Fear of the Other Leader Guide - by William H Willimon (Paperback)

About the Book

There is a distinctively Christian way to engage the so-called "outsider" and "stranger."

Book Synopsis

This five-week DVD/video based small group study (DVD and Leader Guide) companion to the book, Fear of the Other: No Fear in Love invites readers to consider the Gospel command to love (and not merely tolerate) those considered to be "Other" or outside mainstream Christian culture. Rooted in the faith of Israel and the Christian story and vision, Willimon - in an onscreen conversation with Delia Catalina Ramirez, brings a non-technical, Wesleyan perspective to bear on what may be the hardest thing for people of faith to do: keeping and loving the Other as Other.

Emphasizing the biblical mandate to receive Others in their particularity and difference as gifts and mysteries bearing the grace of God, this study also offers a strong critique of the privileged who all too often rush to language of reconciliation and evade the huge inequalities surrounding conversations and practices dealing with xenophobia and injustice.

Rooted in the New Testament understanding of Gentile outsiders grafted into the covenant community, this study invites readers to an on-the ground faith that hearkens to a soliciting and revealing God - the God who comes to us again and again through so-called outsiders, strangers, immigrants, and those without status.

The 5 video conversations between Will Willimon and Delia Ramirez focus on each of the five chapters of Fear of the Other:
Session 1: Saved by the Other
Session 2: The Other, My Enemy
Session 3: Learning to Fear Like Christians
Session 4: Loving the Other in Church
Session 5: Jesus, the Other

About the Author

Erin Hawkins (Author)
Erin M. Hawkins is General Secretary of the General Commission on Religion and Race. She is the lead official of the denominational agency that cultivates racial inclusion and the full participation of all people into the work, witness and life of The UMC. She holds a Masters degree in Organizational Development from American University, and a Masters degree in Public Policy from Indiana University.

William H. Willimon (Author)
Feeling most at home behind a pulpit, Will Willimon's deepest calling is to be a preacher and truth-teller of Jesus Christ. He is Professor of the Practice of Christian Ministry at Duke University Divinity School and retired Bishop of the North Alabama Conference of The United Methodist Church, after serving for 20 years as faculty member and Dean of the Chapel at Duke University. He lives in Durham, North Carolina. Will Willimon has published many books, including his preaching subscription service on MinistryMatters.com, Pulpit Resource, and Fear of the Other: No Fear in Love, both published by Abingdon Press.