Start with Welcome
The Journey toward a Confident and Compassionate Immigration Conversation
- Ethics, Culture & Social Issues
- Publisher: Zondervan Reflective (Zondervan)
- Published: 2024
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Publisher's Description
Asking the hard questions about immigration in light of Jesus' call to love our neighbors as ourselves. You've seen the headlines. You've watched the TV footage. People around the world are in dire situations and on the move. Current estimates suggest over 100 million people are forcibly displaced from their homes and seeking refuge in other countries. It seems as if everyone wants to come to the U.S., and if we're honest, that gives many of us pause. We wonder how it would impact our culture and communities if we showed welcome to the world, and many of us wonder how to separate the political rhetoric and talking points on present day immigration from what the Bible really has to say about immigrants and strangers. Start with Welcome dives into the whole narrative of Scripture to better understand what God calls us to do concerning immigrants and refugees. Bri Stensrud will guide you through pressing questions that will ignite your compassion and leave you curious about our calling as followers of Christ—questions like: Is Immigration a Pro-Life Issue? What does the Bible say about Immigrants? Who is Welcome here? What does Christlike Welcome look like? You have questions. You have fears. But you also have compassion. So, let's start there. Bri Stensrud welcomes you into the conversation—a conversation that’s more urgent now than ever. It all starts with one word: Welcome.
Endorsements (14)
“Start with Welcome combines biblical orthodoxy with practical counsel on how we can follow Jesus in seeing those whom the world often wants to make invisible.”
“If you are curious what Scripture teaches about how to care for the immigrant and refugee in an incredibly complex world, there is no better place to start than this book.”
“Bri Stensrud courageously decided some years ago that—because immigration is not just a political issue but also a biblical issue impacting people fearfully and wonderfully made in God’s image—she needed to engage. I’m so grateful she did.”
“Bri Stensrud is an inspiring leader who responded to what she was seeing in the world around her, reading in her Bible, and discerning from the Holy Spirit. I hope her response will inspire readers to consider how God might be calling them to respond.”
“Evil wants nothing more than to divide us and shift our posture from Jesus-like to worldly. I’m grateful for leaders like Bri, who is willing both to stand in the trenches of unity and also to hold out her hand and invite us all to do the same—as Jesus would.”
“An inspiring call to embrace our immigrant neighbors with love, compassion, and understanding, Start with Welcome provides a more balanced and compassionate perspective on this critical conversation from a biblical perspective.”
“Start with Welcome walks us through Scripture, stories, and statistics to help navigate the humanitarian crisis at our border. Bri demonstrates that we don’t have to choose between secure borders and compassionate welcome to the “least of these” seeking hope and help.”
“Start with Welcome invites us to think well about immigration, with an understanding of the human dignity each person holds as an image bearer of God. This book helps believers wrestle with this complex topic in a truthful and empathetic way.”
“There is something life-changing about creating welcome for people. Start with Welcome attaches biblical confidence to our compassion and helps us get closer to those who have so much God-given potential.”
“I am so excited for this book and the challenges it will bring to all of us. We need this fresh and biblical call to hospitality and compassion.”
“In Start with Welcome, Bri invites us into a heartfelt conversation about a complex issue. She shows what it means to love our neighbors no matter their background or circumstance. It will leave you challenged, inspired, and forever changed.”
“Bri Stensrud writes with theological depth, practical experience, and—above all—humility. Start with Welcome is a gently courageous invitation to become what we are: a people glad to extend welcome because we serve a God who never stops welcoming us.”
“In a time and with a topic marked by hot-headed arguments or cold-shouldered dismissals, Bri Stensrud has given us a work of remarkable warmth—a warmth of compassion for people created in God’s image, and a warmth of regard for you the reader to be dignified with thoughtful research on complex issues and thought-provoking explorations of Scripture. Start this journey of welcome with her and discover the radical warmth of Christ’s hospitality.”
“Bri gives us a broader range of options for a conversation that has been extreme on both sides. Nuanced, thoughtful, well-researched, appropriately provocative—Start with Welcome is a call to a more compassionate Christianity.”
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