Risk Assessment and Management is for Everyone!
There is a clear path to mature courage. Most Christ followers, however, are risk illiterate. It requires become developing risk literacy, leading to risk savviness, which results in mature courage. There are specific steps of practical risk discipleship to accomplish this.
-Anna Hampton
Risk Savviness leads to mature courage. But to become risk savvy, we need to become risk literate. Here’s one of the common objections to discussing risk.
"Does your model account for those from the poorest areas who do not have mitigation resources or access to resources like Westerners have? Westerners can often easily leave a country, but the millions of displaced persons cannot simply leave a dangerous area."
Questions like these are helpful!
The two most common negative responses we receive from people when they hear we focus on theology of risk, are either:
Denial that risk is a theologically relevant discussion and because we want to take time to discuss it must imply we are risk averse;
or
It automatically means we'll be asking people to spend all sorts of money and time to do unnecessary or irrelevant activities, especially coming from an American, risk-adverse culture;
or
People believe that “Blind faith” is more godly than taking time to learn the best practices of risk assessment and management, fear management, and the practical steps to shrewdness.
Sadly, this is far from the truth. We advocate for a thoughtful, Spirit led, situationally-considered, wise risk response for any people in high-risk situations.
To be clear:
Anyone can engage in Holy Spirit-led discernment in risk, no matter how many or how few resources they have access to.
Whether one needs to flee to the neighbor next door or another country, mature courage and risk savviness requires inviting the Holy Spirit to speak to us about whether he would have us remain, leave, or move further into risk.
Our hope is that we can strengthen and exhort Christ's Global Body to better endurance in the face of increasing threats and real persecution. The way through risk--the best guide--is to learn to listen to the Holy Spirit in risk. I've written about at least seven ways the Holy Spirit speaks in risk, and there are more.
Mature Courage is one that has been refined through the fires of dealing with ongoing risk.
Mature Courage discerns what (and Who) to fear.
Mature Courage is not self-focused; it stewards self at a pace for long-term endurance in risk;
Mature Courage has a high view of the mystery of the Holy Spirit;
Mature Courage discerns what truly is worth dying for, w
Mature Courage is compassionate and considerate.
Mature Courage is possible for boys and girls, men and women, young and old, educated and uneducated.
Mature Courage does not require lots of resources, but does require wisdom and discernment in the Spirit.
People of mature courage know when they need to interact with one of the four ways of mitigating risk (Chapter 11 of Facing Danger) and live to fight another day. Risk Mitigation is for everyone in the power of the Holy Spirit leaving the results up to God.
