Discussion Starter: Fearless Teens

What does it mean to be fearless, and how does fearlessness lead to success for students? That might be a conversation worth having with your group. A good starting place could be this Huffington Post story on The 13 Most Fearless Teens of 2013.

It is clearly compiled from a secular perspective, and includes students who have succeeded in business, the arts, science and journalism – as well as teens who stood up for causes and against personal attacks for being raped, being gay and being transgendered.

Whether we agree with each of the choices made by the editors or not, it raises good questions for our own students. Let’s ask (and help to answer) some of them.

• What does it mean to be fearless?
• Is it always healthy to be fearless?
• What should we fear, if anything?
• How does being afraid keep us from making good choices?
• How does it keep us from attempting hard things?
• Would you call all of the students on this list fearless? How did a refusal to be afraid help them to accomplish the things the editors are praising them for?
• How can fearlessness keep us from making good choices?
• Proverbs 9:10 says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. What does it mean to fear the Lord, and how does that makes us more wise?
• If fearing God in that way leads to wisdom, what kind of choices are we likely to make if we do not fear (or respect or acknowledge) him?
• We know that God loves us in Christ. How does he help those he loves to overcome fear in life? [Note: Consider teaching from 1 John 4:18 or Philippians 4:4-9 - or similar passages.]
• How does regular old fear keep us from attempting great things?
• What fears have you had to overcome to do important things in your own life?
• What fears have kept you from trying to do meaningful things?
• How can you trust God this week to set aside your fear and begin or continue to attempt to do something really meaningful?