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“Immigrants are more than what they can contribute to our affluence,” says Matt . Made in the image of God, they are people like you and I who demonstrate the beautiful diversity of God’s creation of humanity. ThinkFwd host, Spencer Burke, talks with Soerens in the Chicago suburb where he lives. His neighbors are a very diverse population including immigrants from Mexico, Africa, and Southeast Asia.
Soerens has co-authored a book about the church and immigration called “Welcoming the Stranger.” He says his goal with the book was not to convince anyone of a particular immigration policy but rather to look at the issue Biblically and ask—as Christians—what do we do with this complicated topic of immigrants and immigration?
To Matt, the issue of how we live with immigrants is a personal one, because many of Matt’s neighbors have become his friends, with whom he visits, shares meals, and tutors their children. But we can easily de-humanize people just with our language, using terms like “aliens” and stereotyping immigrants as “those lazy people who are stealing our jobs, draining public resources, and are criminals.”
No one chooses what country they are born into. Yet somehow there is a strange sense of entitlement with country of origin. If you are born in Wisconsin, you have a right to a life where you will likely get a good job and live 10 years longer than if you were born in a third-world country. Matt says, “We are brothers and sisters, God’s creation. If my brother or sister is fleeing poverty, needs a job, needs their family and community—how should I respond?”
Most immigrant families come to America for a better life for themselves and their families, or to join family already here. They are driven by economics, and are following jobs. (In fact, given the current economic condition says Matt, the flow between the US and Mexico right now is toward Mexico, not the US).
Matt believes there is fear, misconception, and misinformation about immigrants and immigration. He believes immigration law is important, but that in addition to keeping the rule of law, we need to ask, “Are our laws are just?” As Christians, we can inform and change policy and law, and help create laws that are more compassionate, more just, and more sensible.
Personal Reflections:
- Take a moment to role play—what would you be feeling if you were in a foreign country, didn’t know the language, didn’t know the customs, you saw law-enforcement as an enemy and it was criminal to work, yet the conditions in your country were worse?
- Moving beyond policy to personal, what has been your first-hand interaction with immigrants?
Small Group or Staff Questions:
- Throughout history we’ve used language to de-humanize people we don’t want to deal with. How have terms like “alien” influenced you?
- As a Christian, how do you feel about evaluating people solely on their economic impact to our organization, city, or country?
Resources
- http://faithandimmigration.org/
- Matt's Presentation - Information on who undocumented immigrants are (with citations for those who want to do their own research) as well as some notes on immigration in Scripture and a list of further resources (139)
- FREE DOWNLOAD: Chapter from "Welcoming the Stranger" - (158)
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September 16th, 2009 at 4:10 pm
Good. Let’s look for what we have in common and pull together to find solutions that benefit everyone. I strongly believe that everyone benefits when immigrants can lead healthy productive lives.
September 16th, 2009 at 5:46 pm
Matt has done a great job spreading information on the issue of immigration and how to respond to it. He has become a refreshing voice in the debate of immigration and is a voice that needs to be heard. What we need to do now is spread the news and information to our churches and to our neighbors.
September 17th, 2009 at 12:20 pm
Soeren’s book is an enlightening invitation to step back from the politics and manipulation which have hijacked our faith and ask ourselves the fundamental questions posed by Jesus: Who are we? Who are our neighbors? How do we love our neighbors and how do we love God? He challenges us to ask these questions and then bring the answers to bear on our responses to immigration. If we aspire as a church to embody the kingdom and God’s will on earth then we need to take this message to heart. What I find most refreshing about this message is that it asks us to think about our faith, and come to our own conclusions rather than allow the louder voices of a few interpretations drown out what God is trying to tell us.
September 18th, 2009 at 11:29 am
Soerens does a far better job here than he did when he was 13 and said, on national TV, that Disney World was better than the Grand Canyon because there was always something new.
September 18th, 2009 at 11:57 am
Many people’s frustration with immigration is that people are not following the legal channels. But as Matt points out, there are very few legal channels! For the demographic that is seeking refuge from extreme poverty, there is no legal channel. That is something that we really do need to be pushing for in legislation–not higher walls.
September 18th, 2009 at 1:09 pm
Matt Soerens is on the cutting edge of immigration policy and reform, and his book is an excellent examination of a very politically and culturally explosive issue. Soerens and Hwang, in Welcoming the Stranger, do a great job of putting a personal face on the often impersonal immigration debate. What makes this book even more valid is that Matt practices what he preaches, and chooses to live among the immigrants that he is trying to help, rather than living in the “safety and comfort” of suburban Chicago. Christians should all follow Matt’s example and help the uninformed change their rhetoric from a focus on anger and fear to one of hope and charity.
September 20th, 2009 at 9:13 am
Matt and and his co-author Jenny do a great job of challenging evangelical Christians out of pre-conceived stereotypes of others and into the love of Christ and a love for others. I’m grateful for all the work he and all of those at World Relief – such as Catherine, Luke, Javier, Erika, Elise, and Susan – do in welcoming the stranger! Matt rocks and World Relief rocks!
March 31st, 2010 at 12:03 pm
[...] Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate Published March 6, 2010 Uncategorized Leave a Comment Matt Soerens, co-author of Welcoming the Stranger, sounds off on the slow death of civility in our culture and how Jesus-followers can recover transforming dialogue that leads to new alternatives in law and compassion in the immigration debate. Discussion questions are here. [...]
June 21st, 2010 at 11:00 pm
Though they are neither historians nor theologians nor biblical scholars, Soerens and Hwang nevertheless do an excellent job introducing the issues of immigration policy and reform to their evangelical Christian audience. Together they offer a comprehensive insider’s perspective and clear thinking, refined in the crucible of personal experience and solid moral conviction. Welcoming the Stranger is a perfect starting point for churches and individuals wishing to explore the intersection of faith and policy, and it may even serve as a clarion call welcoming evangelicals as voices of justice, compassion, and truth to a debate in which they were formerly strangers.
[Incidentally, I don't know the above person who shares my name, but I would challenge him to a more thoughtful consideration of the book itself and its aims; or if he cannot be persuaded to do this, then I hope he might at least consider speaking his criticisms openly rather than hiding behind the veneer of uncharitable smugness.]
July 23rd, 2010 at 3:33 pm
One impartial style for Cnn within the Tv show. This individual carries a really difficult immigration law plan. They graduated on the Harvard Higher education. Currently he provides her one Stereo Show. He could not such as that Nation chief executive.