Neighborliness – Review

Posted March 24, 2022 by thebeccafiles in / 0 Comments

Neighborliness – ReviewNeighborliness by David Docusen
Published by Thomas Nelson on March 15, 2022
Genres: Religion / Christian Living / Leadership & Mentoring, Religion / Christian Living / Social Issues, Religion / Christian Ministry / Evangelism
Pages: 240
Format: Paperback
Rating: three-half-stars

Do you want to love your neighbor as yourself but don’t know where to start? This practical, accessible guide to bridging the dividing lines of politics, race, and economics, both individually and as the church, will help you amplify Jesus in your community and build God’s kingdom.

When asked what the greatest commandment is, Jesus gave a two-part answer: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength” and also “Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Love God. Love others.

Jesus’ simple command to love your neighbor can feel overwhelming when your neighbor looks, lives, and votes differently than you do. Racial and economic tensions across the country have resulted in deep dividing lines that seem really intimidating to cross.

Docusen breaks down these lines in approachable chapters, including topics like these:

  • how to actively seek out people you can benefit and encourage,
  • what it means to find a diverse and supportive community that fulfills needs,
  • examples of real-life experiences, including highlights and missteps of Docusen’s ongoing journey, and
  • how churches can teach on difficult topics with grace and truth.

Neighborliness is a practical guide to bridging those dividing lines and learning to recognize and amplify the beauty of God in our communities. Backed by David’s speaking and training through the Neighborliness Center, this book will help individuals and churches reach out to their neighbors, love them through Christ, and build God’s kingdom.

Baker Book House|Amazon|ChristianBook
Goodreads

My Review:

When I first saw this book pop up I was instantly excited for it. It’s something that’s vitally important to reaching those around us with the message of Christ. While there really was a lot of good thought-provoking content, it also fell a bit short for me. While yes, it’s important to address outreach to people who may not look like you— that’s not the only scenario to consider when looking to our neighbors.  I was expecting to see sin issues and different worldviews addressed in ways that hopefully wouldn’t instantly raise defenses. I was hoping for a call to getting out and becoming an active member in the community and loving on others to show the love of Christ. As Christians we truly do need to do a better job at loving our neighbors. Sadly because of the narrow focus it fell short for me. Don’t get me wrong, it was definitely a great book with a lot of thought-provoking and challenging encouragement to reaching out to others, but I think the blurb needed to be more specific to sharpen expectations. Because the book I was expecting is definitely still needed. We like people who are like us, but in order to reach the lost we need to step out of our comfort zones and seek out those who are different. There was a lot of good advice in this book and ideals to think about. I still consider it well worth the read.

*I received a copy of this book through FrontGate Media. Thoughts and opinions expressed are mine alone.

Purchase @ Thomas Nelson: https://bit.ly/neighborlinessfg

three-half-stars

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