Choosing Faith Over Fear!                                                          Home Page                                         

Featuring : Andrew Young

Downtown Knoxville & Everything West                                                            Print this page

Fear. Sometimes it can paralyze even the bravest soul. Often it keeps intelligent people  

from seeing a doctor to discuss a nagging pain. Daily it deters millions from seeking to 

live their boldest dream. Yes, fear is the dominant factor that stops God’s children from 

passionately pursuing His purpose for their lives. 

In those powerful moments when courageous men or women choose faith over fear the 

extraordinary happens. Heroes emerge. 

Fear was not an option for Andrew Young, a brave hero of the Civil Rights movement. 

“If there is a source to my passion, it was my mothers prayers, she prayed all the time,” 

Young remembers. “Whatever I’ve done that has related to that spiritual connection, she 

helped me establish.” 

Andy Young expected to follow in the footsteps of his father’s successful dental practice. 

For him that would provide a secure lifestyle, offering an education to his children and a 

predictable life of stability. Early lessons growing up in New Orleans, however, prepared 

him for a life that was far from predictable. 

Living in a predominately white neighborhood he attended an all black school. “Moving 

back and forth, I didn’t belong anywhere,” he recalled. Each day his route to school 

required crossing vacant lots where he quoted the 23rd Psalm with each step. This daily 

ritual is what taught him that he had access to God’s protection. 

“It was during this time that I learned that nobody wins a fight. Your mind and your 

courage are the strongest weapons. They are spiritual phenomena. Very early I learned to 

depend on powers that I could not see.” He spoke with certainty as he remembered that 

strong foundation on which his life would build. 

While attending college at Howard University he experienced a personal touch from God. 

Seeking to increase his endurance as a member of the track team, he ran to the top of a 

mountain. While looking down at God’s magnificent creation, it became clear that 

everything had a specific purpose. “There had to be a purpose for me.” It was in that 

moment he felt a significant sense of belonging. 

That moment led to his becoming a pastor. On his first assignment in Marion, Alabama, 

the young minister met his future wife Jean. A few years later, as the Civil Rights 

movement was being met with increased violence, with their three-month-old baby in the 

car, the Young’s had their first encounter with the Ku Klux Klan. Shortly after 

establishing a Voter Registration Drive in Alabama, they encountered the Klan again, the 

future U. N. Ambassador armed Jean with a gun and counseled her on how to handle a 

worst-case scenario. “I’ll talk to them, but to make sure they listen, you aim the gun at 

who I’m talking to.” The situation worked out and no one was harmed, but peaceful 

resolutions to escalating racial tensions constantly required such courage. 

When asked how he could go on in the midst of violence, Young responded, “Dr. King 

used to say that if you haven’t found something you’re willing to die for, your not fit to 

live anyway.” The Civil Rights movement shaped the courage of Mr. Young. Though 

accomplishing much during this time, this was only the beginning of his life of service to 

God and country. 

Today Ambassador Young still works with GoodWorks International, which he cofounded, 

serves on boards of Fortune 500 companies, chairs the $100 million Southern 

Africa Development Fund Enterprise and is involved with many charities. The Civil 

Rights leader’s resume includes many significant positions: three terms in the U. S. 

House of Representatives, two-terms as the mayor of Atlanta, Ambassador to the United 

Nations, president of the National Council of Churches and chair of the Atlanta 

Committee for the Olympic Games. In addition, Ambassador Young is the recipient of 

numerous awards. Among them, the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the French Legion of 

Honor, the Bishop Walker Humanitarian Award, and over 60 honorary degrees from 

universities around the world. He has authored two books, An Easy Burden and A Way 

Out of No Way. 

Ambassador Young’s amazing life demonstrates to each of us that if prior to each 

decision we ask ourselves, “What would I do if I weren’t afraid?” and then choose faith, 

we can make the difference that God created us to make. It is in those moments where 

God’s faith will intersect with your faithfulness. That is where heroes are made.