The Anxious Christian: Can God Use Your Anxiety for Good?

by Rhett Smith; Jon Acuff

Publisher:

Moody Publishers

, 2012

Is anxiety “un-Christian”?

Many Christians believe the answer to this question is yes! Understandably, then, many Christians feel shame when they are anxious. They especially feel this shame when well-intentioned fellow believers dismiss or devalue anxiety with Christian platitudes and Bible verses.

Rhett Smith, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, helps us understand anxiety in a new way. Rhett argues that, rather than being destructive or shameful, anxiety can be a catalyst for our spiritual growth. Using Biblical thinking and personal examples, Rhett explains how anxiety allows us to face our resistance and fears, understand where those fears come from, and then make intentional decisions about issues such as career, marriage, money, and our spiritual lives.

Allow this book to challenge your view of anxiety, and allow God to use your anxiety for good.

From the Back Cover

Is anxiety "un-Christian"?

Many Christians believe the answer to this question is yes! Understandably, then, many Christians feel shame when they are anxious. They especially feel this shame when well-intentioned fellow believers dismiss or devalue anxiety with Christian platitudes and Bible verses.

Rhett Smith helps us understand anxiety in a new way. Rhett argues that, rather than being destructive or shameful, anxiety can be a catalyst for our spiritual growth. Using biblical thinking and personal examples, Rhett explains how anxiety allows us to face our resistance and fears, understand where those fears come from, and then make intentional decisions about issues such as career, marriage, money, and our spiritual lives.

Allow this book to challenge your view of anxiety, and allow God to use your anxiety for good.

Contents

Introduction: The Day I Became a Stutterer

Chapter 1: Embracing Anxiety
Chapter 2: Welcoming Uncertainty
Chapter 3: Stuck in a Rut
Chapter 4: Anxiety Reimagined
Chapter 5: Wrestling with God
Chapter 6: Getting Intentional
Chapter 7: Creating Boundaries and Space
Chapter 8: Relational Refinement

Conclusion: Living Life as a Stutterer
Appendix: Reaching for Help
Acknowledgments
Notes

Praise for The Anxious Christian

I loved this book. I often read something and think, this will be helpful to many, but I can't think of anyone who would not be helped by reading Rhett's book. It made me smile to see once more how God tucks the best news inside the most unusual boxes if we have the courage to open them.
Sheila Walsh, author of God Loves Broken People and Those Who Pretend They're Not

Rhett Smith asks Christians to stop and take seriously how God is using anxiety in their life. Rhett's an extraordinarily able pastor and counselor, and his surprising new take on the anxious Christian should be in the hands of every "3 AMer" out there.
Hugh Hewitt, nationally syndicated talk show host and author

For the first time, I see my anxiety as something to press into rather than run from. The Anxious Christian bears the same gifts as many of my favorite books: an earnest voice, a fresh perspective, and an invitation to begin a journey.
Scott McClellan, writer, editor, and director of the ECHO Conference

In these pages, the reader will read a truthful and vulnerable account of how the author has the courage and presence to use anxiety to point himself and his relationships toward the effort to change his own identity and patterns. Read slowly and re-read—you will be rewarded with wisdom that has a practical application of change in your journey of life.
Dr. Terry Hargrave, author and professor of Marriage and Family Therapy at Fuller Seminary

An important and timely book.  If there's an emotion that could define our post-modern world I believe it would be anxiety. Rhett helps disarm the power we often give anxiety by explaining how it can actually have purpose in the Christian life in that it is potentially a pathway for growth.
Jason Ingram, GRAMMY nominated songwriter, worship leader

Rhett's personal story is profoundly honest—vulnerable, agonizing, and joyful. He will not settle for the quick fixes of pop psychology or the veneer of superficial Christianity. In reading The Anxious Christian you will find yourself plunged into the heart of anxiety, and in the deep waters of God's healing grace.
Adam S. McHugh, author of Introverts in the Church: Finding Our Place in an Extroverted Culture

In The Anxious Christian, Rhett Smith brings an honest, vulnerable, and refreshing view to anxiety and faith.
R.O. Smith, co-director of Youth Discipleship at Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles

Rhett’s writing is thoughtful, authentic, and relatable. Rhett gently challenges the stereotypes that most Christians have about anxiety and leads us into the redemptive freedom of choice that we have been given. His unique perspective is restorative and hopeful.
Mindy Coates Smith, D.Min., part-time instructor at Fuller Theological Seminary, and co-director of Youth Discipleship at Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles

Product Details

• Title : The Anxious Christian: Can God Use Your Anxiety for Good?
• Authors:
  • Smith, Rhett
  • Acuff, Jon
• Publisher: Moody Publishers
• Publication Date: 2012
• ISBN: 9780802479099

About the Authors

RHETT SMITH is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT) in private practice at Auxano Counseling in Plano, TX. He is a graduate of Fuller Theological Seminary (MDiv, MSMFT) and former college pastor at Bel Air Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles. Rhett has a passion for helping people navigate significant areas of transition in their lives such as parenting, marriage, and the adolescent to young adult journey. He also serves on staff at The Hideaway Experience in Amarillo, TX where he helps couples work towards having great marriages. Rhett lives in Frisco, TX with his wife Heather and their two children. You can find out more about Rhett at his blog www.rhettsmith.com or his counseling practice www.rhettsmithcounseling.com