabas International This book would have been most helpful in my preparation for cross-cultural work! Years ago, while serving in a country next to Afghanistan, our family was attacked by a frenzied mob. We lived through it (by God's grace) and, after that, saw more fruit. Eventually, we left the field, but I have learned over the last twenty years of equipping workers for ministry in Muslim contexts that Facing Danger is more needed today than ever before. This text draws from both Testaments to show that risk-taking is biblical. For example, it points out that the church in Jerusalem chose men like Barnabas and Paul because they had ""risked their lives"" for the gospel's sake (Acts 15:25-26). The exegesis of several passages demonstrates a difference between taking risks and suffering--something easily missed in our study of Scripture. Finally, Anna Hampton interjects several personal experiences that add credibility and make for exciting reading. I highly recommend this book as a training manual for crosscultural workers in areas of high risk.Warren Larson, PhDProfessor Emeritus, Muslim Studies at CIU and Senior Fellow, Zwemer Center While the audience for Facing Danger is Christ-followers living in high-risk nations, I would encourage anyone and everyone to read this book, whether or not you belong to the group of cross-cultural workers. In these fast-changing times, with more and more incidents profoundly impacting societies worldwide, it is helpful for all of us to understand the issues of risk, not just those of us living in an international culture. Anna and Neal's experience in high-risk nations makes this book honest and realistic and gives the reader a helpful tool. She helps you face your situation, thought patterns, and personality, gracefully inviting you to connect with your Creator and Father when facing and managing risk. God's promise that he will always be with you stands firm.Leny Breur, HollandCoworker and Friend in Afghanistan With friends, families, churches, and organizations confused by the fact that Christfollowers knowingly step into dangerous and even life-threatening situations, I wonder why it has taken so long for us to engage with the content covered in Anna Hampton's book. This book will prove invaluable for those planning to serve God in dangerous settings and those who need faith to stand with them.Martin CampbellPrincipal, EastWest College of Intercultural Studies, New Zealand"

Anna Hampton's book on risk is one of the weightiest books I have ever read on the subject. It is not a textbook; it is not a book on spiritual formation; it is not a theology of suffering and it is not a guidebook for leaders in times of risk and danger-yet it is all of these and much, much more. This powerful and profound book has many provocative questions, lists of key points, intriguing quotations from thinkers, and personal stories. Each chapter ends with a summary and points of application. This book is a classic for cross-cultural ministry workers in places of risk and danger. It should be required reading. The author has been there. The book is field-tested.I can't recommend it highly enough. Dr. Laura Mae Gardner Former International VP for Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL International; Author of Healthy, Resilient, and Effective in Cross-cultural Ministry Responding to God's call means facing decisions about stepping out of the boat when the wind blows and the seas are the roughest. Peter's first step onto the water was only possible because he knew with certainty that Jesus was reaching out for him. This outstanding book draws from years of living with risk and danger while ministering in Afghanistan and Central Asia. I found the personal stories of complicated and risky choices compelling; they gave life to the theory and its practice. This book is a must-read for those facing decisions about following Jesus into dangerous situations. Charles Schaefer, PhD Coauthor of Trauma and Resilience: Effectively Supporting Those Who Serve God With friends, families, churches, and organizations confused by the fact that Christfollowers knowingly step into dangerous and even life-threatening situations, I wonder why it has taken so long for us to engage with the content covered in Anna Hampton's book. This book will prove invaluable for those planning to serve God in dangerous settings and those who need faith to stand with them. Martin Campbell Principal, EastWest College of Intercultural Studies, New Zealand

Author Information

Anna Hampton (DRS, Trinity Theological Seminary) is a global risk consultant and specialist on a theology of risk. Anna has almost thirty years of ministry experience and raised her family in Afghanistan and Turkey. Anna and her husband, Neal, serve with Barnabas International, providing pastoral support to gospel workers ministering in dangerous areas. Anna is the author of Facing Fear: The Journey to Mature Courage in Risk and Persecution. She may be contacted at Theology of Risk (https: //theologyofrisk.com/) or Instagram: Theology.of.Risk.

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