Rate this book

Friendship At The Margins: Discovering Mutuality In Service And Mission (2010)

by Christopher Heuertz(Favorite Author)

4.12 of 5 Votes: 4

ISBN

0830834540 (ISBN13: 9780830834549)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

IVP Books

review 1: This is an inspiring and convicting book that I will continue to go back to in the years to come! Here are a few of my favorite quotes:...[T]he vulnerable women and children among whom we serve cannot afford another painful goodbye in the sad series of losses that characterize their lives. We've discovered that our commitment to community building requires fidelity over time.In an effort to raise financial support or encourage prayer, the vulnerabilities of other people's lives are exposed...the letters are usually framed as prayer requests. But often the details are shared without permission.Prayer letters are second only to PowerPoint Presentations in their potential for violating friendship. Imagine how you would feel if you worst moment what photographed and then displ... moreayed during morning worship.In our hunger to be liberated and to throw off some of the stereotypes of uptight, narrow Christians, many of us have forgotten how to blush. If we were regularly reminded of the impact of our consumption patterns on the most vulnerable, would we change our practices?Mutuality does not come from everyone doing the same thing or making the same contributions. It comes from shared humility, respect and appreciation for the other person, and some sense of shared vision or purpose.People are exploited and they exploit, they are misused and they misuse...if forming friendships with exploited people is important to us, we will be drawn into some complicated situations. We will probably get splashed with some of the ambiguity and uncertainty...When friendships on the margins draw us into morally ambiguous or troublesome circumstances, we desperately need to be located in a prayerful, truthful and loving community.
review 2: Being a good friend can sometimes be hard. Being a good friend to those who are living on society's margins can be even harder. Those of us who grew up in relatively secure surroundings face difficult questions as we befriend our neighbors who live in poverty or have otherwise been marginalized by society. Close, mutual relationships with those who are homeless, have been the victims of exploitation, or are addicted to drugs and/or starting to exploit others themselves can force us to ask really difficult questions about what it means to be Christ-like in today's society.But one thing is clear. Christ made friendships with marginalized people a focus of his life on Earth, and we can't say we are his disciples if we are not following in his footsteps. Pohl and Heuertz both have wrestled with these questions for years, and have the theological and practical experience to begin offering wisdom. What does real friendship and mutual service mean between someone who has all their needs met and someone who is struggling to survive? If we are volunteering for a church or working for an agency, how do we befriend those we work with in Christ, rather than treat them like "projects" to fulfill our organization's mission? How do we react when we begin realizing that some of the people we meet are both the victims of exploitation and the exploiters of others? How do we interact with wealthy donors and friends who may want to "help the poor" as well, but don't yet understand them as real people who are equally made in the image of God? And how do we think about or measure "success" when creating honest relationships with real people?I think this book is most helpful for those who have been practically dealing with these questions already, and who now seek out the wisdom of those who have gone before and wrestled with God in these difficult areas. But anyone who has a heart for loving his neighbors will grow from this book. I am grateful to Pohl and Heuertz for writing it. less

Download links for: Friendship at the Margins: Discovering Mutuality in Service and Mission

Advertising