William H. Willimon

Fear of the Other Leader Guide William H. Willimon

This five-week DVD/video based small group study 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. This Leader Guide and the DVD (9781501857249), sold seperately, are required for the small group study. 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