Hamilton Adam - Unafraid: living with courage and hope in uncertain times

I want every American to read Adam Hamiltons 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.

D IANA B UTLER B ASS, author of Grateful: The Transformative Power of Giving Thanks

A thoughtful, literate, faith-filled guide to reclaiming our minds and our lives.

J OHN O RTBERG, senior pastor of Menlo Church, Menlo Park, CA, and author of Id Like You More If You Were More Like Me

Fear can cause us to become discouraged, disheartened, and even despairing. In his bold new book, Adam Hamilton shows us a way out.

J AMES M ARTIN, SJ, author of Jesus: A Pilgrimage

Informed by psychology and neuroscience, Hamilton 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.

P HILIP Y ANCEY, author of Whats So Amazing About Grace?

An indispensable volume for people of faith who want to rise above dysfunction and uncertainty.

M IKE M C C URRY, director of the Center for Public Theology, Wesley Seminary, and former White House press secretary

A road map for facing our fears with faith. I highly recommend this book.

R ICHARD R OHR, author of Falling Upward and founder and director of the Center for Action and Contemplation, Albuquerque, NM

Whatever challenge youre facing today, you will find Hamiltons words are comforting, practical, proven, and inspiring.

J OHN C . D ANFORTH, former U.S. ambassador to the UN and former three-term U.S. senator from Missouri

Read Unafraid once to appreciate its tremendous value. Read it again, as I did, to allow this consummate pastor to show you how to live with courage and hope.

M ARIANN E DGAR B UDDE, bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington

A wise and compelling book.

M IROSLAV V OLF, founder and director of Yale Center for Faith and Culture, Yale Divinity School, and author of Flourishing: Why We Need Religion in a Globalized World

Goes beyond mere analysis to offer spiritual practices that can bring real peace to struggling people. I enthusiastically recommend this book.

E D R OBB, senior pastor of 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. The mix of science, philosophy, practical biblical wisdom, storytelling, and personal testimony make this book a joy read.

O TIS M OSS III , senior servant/pastor of Trinity United Church of Christ, Chicago, IL

Ive known Adam for decades. Ive watched him lead when he was fearful. In Unafraid, he writes, As you press through your fear, you live. Hes right. Read Unafraid. Let Adam encourage you to face your fears and live.

M ARK B EESON, founding pastor of Granger Community Church, Granger, IN

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

J OHN L ENNON

In 1947, W. H. Auden published his Pulitzer Prizewinning 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 youll 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 Ive 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 its only noon. Stories from parts of the world wed 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. Were 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. Were polarized politically, with each side crying wolf on a daily basis. And then there are the universal worries people have felt in every ageconcerns for our children, fear of failure, anxiety about death and dying and so much more.