A Better Country (Second Edition)

Cindy M. Wu

Description

You Were Once Strangers 

 

Jesus said, “I was a stranger and you invited me in.” (Matthew 25:35)  

 

More than two thousand years ago, Jesus challenged us to welcome and care for the strangers among us.  How do we fulfill this challenge? What does compassion look like today? 

 

A Better Country aims to help Christians—specifically Christians in the United States—think theologically and practically about the ongoing and changing refugee needs. This workbook is divided into six lessons followed by a personal action plan as your application. The second edition includes additional questions for discussion, along with spiritual practices at the end of each chapter for transformation of mind, heart, and soul in our posture toward refugee welcome. 

 

This resource balances information and reflection that will stimulate excellent group discussions and individual study. May you be inspired to action, and may you develop a heart to welcome refugees with compassion and dignity in Jesus’s name. 

Preface  

Introduction

Lesson 1: Global People, Global Problems  

Lesson 2: The Many Faces of Forced Migration  

Lesson 3: You Were Once Strangers  

Lesson 4: The Pilgrim’s Problem  

Lesson 5: All the World Is Here  

Lesson 6: Serving Angels  

Conclusion

Personal Action Plan  

Appendix A: Resettlement Agencies  

Appendix B: A Refugee Resource List  

Appendix C: Increasing your Cultural Intelligence (CQ)  

Appendix D: The Refugee Experience  

Appendix E: The Hospitality of Abraham’s Children  

Bibliography  

 

Sujets

• Sociologie, société et politique
• Social Science
• Refugees

Informations

• Publié par: William Carey Publishing
• Date de parution: 25 octobre 2022
• Nombre de lectures: 0
• EAN13: 9781645084549
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 2 Mo

Extrait

ENDORSEMENTS
At a time when over 100 million people in the world-each of them created in the image of God-have been forcibly displaced from their homes by violence, persecution, wars, and turmoil, the church dares not turn a blind eye. Christ made it abundantly clear that our God cares deeply about the most vulnerable, and if we claim to be His followers, we must also. Individual believers, small groups, and local churches will be grateful that Cindy Wu s A Better Country provides biblical clarity and unique insights into the refugee experience and the US refugee resettlement infrastructure, and shows how God can use us to welcome, engage, serve, and partner with those He brings near. The spiritual practice sections of each chapter make us aware of how God can use our experiences with those who have lost everything to increase our dependence on Him, mature us spiritually, and grow our capacity to enjoy Him now and for eternity.
P AT H ATCH
Refugee and Immigrant Ministry Director, PCA Mission to North America
More than a mere academic exercise, Cindy s passionate advocacy on behalf of refugees is an expression of her faith in Christ. Through her writing, teaching, training, advocacy, and personal involvement, Cindy embodies the spiritual practice of hospitality to the stranger rooted throughout Scripture, and she longs to see the body of Christ do the same. To that end, Cindy has written an exceptional tool for ministry leaders, small groups, non-profits, individuals, families, and communities to prepare them to come alongside refugees and other forcibly displaced persons with the love of God. We have had the privilege of working side-by-side with Cindy for years and have witnessed her living out these biblical truths. The principles in this book serve as a powerful and practical framework for those seeking to live out God s invitation to welcome the foreigner in our midst.
M ICHAEL , MD IV , J ULIE M EISSNER
Co-founders, Abba s House of Texas
A Better Country is a thoughtful and clear introduction to the refugee crisis and the church s response. Cindy Wu untangles the complexity of refugee resettlement in the US and demystifies the first steps of building relationships with our neighbors who have experienced forced displacement. Set within a historical and biblical context that maintains honesty about the challenges, readers are left with a practical and hopeful path to live out the call to love our neighbors as ourselves.
S HANNA D OUGHTY , MA
Co-Facilitator, Refugee Highway Partnership North America (RHPNA)
Over several years I have watched Cindy Wu read, study, listen to, feel personally, and write about refugees and their situations in the United States. She has done so with deep compassion joined together with objective realism. This most timely workbook should be widely read and used in churches across our land.
D EAN B ORGMAN , MA
Senior Professor of Youth Ministries and Social Ethics, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
Every Christian wishing to find the balance between security and compassion should work through A Better Country . Wu serves the church by presenting an excellent foundation for understanding refugee history, journey, and advocacy. This timely workbook presents facts to alleviate unnecessary fears in these important days.
D AVID D ANIELS , DMin
Lead Pastor, Central Bible Church
Ms. Wu lives in Houston, America s most ethnically diverse city and practices the kind of hospitality she espouses. Out of her own experience and interest, she offers a workbook to help the reader learn about refugees and embrace the challenge of offering them hospitality. I envision a Sunday School class or home group using this valuable resource in a group study. Ms. Wu artfully combines facts, refugee stories, and words of challenge, for those who wish to serve others. She refers to Mariane from Rwanda in the Introduction and then quotes her in the book s Conclusion: People have many freedoms here (USA) and hard work pays off. Close the door behind you and open another one. You don t have to live in between doors. That is the challenge Cindy Wu extends to her readers. Be a door-opener for the world s refugee peoples wherever you find them.
R ICHARD L. H ANEY , PhD
Executive Director, Frontier Fellowship
A Better Country is a book for such a time as this. More than 100 million people in the world have been forced to flee their homes and are seeking a better life. Cindy Wu provides a solid biblical, moral, and historical basis for welcoming refugees into our country and into our communities. A Better Country is a very practical guide for both churches and individuals, filled with resources and suggestions for how Christians can live out the biblical call to welcome the stranger.
D AVID H USBY , MDiv
Retired Director, Covenant World Relief
At a time when the arrival of refugees is mired in misinformation and fear, Cindy Wu has created a fantastic, timely resource in A Better Country . With insightful analysis, biblical wisdom, and clear applications, this is a superb resource for Christians searching for a deeper understanding of refugees.
M ATTHEW S OERENS , MS
US Director of Church Mobilization and Advocacy, World Relief
Cindy Wu s new book is a remarkable fusion of facts, personal experience, and biblical reflection on how Christians should treat migrants and strangers. As the West increasingly closes its heart, mind, and homelands to the rest of the world, this is a timely prophetic call to the church to follow Jesus s example and welcome the stranger. As a bonus, Wu s approach is highly practical, providing a much-needed tool for churches and small groups to study and to act.
T ODD M. J OHNSON , PhD
Co-Director, Center for the Study of Global Christianity, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary

A Better Country (Second Edition): Embracing the Refugees in Our Midst
Copyright 2022 by Cindy M. Wu
All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-electronic, mechanical, photocopy, recording, or otherwise-without prior written permission from the publisher, except brief quotations used in connection with reviews in magazines or newspapers. For permission, email [e-mail] . For corrections, email [e-mail] .
Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are taken from The ESV Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version ). Copyright 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. The ESV text has been reproduced in cooperation with and by permission of Good News Publishers. Unauthorized reproduction of this publication is prohibited. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version , NIV . Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission of Zondervan.
All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com . The NIV and New International Version are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.
Published by William Carey Publishing
10 W Dry Creek Cir, Littleton, CO 90120 | www.missionbooks.org
Interior Designer: Mike Riester
Cover Designers: Josiah Wu and Mike Riester
Cover Illustrator: Josiah Wu, The Hospitality of Abraham s Children
William Carey Publishing is a ministry of
Frontier Ventures
Pasadena, CA | www.frontierventures.org
ISBNs: 978-1-64508-452-5 (paperback)
978-1-64508-454-9 (epub)
Digital eBook Release 2022
Library of Congress Control Number: 2022946775
CONTENTS
Preface
Introduction
LESSON 1: Global People, Global Problems
LESSON 2: The Rubbled Places
LESSON 3: You Were Once Strangers
LESSON 4: The Pilgrim s Problem
LESSON 5: All the World Is Here
LESSON 6: Serving Angels
Conclusion
Personal Action Plan
APPENDIX A: Resettlement Agencies
APPENDIX B: A Refugee Resource List
APPENDIX C: Increasing your Cultural Intelligence (CQ)
APPENDIX D: The Refugee Experience
APPENDIX E: The Hospitality of Abraham s Children
Bibliography
PREFACE
In 2009 I took a seminary course that would change the direction of my ministry calling. I was a student at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts, just beginning my degree. The course, titled Biblical Global Justice, was taught by Dean Borgman, a spry, white-haired Episcopal priest with a passion for justice and for youth.
Professor Borgman s class was eye-opening and uncomfortable, in a sanctifying way. I had always cared about social issues but had never explored the theological foundations for justice. By this time I had already lived in several countries around the world-and among the poor in one of them-yet I was still so sheltered from some of the greatest suffering and injustices on earth. And I was limited not just in my experiences, but also in any deeper reflection on the subject. Professor Borgman s class challenged me to think about justice on a larger scale.
The following semester, I took a class, Christianity in Asia, Africa, and Latin America, at Boston University with church historian Dr. Dana Robert. One of our required readings for the course was Blood Brothers , the memoir of Elias Chacour, a Palestinian Christian. 1 Chacour grew up in Galilee in peaceful co-existence with Jewish neighbors. In 1947, the United Nations partition of Mandatory Palestine turned Palestinian land over to Zionists, leading to civil war and resulting in death or displacement for over one million Palestinians. Chacour s village was obliterated, and his family fled. Chacour went on to study in Europe, and later in life, as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict raged on in his homeland, he found his high calling-to be a peacemaker between these two groups of blood brothers.
I confess that before reading Blood Brothers , I had never wondered whether there were Christians in Palestine. I had never given thought to the experie