Caring for One Another

Dont think this book is necessary. Others have already covered the topic and done it much better. Nevertheless, the author provides practical examples for his points.

I received an advance copy of the book from Net Galley and Crossway in exchange for my honest review.

This is a short book but is a book I feel every believer in every church would do well to read. in many churches, despite the fact that we are meant to be family many people go in and out of church without really getting to know each other or support each other. This little book offers many practical suggestions as to how we can get to know others better, whether sharing in grief or seeking support as we fight sin.

The book os designed to be read aloud in a small group and there are many searching questions at the end of each of the 8 chapters.

An excellent, short read!

Short Christian oriented course format. An easy read and especially loved the follow up questions at the end of each chapter. Backed by Scripture. Focuses on building fellowship. Anyone in a leadership role or non-leadership role could learn a lot from this, I did. If you truly want to start caring for one another this book takes you step by step and gives you a good starting foundation.

I am grateful to Crossway and NetGalley for an advance copy of this book. I enjoyed this little book from Edward Welch and the helpful corrective that it adds. For many today church is something passive and pastoral care is something passive something that is done to them rather than they are called to do.

In this book Welch reminds us that church is essentially a community who are called to minister to and care for one another, each of the eight chapters reminds us that we need to move towards one another in love. Each chapter finishes with a set of closing questions and is short enough to be read in 10 minutes but the reflection would take much longer.

I think this book would be best enjoyed together and the questions best discussed together in a small group setting, good for little churches trying to do church better and good for bigger churches looking to develop a small group ministry.

I thoroughly enjoyed and appreciated this book. It has eight short chapters that talk about how we engage with other people. It is gentle in tone and very winsome. It has discussion questions and the chapters could easily be read in a small group setting. This book reminds us that God uses ordinary people to bless, encourage, exhort, and minister to each other. We are called to do that for each other and this book gives ideas on how we can do that. It is very practical and doable and built on a solid, biblical foundation.
I was especially convicted by the chapter on moving toward others. Just as God takes the initiative and moves toward us, we are to take initiative and move toward others. “Because of Jesus, you no longer look for the easiest person to talk to when people gather. Instead, you move toward the quieter ones, the new person, and the outliers. Imagine a group of people who move toward each other–active more than passive, loving more than fearing rejection” (location 90). I want to grow in that. It’s easy to go to church or any gathering and wait for someone else to come to us instead of seeking out others. This is an easy thing to do but takes strength, grace and humility.
This book is about ordinary things like learning someone’s name and asking questions, and praying for each other. Nothing is earth shatteringly new, but this book is powerful. I am blessed to go to a church where people care for each other like this. Yet it still challenged, convicted and encouraged me. There is always more room for growth. This book is one I could see rereading every year as a checkup on how I’m caring for others. I would highly recommend this book.
Thank you to Crossway for providing me with an e-copy of this book. I was not required to leave a positive review. All opinions are my own.

“…the Lord is pleased to use ordinary people, through seemingly ordinary acts of love, to be the prime contributors to the maturing of his people.”

Caring For One Another is an introduction on how Christ followers can begin to move towards one another with genuine affection to honor God and serve one another in our relationships.

It magnifies the ordinary in how to engage one another without hard and fast rules other than our basis and desire must be Christ centered.

“When you connect your troubles with Scripture, you are joining your life to the promises, graces and commands of God.”

The eight short chapters provide scenarios true to life and offer lead ins on how to approach these areas of life with one another.

“Too often we are silent when we know of someone’s trouble. Silence is the same as turning away.”

Each chapter ends with a section for Discussion And Response that would be helpful for the individual or in a group setting to consider and work through.

Though short, Caring For One Another provides a wide range of examination with an appreciated nuance, as every situation will have individual needs.

“…we don’t want our conversations to cover only events. We have a sense that there is something deeper. We want to know what is important to the other person, and this takes us into what Scripture calls the heart.”

Caring For One Another is challenging, encouraging and practical.

“We all live before the face of God, whether we are consciously aware of it or not. Life is intensely personal. He pursues and invites us to know Him through Jesus – that is what’s on His heart. We, in turn, respond in two ways. Either our godly desire is aroused and we want to hear, know Jesus, come to Him, join Him in His kingdom work and speak with Him. Or our selfish desire attaches to other gods and kingdoms that we think are more valuable. To put it another way, we trust in Him or we trust in ourselves and the objects of our affection. We turn either toward Him, or away from Him.”

Our helpfulness-our care for souls-starts with our need for care. We need God, and we need other people. Maturity through dependence is our goal. As a way to put this humility to the test, we ask for prayer. This will contribute to a church culture that is less self-protective and more united.

Everything is spiritual and since we are broken, our relationships can suffer. How we love, how we receive love. It all amounts to how we care for another. It all starts with our need for God. This brings humility and vulnerability in how we perceive everything. Again everything is spiritual.

Each chapter is lesson on ways to cultivate relationships.

With All Humility
Moving Toward Others
Know the Heart
Know the Critical Influences
Be Personal and Pray
Talk about Suffering
Talk About Sin
Remember and Reflect

Each chapter builds on the other. Without humility, we cannot move toward others. Moving toward others, reveals our heart. Knowing our heart tendencies, we know the good and bad influences. It is with this we can open up about suffering and sin. What not to say and how to say it where deep conversations can develop.

We all need relationships. Healthy relationships. Reading this text, it was revealing in how we protect our hearts and how we miss the deep relationships we are created for. We forget to care when we are self-protective. All the ways this speaks to me makes me want more. Highly recommend.

A Special Thank you to Crossway Publishing and Netgalley for the ARC and the opportunity to post an honest review.

What a great resource to have to help and encourage you as you learn to love people like Jesus. I love Ed Welch because anything he puts out is so edifying for me, that ist gives me courage and confidence to carry it out. Ed is like having a spiritual coach who helps you think through why and how to carry it out. So, if you care about people and you care about caring for them, then pick up this book, you will be glad you did.