EMQ » January–March 2020 » Volume 56 Issue 1
By Kent Annan
IVP Books, Downers Grove, IL, 2018
144 pages
USD $15.00
Reviewed by Michael Hakmin Lee, PhD, assistant professor of Ministry and Leadership, School of Mission, Ministry, and Leadership at Wheaton College in Wheaton, Illinois.
In You Welcomed Me, Kent Annan, cofounder of Haiti Partners and director of the M.A. program in Humanitarian and Disaster Leadership at Wheaton College, advocates for a more welcoming posture towards strangers, especially immigrants and refugees. Not just a book of what we ought to do as Christians and why, this is an eminently practical book, with each chapter concluding with prompts for reflection and concrete suggestions for progressing further along the “Good Samaritan Scale” towards becoming a demonstratively better neighbor to strangers in need.
Chapter two, which I found to be one of the strongest and timely sections in the book, lays out much of the biblical and theological rationale for the rest of the book. Growing in our love for and service to strangers begins with changing how we perceive the stranger – recognizing their personhood and common humanity, and empathetically seeing ourselves in their place. In a time where civility and decency in the public square seems to be in short supply (sadly also among many self-professing Christians), the church must speak clearly and prophetically about the fundamental importance of humanizing others; fear keeps strangers at arm’s length and love embraces the other as fellow human beings.
Chapter three attempts to address and dispel some of the common concerns about welcoming refugees and immigrants (e.g. safety, competition for jobs, strain on social services). Many are driven by fear and self-preservation, and as Annan rightly points out, those who live this way still pay a dear cost: “… we lose part of our own humanity if we don’t respond to people in need” (33). I appreciated that Annan did not espouse a one-sided or naïve perspective on the immigration debate. For example, Annan argued for opening our borders wider for immigrants and refugees while recognizing that “there should be wise limits” and there are “complex issues that need to be wrestled with and decided” (38). He also did not depict humanitarian work as the rescue of helpless victims of a broken system; we must also affirm human agency and human complicity in our own suffering and that of others. However, I wished he waded much deeper into these complexities. Accordingly, the book might speak more convincingly to those who are already sympathetic to Annan’s position (or further along the “Good Samaritan Scale”).
Annan then invites readers further into the lives of immigrants and refugees by telling their stories (chapter four), by offering practical ways for individuals and groups to practice better neighboring (chapter five), and by outlining four key commitments necessary for us to be part of a strong “human chain.” The book concludes with a vision of how life would be richer and more fulfilling when we commit to loving strangers and neighbors well (chapter seven).
This inspiring book is written accessibly but with enough depth, nuance, and thoughtfulness to be helpful to a wide audience. In fact, I am having my middle school son read it and I will put it on a reading list for my graduate students. I highly recommend it.
For Further Reading:
Bauman, Stephan, Matthew Soerens, and Issam Smeir. Seeking Refuge: On the Shores of the Global Refugee Crisis. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2016.
Soerens, Matthew, and Jenny Yang. Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate. Revised edition. Downers Grove, IL: IVP Books, 2018.
