Witness Risk Glossary
Combined from
Facing Fear: The Journey to Mature Courage in Risk and Persecution (WCP: May, 2023)
and from
Facing Danger: A Guide Through Risk, 2nd Edition (WCP: Jan, 2024)
In the security world (secular and Christian), the terms “risk,” “threat,” “danger,” and “hazard” are often used interchangeably. I encourage the standardization of terminology by providing a glossary. I invite further discussion and refinement of this glossary by security specialists, theologians, risk savvy informed faith-based specialists, and cultural anthropologists skilled in bridging Eastern and Western thinking (Hampton, 2023).
These terms are a work in progress. I am working to refine risk literacy and risk savvyness, and need to fill out the areas on risk capacity, risk tolerance, risk attitude, etc. I welcome input!
Free PDF Witness Risk Glossary Download
(Download is being updating March 2024)
Actor Mapping – Actor mapping identifies all the key individuals, stakeholders, or other organizations that will affect your team or organization’s functioning. Actors in any place of ministry can qualify as an adversary, a neutral, or a friend.[1] Actors can be an individual, a group of individuals acting together, paramilitary or military forces, communities, or a country’s government.
Assessment – Risk Assessment asks two questions: (1) What could happen? (2) How does it impact us?
Bow-tie Model – a tool to identify and assess all possible causes and consequences for each risk.
Christ-Follower - A Christ-follower is anyone from any denomination or church tradition who walks in the way of Jesus as his Lord and Savior.
Conceptual Thinking – refers to broad theories, general, spiritualized principles, and general laws of nature. Thinking conceptually about risk means we are using logical, rational thought. It includes applying spiritual principles in balanced ways. In conceptual thinking we are usually more detached from the actual problem.
Counting the Cost – Ongoing at each stage of life, evaluating one’s calling based on the relationships, physical possessions, and desires in relation to the cause of Christ. Requires continual reassessment of what and who is being risked in the changing risk situations.
Cross-Cultural Risk (CCR) - The potential for loss and gain when following Christ and ministering cross-culturally.
Crisis Management - the plan and procedures in place to mitigate the impact of a negative event.
Crisis Response - Crisis response is a holistic response to those impacted by trauma that promotes coping and flourishing. It encompasses practical, emotional, spiritual, and relational support provided by people with a variety of skills. There are many ways that peers can provide supportive and compassionate assistance to the traumatized. Sometimes professional psychological assistance is needed to help trauma victims.
Cybersecurity - Protecting digital information and how information is shared via phone, VHF radio, computer, and any other means.
Danger (Hazard) – see Risk
Data – factual statistical information
Demographic Proximity – a measurement of similarities the team shares with the targets of the events. Asks: How likely is the risk event to impact people like us?
Discernment – how we hear God’s voice and the Holy Spirit’s leading in all stages of risk assessment and management. We discern by asking: (1) What is the most loving thing to do? (2) What is the most hopeful thing to do? (3) What is the most faith-filled thing to do? (4) Are my decisions in risk moving me toward God or away from God?
Dread Risk – Two aspects: For individuals, it is the extreme fear attached to what risk one fears the most. From a risk probability perspective, a dread risk is a low probability event in which many people are suddenly killed, which triggers an unconscious psychological principle: If many people die at one point in time, react with fear and avoid that situation.
Duty of Care -
Endurance – being able to live and work long-term in risk and uncertainty with physical, mental, emotional, spiritual, ministry perseverance. Persevering in a difficult situation without quitting. Synonyms: toleration, bearing, sufferance, fortitude, forbearance, patience, and resignation.
Endurance Plan – includes endurance plan with tools for for physical, emotional, mental, and social-relational, and spiritual endurance. Also includes evacuation lists, to do lists, evacuation criteria, kidnapping response plan, funeral plans, organizational policies, member care, etc.
Evacuation Criteria - an endurance strategy identifying a fixed point when we know we will reevaluate our stay-go decision.
Frequency – the rate at which the events occur. Asks: How likely is the risk event to happen often?
Geographic Proximity – the physical closeness of the risk events. Asks: How likely is the risk event to happen close by?
Hardiness - cultivate an inner resolve before trials come. Turning toward God through the risk experience will produces hardiness
Information Analysis – the process of collecting information and data, evaluating it, corroborating it, and then making a decision based on evaluated information.
Information Management – who is allowed to receive the information and to what level of transparency?
Intelligence - the “product” resulting from collecting, evaluating, interpreting, and analyzing all available data and information concerning the likelihood of the risk materializing or of the means, intent, and opportunity of a hostile entity carrying out their threat.
Inter-Cultural Risk (ICR)- The potential for loss and gain when following Christ and living within one’s home culture.
Liminality - a threshold, a state of ambiguity, a time of disorientation right before something that has the potential for major change or a new state.[2]
Loss Mitigation – reducing the potential loss and impact of loss if the risk happens.
Mitigation – addresses two questions: (1) How can we prevent the events from happening? (2)How can we decrease the degree of impact on us?
Persecution – “Any hostility experienced as a result of one’s identification with Christ. This can include hostile attitudes, words, and actions towards Christians. This broad definition includes (but is not limited to) restrictions, pressure, discrimination, opposition, disinformation, injustice, intimidation, mistreatment, marginalization, oppression, intolerance, infringement, violation, ostracism, hostilities, harassment, abuse, violence, ethnic cleansing, and genocide.”[3]
Positivism - The idea that problems and trials in one’s life result from a lack of faith.
Probability – Subjective determination of how likely the events may occur. How likely is it that a specific risk event will happen? We can reduce uncertainty by subjective probability.
Resiliency - is the ability to face reality, to engage with and grow through life’s challenges and adversities via inner strength, social support, coping skills, and core beliefs/values including life purpose and spiritual meaning.” Ability to adapt to challenges with firmness of faith is proven by our experience of God.
Risk – A danger or hazard which carries with it the potential for loss and/or gain.
Risk Appetite -
Risk Assessment – working through risk identification (What could happen?), the risk probability scale What is the likelihood of that happening? (Frequency Analysis) and What are the consequences? (Consequence Analysis)
Risk Assessment Process - Five parts. (1) Learn the environment; (2) Identify the risks in that specific environment; (3) Analyze the risks (frequencies, intensities, proximities); (4) Evaluate and prioritize the risks by increasing threat levels; (5) Decide on risk mitigation strategies.
Risk Assessment Theory - The components of risk identification, analysis, and decision-making.
Risk Aversion – The risk aversion is typically on a scale from a high risk appetite to extremely risk averse. It is not a one-size-fits-all, because people have different risk tolerances for different risks and types of risk.
Risk Averse – an attitude or mindset of avoiding a particular risk.
Risk Capacity –
Risk Event – risk is an event. The “event” may be short- or long-term.
Risk Illiteracy - The inability or unwillingness to understand and deal with risk. Shows a remarkable lack of acquaintance with the fundamentals of risk assessment and mitigation. Proverbs 1:32 “For the simple are killed by their turning away, and the complacency of fools destroys them.”
Risk Literacy – the basic knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to assess various witness risks and mitigate them based on a clear theology of risk and mature discernment of Holy Spirit-led stewardship. (See RAM Flow Chart)
Risk Management - includes risk mitigation and decision-making. Risk mitigation includes deciding whether to choose avoidance, transference, limitation, and acceptance or some combination of these.
Risk Maturity Model -
Risk Profile – what is one’s risk profile based on religion, gender, passport nation, ethnicity, and social status.
Risk Quotient - One way to think of your risk capacity, risk appetite, and risk tolerance. Evaluate how consistent they are in your actual behavior and speech.
Risk Resiliency - requires more than mental assent to “correct” doctrine. It is a characteristic of the inner life. It includes cognitive assent, internal heart response, and personal and communal experience with the Lord. It is practical and spiritual, thoroughly grounded in Scripture.
Risk Savvy – 1. Understand the nature of dread-risk fear; 2. Control it by enlisting conflicting emotions if reasons don’t work; and 3. Knowing the actual risk.” (Gigerenzer’s definition).
Risk Shrewdness -
Risk Tolerance -
Sacred Questions – the questions that arise in our soul during times of facing danger. These often are soul questions we are really asking about God, and where God is speaking to us in our inner lives.
Sacred Transformation – the sanctification and transformation into Christ-likeness that can happen in our inner being and in our communities during a season of risk.
Severity - the weight of the impact on individuals and team. Asks: How likely is the risk event to have significant negative consequences?
Situational Thinking – is based on what is happening in the risk event and how that staff person and the team are doing in their journey and maturity. It assesses each risk event with its unique contributing factors, including all the various causes of the risk event, all the possible risk events, and the totality of the potential good and harmful consequences.
Stewardship – Handling God’s resources for God’s purposes. It includes both pouring out and protecting all resources vulnerable in risk. These resources include physical and non-physical resources, visa acquisition, pain, reputation, relationships, etc. Stewarding myself includes the emotional, spiritual, mental, financial, relational, and cultural energies needed to persevere and endure whatever risky situation is entrusted to me.
Spiritual Resiliency – The growth that happens when we allow our fears to drive us to God.
Survivability - More than just physically surviving through some danger, but the ability to remain functional and continue our mission.
Theology of Suffering - A theology of suffering systematically answers, “Why does God allow suffering?”
Theology of Risk - the three essential elements of a theology of risk: Divine selection of those chosen for risk, supernatural foundation, and risk as sacred worship.
Threat
Anonymous Threats
Direct Threats
Insider Threats – A person who has information and access to an organization greater than outsiders. It may be intentional or unintentional, violent or non-violent. It may include government-sponsored espionage, fraud, sabotage, unauthorized dissemination of information, or poor security practices.
Blended Threats – some combination of threats against a person or team based on political unrest, terrorism, crime, gang activity, and religious persecution. It may be hard to sort out what the primary reason for the threat is.
Threat Assessment - threat assessment is a fact-based process that incorporates multiple sources of information and practical experience to determine if a threat is likely to materialize.
Triple-A Method - Ask, Awareness, and Action. The goal is to reduce the isolation and resignation that those facing risk may be feeling.
Virtual Kidnappings – Virtual kidnappings are when someone makes a ransom demand by phone, text, or email by claiming to have taken the target’s loved one hostage. As Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology improves, this risk is likely to increase.
Vulnerability – In terms of survivability, vulnerability is the ability to withstand (or not succumb to) a threat.[4]
White Noise - a combination of an overload of uncorroborated and un-evaluated information and data along with un-evaluated verbal threats and risks.
Witness - A witness is someone whose identity is in Christ, and witnesses to their relationship with Jesus, the Son of God.
Witness Risk - “the potential for loss and gain when following Christ.”
Witness Risk Communication - Witness risk communication is sharing information to inform others what the actual assessed risks are and what risk mitigation will be implemented with different levels of stakeholders. It includes sharing what is happening with others so they can pray intelligently. It involves identifying the hardware necessary to maintain communication in risk and persecution.
Witness Risk Calculation – includes evaluating in four areas: spiritual and emotional risk assessment, danger risk assessment, stewardship analysis, and spiritual discernment.
[1] Headquarters, Advanced Situational Awareness, 10-2.
[2] Frost and Hirsch, The Faith of Leap, 19.
[3] Open Doors, “The 2022 World Watch List.”
[4] Personal discussions with Scott Brawner - his definitions.