Over the past few days, the news has been dominated by the question of how our country—and the church—should best care for refugees.
We know that the church has an obligation, given by God, to care for the stranger with all of the passion and compassion with which we care for ourselves. Refugees in our country and in our neighborhoods deserve our unfettered love.
We also know that one of the central roles of government is to protect its people from harm, acting with justice and wisdom.
Within the church, there will be disagreement about how to balance these sometimes competing prerogatives—compassion for the stranger and security for our citizenry. Some of our elders have offered helpful reflections on our current situation. I’d encourage you to read Scott Hildreth’s Missional Response to the Travel Ban, as well as Bruce Ashford and Chris Pappalardo’s Reflections on the Refugee Crisis. Russ Moore (not an elder of The Summit Church!), of the ERLC, wrote an insightful Open Letter to the White House, which we think offers wise counsel. Finally, the SBC’s Resolution on Caring for Refugees, drafted last summer, continues to represent the posture we believe we should take in this hour.
Perhaps more significantly, we at The Summit Church have opportunities right now to engage with refugees living right here among us, and we would encourage you to join in. On February 18th, World Relief is offering a training at our Brier Creek campus to become part of their “Welcome Team” or “Good Neighbor Teams,” an excellent first step. I have been through the training—it is easy and opens up some incredible opportunities. Sign up today! And go to summitrdu.com/serve365 for more local outreach opportunities.
My prayer for the Summit in the coming days is that we would continue to affirm our love for the foreigner, refugee and vulnerable; to herald justice and advocate for wisely administered compassion; and to pray for wisdom for those charged to lead and represent us.
