Category: Refuge
Empowering Refugees to Stay Close to Home: Part II
Last week I talked about two practical actions the church can take to encourage and enable refugees to remain close to their homes and homelands. This is a continuation of that thinking. Practical Action 3:...
Empowering Refugees to Stay Close to Home: Part I
In light of the “refugee crisis” in Europe and fearful refugee policies mounting in the United States, it is not surprising that many believe the first course of action provided to refugees is resettlement. That,...
Responding to Refugeeism: A Three-Pronged Plan of Action
And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward. – Matthew...
A Theology of Refuge: How the Good Samaritan Helps Us Come Alongside Refugees
The imago Dei informs how the Church can respond to refugeeism with the eyes and fingerprint of the Father. The Spirit of Pentecost reveals how Christians are radically helped, accompanied, and sustained by the Holy...
A Theology of Refuge: Seeing Refugees in the Radical Light of Pentecost
At Pentecost, God sent his Spirit to his people—the Church—in order that they might have a helper, an ever-present companion, and a source of sustenance along their pilgrimage. Because the Spirit lit upon and within...
A Theology of Refuge: Knowing Refugees in Light of the Imago Dei
The LORD said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have...
Why the Church Needs to Care About Refugees
Through Moses, God ordered the Israelites to care for the aliens among them. The Israelites and the apostles were told to care for strangers. Jesus told the story of the Good Samaritan. Every sermon you’ve...
Why the Church Has a Unique Role in Responding to Refugeeism
For thousands of years the people of God have been part of the ever-unfolding story of exiles and migrants in the world. We have been refugees, refugee-makers, and sources of refuge. This is no less...
Refuge and Refugees in Church History
The Bible is a book from and for refugees. The Israelites were not at home in Egypt or Canaan. The Church of Acts suffered the persecution of kings as today it suffers that of caliphs....
Who Is a Refugee?
For the sake of clarity in an unbelieving world, we might point to the definition of “refugee” as put forth by the United Nations: Any person who, owing to a well-founded fear of being persecuted...