(Photo : Trocaire/Flickr/CC) A mother and her children at a border crossing between Serbia and Croatia, where thousands of refugees traveled daily on their journey to safety.
Leaders of the Southern Baptist Convention have called on Christians to love refugees rather than fear them, saying that the current approach of many churches in dealing with refugees is "far more American than it is biblical."
The leaders were speaking at the Great Commission Summit, held at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary between March 29 and 31.
"Whatever response is seen [in our churches] often seems to come from a foundation of fear, not of faith, flowing from a view of the world that is far more concerned with the preservation of our country than it is with the accomplishment of the Great Commission," said David Platt, president of the International Mission Board.
Platt reminded the audience that millions of refugees have fled their homes from countries such as Syria and Sudan, and Christians must view this crisis through God's eyes of mercy and compassion. He referred to the biblical example of Boaz who sheltered Ruth, when she was a foreigner.
He said that Boaz's actions did not just demonstrate godly compassion, but also were a critical moment in redemptive history, by building a lineage which would "lead to the quintessential kinsman redeemer, Jesus the Christ."
"I fear that most people in our churches and maybe even in this room are paying very little to no attention to this - or if we are paying attention to it, we are looking at it through political punditry and partisan debates regarding whether or not we should allow relatively few refugees into our land," he said. "It is a sure sign of American self-centeredness that we would take the suffering of millions of people and turn it into an issue that is all about us."
Platt urged the believer to be sensitive to people's needs across the world and be dedicated to helping them with the compassion of Christ.
"Our God has not left the outcast and oppressed alone in a world of sin and suffering, he's come to us and he's conquered for us. Brothers and sisters, as followers of Christ, self is no longer our God, therefore safety is no longer our concern. We go and we preach the gospel, knowing that others' lives are dependent on it," he said.
Southern Seminary and Boyce College professors encouraged the students to adopt Muslim families and understand the complexities of Islamic culture in a series of short talks organized on March 31, sponsored by the Jenkins Center for the Christian Understanding of Islam.
"God wants something to happen in your heart so that it will appear outside," said Ayman S. Ibrahim, Assistant Professor of Islamic Studies at Southern Seminary and senior fellow for the Jenkins Center. "Think of Muslims as a very diverse community. Muslims are in very deep need of something you have. I call it 'the gospel of hope.' ... They have no hope."
Associate Professor of global studies at Boyce College, John Klaassen, who also wrote a book called Engaging with Muslims, said that churches can show their love by collaborating with refugee organizations and adopting refugee families when they come to the US.
Speaking at the summit, Florida pastor Jimmy Scroggins asked Christians to get more serious about reaching people who are far from God through continual prayer and gospel-centered conversations.
He referred to the first four chapters of Acts as a blueprint for how church needs to reach unchurched and broken people, with the aim of having a "messy and dynamic" church.