Church Refugees

Church Refugees
Author: Josh Packard
Publisher: Group Publishing, Inc.
Total Pages: 194
Release: 2015-06-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1470726777

They’re called The Dones. After devoting a lifetime to their churches, they’re walking away. Why? Sociologists Josh Packard and Ashleigh Hope reveal the results of a major study about the exodus from the American church. And what they’ve discovered may surprise you... -Church refugees aren’t who you’d expect. Among those scrambling for the exits are the church’s staunchest supporters and leaders. -Leaving the church doesn’t mean abandoning the faith. Some who are done with church report they’ve never felt spiritually stronger. -The door still remains open—a crack. Those who’ve left remain hungry for community and the chance to serve—and they’re finding both. Sifting through hundreds of hours of in-depth interviews, Packard and Hope provide illuminating insights into what has become a major shift in the American landscape. If you’re in the church, discover the major reasons your church may be in danger of losing its strongest members—and what you can do to keep them. If you’re among those done with church, look for your story to be echoed here. You’re not alone—and at last you’re understood. Share your story at TheDones.com

A Liminal Church

A Liminal Church
Author: Maria Chiara Rioli
Publisher: BRILL
Total Pages: 401
Release: 2020-08-25
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9004423710

Through largely unpublished archives in the Middle East, Europe and the United States, and the Pius XII papers, in A Liminal Church Maria Chiara Rioli offers an appraisal of Jerusalem’s Roman Catholic diocese in the Palestine War and its aftermath.

Refugee Diaspora

Refugee Diaspora
Author: Sam George
Publisher: William Carey Publishing
Total Pages: 281
Release: 2018-10-15
Genre: Social Science
ISBN: 0878080872

God is at work among refugees everywhere. Will you join? Refugee Diaspora is a contemporary account of the global refugee situation and how the light of the gospel of Jesus Christ is shining brightly in the darkest corners of the greatest crisis on our planet. These hope-filled pages of refugees encountering Jesus Christ presents models of Christian ministry from the front lines of the refugee crisis and the real challenges of ministering to today’s refugees. It includes biblical, theological, and practical reflections on mission in diverse diaspora contexts from leading scholars as well as practitioners in all major regions of the world.

We Were Spiritual Refugees

We Were Spiritual Refugees
Author: Katie Hays
Publisher: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Total Pages: 350
Release: 2020-02-18
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1467458406

Church reimagined for a new day Katie Hays, planter-pastor of Galileo Church, shares the story of departing from the traditional church for the frontier of the spiritual-but-not-religious and building community with Jesus-loving (or at least Jesus-curious) outsiders. Now well-established, Galileo Church “seeks and shelters spiritual refugees” in the suburbs of Fort Worth, Texas—especially young adults, LGBTQ+ people, and all the people who love them. Told in funny, poignant, and short vignettes, Galileo's story is not one of how to be cool for Christ. Like its founder, Galileo is deeply uncool and deeply devout, and always straining ahead to see what God will do next. Hays says curiosity is her greatest virtue, and she recounts how her curiosity led her to share the good news with people who are half her age and intensely skeptical. If you are all-in with Jesus but have trust issues with church, We Were Spiritual Refugees will give you hope for finding a community-of-belonging to call home.

Welcoming the Stranger

Welcoming the Stranger
Author: Matthew Soerens
Publisher: InterVarsity Press
Total Pages: 288
Release: 2018-07-03
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0830885552

World Relief staffers Matthew Soerens and Jenny Yang move beyond the rhetoric to offer a Christian response to immigration. With careful historical understanding and thoughtful policy analysis, they debunk myths about immigration, show the limits of the current immigration system, and offer concrete ways for you to welcome and minister to your immigrant neighbors.

Humanity in Crisis

Humanity in Crisis
Author: David Hollenbach, SJ
Publisher: Georgetown University Press
Total Pages: 208
Release: 2019-10-01
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 1626167184

The major humanitarian crises of recent years are well known: the Shoah, the killing fields of Cambodia, the Rwandan genocide, the massacre in Bosnia, and the tsunami in Southeast Asia, as well as the bloody conflicts in South Sudan, Syria, and Afghanistan. Millions have been killed and many millions more have been driven from their homes; the number of refugees and internally displaced persons has reached record levels. Could these crises have been prevented? Why do they continue to happen? This book seeks to understand how humanity itself is in crisis, and what we can do about it. Hollenbach draws on the values that have shaped major humanitarian initiatives over the past century and a half, such as the commitments of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Oxfam, Doctors Without Borders, as well as the values of diverse religious traditions, including Catholicism, to examine the scope of our responsibilities and practical solutions to these global crises. He also explores the economic and political causes of these tragedies, and uncovers key moral issues for both policy-makers and for practitioners working in humanitarian agencies and faith communities.

Seeking Refuge

Seeking Refuge
Author: Stephan Bauman
Publisher: Moody Publishers
Total Pages: 241
Release: 2016-06-16
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 0802495060

Recipient of Christianity Today's Award of Merit in Politics and Public Life, 2016 ------ What will rule our hearts: fear or compassion? We can’t ignore the refugee crisis—arguably the greatest geo-political issue of our time—but how do we even begin to respond to something so massive and complex? In Seeking Refuge, three experts from World Relief, a global organization serving refugees, offer a practical, well-rounded, well-researched guide to the issue. Who are refugees and other displaced peoples? What are the real risks and benefits of receiving them? How do we balance compassion and security? Drawing from history, public policy, psychology, many personal stories, and their own unique Christian worldview, the authors offer a nuanced and compelling portrayal of the plight of refugees and the extraordinary opportunity we have to love our neighbors as ourselves.

Welcoming the Stranger Among Us

Welcoming the Stranger Among Us
Author: Catholic Church. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Publisher: USCCB Publishing
Total Pages: 68
Release: 2000
Genre: Religion
ISBN: 9781574553758

Designed for both ordained and lay ministers at the diocesan and parish levels, this document challenges us to prepare to receive newcomers with a genuine spirit of welcome.

The Mosaik Miracle

The Mosaik Miracle
Author: Stephen Beck
Publisher:
Total Pages:
Release: 2018-10
Genre:
ISBN: 9780998186481

The wave of refugees that started moving to the shores of Europe in 2011 and by 2015 reached flood levels in Germany has changed the churches there. At least, those churches that allowed the flood waters to enter their congregations. As many Christians responded with love and mercy to the refugees and many churches opened their hearts and doors to the strangers, they dared to walk into unknown waters. Suddenly many congregations faced challenges and frustrations nobody could have anticipated, and encountered changes and fears never experienced before. It has also become a new day for the church in Europe. In this book the author speaks from a biblical theology: "God loves the stranger! He told the Israelites to care for the stranger in their midst as if he were an Israelite. He himself became a stranger amongst us to make us citizens of heaven so that, in turn, we would lead strangers amongst us to Him to embrace their true citizenship in Christ."In 2011 Stephen Beck launched a church in Frankfurt, Germany that was swept up in the ensuing refugee wave. Through his experience with the Mosaik Church, and through the experience of many other churches in Europe, he tells us what happens when churches begin to move with God's wave. You will read almost unbelievable stories of God's work with people who walked the refugee trail and what happens when Christians reach out to them and welcome them into their homes and churches. The author takes us through various aspects of the church's ministry and mission, such as evangelism, worship, community life, conversion and baptism, and gives us practical how-to's when Muslims suddenly show up in church and God's people welcome them with open arms and godly courage: a movement.