Preface When my first child was born -- Anthony Richard Perkins -- I had no idea what it meant to be a father. My own father was killed in a railroad accident when I was just three years old, and while I had men I looked up to, I never had a father figure. My mother did her very best as a single mom, and I am grateful that she devoted her life to raising me and my older siblings. She had several opportunities for courtship, but she said protecting and raising me was her top priority. I never knew the full meaning of that until years later. My wife and I were married at a little church in Cincinnati that she had attended while growing up. I attended with her a few times after we were married, but I didn''t care much for thepreacher because he seemed to yell a lot. So we quit attending.
God was not a part of our lives or our home at the time, but thanks to our son Tony, that would soon change. The summer before Tony was to start kindergarten, a new church in our town, Grace Bible Presbyterian Church, held a parade through our neighborhood, signing up kids for Vacation Bible School. We thought the interaction with other kids would be a great way to get him prepared for school, so we signed himup. Tony loved Vacation Bible School so much that for weeks afterward he would ask, "Dad, when are you going to take me to Sunday school?" I would always say, "Next Sunday." That went on for several months, until one Sunday I finally gave in. A five-year-old boy who had never gone to church didn''t realize that no one sits in the front row. In fact, no one sat in the first five rows that morning except Tony and me, only because I was unable to catch him as he scooted down the center aisle. The Sunday school superintendent looked down at us and said,"Looks like we have some visitors with us this morning.
" As an introvert, I hated being embarrassed like that. To this day I believe God stuck me to the seat or I would have gotten up and left. After we had attended for a few weeks, the pastor, Albert Cook, paid us a visit. I must have had a neon sign on my forehead saying I was spiritually lost because he immediately asked me if I was a Christian. When I told him I wasn''t, he asked me if I wanted to become one. I wasn''t sure what that was all about, but I knew I needed help to be a good father. I always wanted to have a great family and realized I couldn''t do it on my own. From that day forward Jesus Christ has been in my heart, and in my wife''s heart,and we have done our best to make Him the center of our home.
God used a five-year-old boy to lead me down the right path and has continued to have His hand on Tony ever since. When Tony was in the fifth grade, he came home one day and said his teacher had told the class we all came from monkeys. "But God created us," he exclaimed to me. I told him that was true but not everyone believes it, and then I said something that could have changed the trajectory of Tony''s life. "Just go along with the teacher." A few weeks later I received a note from the teacher requesting a conference with me. When I went to the school, Tony''steacher told me he thought Tony had a psychological problem. He explained that he wanted to observe him for a few more weeks, consult with other teachers, and get back to us.
I wasn''t sure what to expect when we got another note requesting that both my wife and I attend a special meeting with the teacher andthe principal. We went to the school and waited alone in the principal''soffice before an older female teacher came in with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Mr. and Mrs. Perkins, there''s nothing wrong with Tony," she blurted out. "It''s the teacher." Then the principal came in and apologized for what we had been through. We later learned that each time the teacher said that humans evolved from monkeys, Tony would stand up and say that it wasn''t true, adding, "God created me; I did not come from a monkey.
" At the end of the school year, the teacher was fired. Over the years I''ve watched Tony repeatedly take a stand for his faith, often facing criticism. For example, after leaving the Marine Corps, Tony was offered a position with a company that provided anti-terrorist training for military and police personnel from over fifty different countries. Tony enjoyed the interaction with the students from so many cultures and would often invite them to his home and join them for weekend activities. When Tony learned there were no Gideon Bibles in the dormitories where the trainees stayed, he bought Bibles for the students in their native languages. Many of the trainees came from former Eastern-bloc nations and had never seen a Bible. While the students were overjoyed, the bureaucrats in Washington were not very happy when they heard the students were being given Bibles. Despite threats, Tony continued to make the Bibles available to the students until the company''s contract was canceled for reasons that were determined to be false -- the company later was awarded a settlement.
Then there was the time when Operation Rescue came to Baton Rouge and Tony videotaped their peaceful demonstrations. Though he was a reserve police officer, he did this as a private citizen. I tagged along and was shocked at the abuse experienced by the pro-life protestors. Tony made the footage available to a local television station, which aired the explosive clips. Additionally, Tony wrote an Op-Edin a pro-life publication about the alarming scenes at the clinic, which eventually led to successful civil suits for police brutality. Tony''s police chief suspended him for his actions, then later tried to reinstate him when he realized Tony acted within his rights as a private citizen. But Tony declined and accepted an offer from the television station to work as a reporter. I can''t tell you how many times I''ve watched and just shaken my head as Tony has gone toe to toe with mayors, governors, and even presidents.
At first I was concerned for him and how he would survive, then I got to the point I just wanted to warn them what they were up against! I can''t think of anyone better suited to tell the stories of those who have no fear of man, only a reverence for God. Tony can spot those whose hearts are gripped by such a love for God that all fear is cast out because that''s how he lives his life. I hope this book encourages you to live your life completely sold out to God with absolutely no fear of man.--Richard E. Perkins, father of the author But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him! Luke 12:5 1 No Fear? What are you afraid of? We all have our fears, right? The dark. Snakes. Sharks. Monsters.
Things that go bump in the night. The kinds of fears that Hollywood has made a fortune exploiting. Those are the fun fears, the ones we like to talk about or weave into campfire storytelling. What about another kind? A deeper fear that grips you in its icy hands, preventing you from doing the right thing. You know what to do, but you''re afraid, mostly about what others will think of you. Remember Peter? An intrepid follower of Jesus, until it really mattered, until it might get him killed. "I do not know the Man!"he said of his friend and Savior. What are you afraid of? I stumbled upon the topic of fear in my personal Bible studya few years ago, and what I discovered absolutely fascinated me! Repeatedly throughout Scripture, whenever God was up to something big -- on the eve of a great, history-changing event -- He spoke a clear, concise command to ordinary people who were about to do extraordinary things through Him.
"Fear not!" With few exceptions, when God presented a great opportunity or mission to a particular individual, the assignment came with those two powerful words. "Fear not," He said to * Abraham when He called him out of Ur to pioneer a new nation (Genesis 15:1) * Moses, who was to bring God''s people out of bondage (Numbers 21:34) * Joshua, the one who was to lead the people into the promised land (Joshua 1:9) * Mary, who would give birth to the hope of mankind (Luke 1:30) * Simon Peter, who would become the apostle of hope (Luke 5:10) * Paul, who was to be the instrument through which most of the New Testament books were written (Acts 27:24) This strong admonition to courage was reserved not only for individuals but for entire groups of people as well, like the children of Israel when God set the land of promise before them (Deuteronomy 1:21), or the disciples when Jesus sent them out for the first time to spread the good news (Matthew10:28). History-changing manifestations of God''s power and promise were preceded by a command to overcome the fear that greets those who stand at the threshold of such monumental opportunities. One of the things that jumped out at me as I studied the "fear nots" of the Bible is that I had never really empathized with the fears of these biblical heroes. I assumed that they obeyed God without any thought of the consequences of their obedience. Why? Because I knew the end of their stories. They all succeeded! There''s nothing like success to make us forget the fear they had to overcome -- fearof failure, fear of rejection, even fear of death. We know the outcome, but they didn''t.
They were ordinary people subject to the same fears you and I would have if we were in their shoes. Imagine Moses, outnumbered by an enemy king''s arm.