Product Description

Recipient of Christianity Today's Award of Merit in Politics and Public Life, 2016

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What will rule our hearts: fear or compassion?

We can't ignore the refugee crisis—arguably the greatest geo-political issue of our time—but how do we even begin to respond to something so massive and complex?

In Seeking Refuge, three experts from World Relief, a global organization serving refugees, offer a practical, well-rounded, well-researched guide to the issue.

• Who are refugees and other displaced peoples?
• What are the real risks and benefits of receiving them?
• How do we balance compassion and security?

Drawing from history, public policy, psychology, many personal stories, and their own unique Christian worldview, the authors offer a nuanced and compelling portrayal of the plight of refugees and the extraordinary opportunity we have to love our neighbors as ourselves.

About the Authors

STEPHAN BAUMAN is the President and CEO of World Relief, an international relief and development organization partnering with the global Church to serve more than five million vulnerable people each year. World Relief is also the founder and convener of The Justice Conference. Stephan's pursuit of justice led him to transition from a successful career in the Fortune 100 sector to Africa where he directed relief and development programs for nearly a decade before returning to the United States to lead World Relief's global operations. He holds degrees from Johns Hopkins University, Wheaton College, and the University of Wisconsin. He is a poet, an author, an ordained minister and a strategist. He considers his African friends his most important teachers, and his wife, Belinda, his most important mentor. Stephan, Belinda, and their two sons, Joshua and Caleb, live near Washington, D.C.

MATTHEW SOERENS serves as the U.S. Director of Church Mobilization for World Relief. He previously served as the Field Director for the Evangelical Immigraton Table, a coalition of evangelical organizations of which World Relief is a founding member. He is the co-author of Welcoming the Stranger: Justice, Compassion & Truth in the Immigration Debate (InterVarsity Press, 2009), and a graduate of Wheaton College (IL) and DePaul University. Matt lives in Aurora, Illinois with his wife Diana and their two children.

DR. ISSAM SMEIR is a Licensed Clinical Professional Counselor who specializes in trauma treatment for refugees, victims of torture, and severely abused and neglected children. He holds a Master's Degree in Clinical Psychology from Wheaton College and a Doctoral Degree in Counseling and Clinical Supervision from Northern Illinois University, and has done post doctorate training in trauma and refugee issues at Harvard University. He has worked for World Relief since 2001, serving refugees and other immigrants from dozens of countries of origin. Prior to joining World Relief, Issam worked with several missions and relief organizations. Originally from the country of Jordan, Issam now lives in Suburban Chicago with his wife and four sons.