A Better Country (Second Edition): Embracing the Refugees in Our Midst
Ebook
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
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.
Matthew Soerens, 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.”
Todd M. Johnson, PhD
Co-Director, Center for the Study of Global Christianity, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
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.
David Husby, MDiv
Retired Director, Covenant World Relief
Cindy M. Wu has produced a book titled, A Better Country: Embracing the Refugees in Our Midst. 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 to 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.
Richard L. Haney, PhD
Executive Director, Frontier Fellowship
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.
David Daniels, DMin
Lead Pastor, Central Bible Church
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.
Pat Hatch
Refugee and Immigrant Ministry Director, PCA Mission to North America
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.
Dean Borgman, MA
Senior Professor of Youth Ministries and Social Ethics, Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary
- Title: A Better Country (Second Edition): Embracing the Refugees in Our Midst
- Author: Cindy M. Wu
- Publisher: William Carey Publishing
- Print Publication Date: 2022
- Logos Release Date: 2023
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Ebook
- ISBNs: 9781645084549, 164508454X
- Resource ID: LLS:9781645084549
- Resource Type: Monograph
- Metadata Last Updated: 2024-06-13T00:52:44Z