If good fences make good neighbors, they also make good reading. In an increasingly pluralistic world and church, Westerhoff's questions are timely, significant and theologically profound. In a sense, Good Fences is an invitation to dive into the bracing boundary waters of baptism that flow at its edges. In Good Fences Caroline Westerhoff presents the dynamic tension between hospitality and the limits to its consistent practice. It can be a very useful guide for those engaged in community building as well as a helpful guide for all individuals in their spiritual journey.
Questions accompanying each chapter are well suited for group discussions.
This is a balanced, honest account in which the author generously shares much of her experience in her own ministry in order to assist Church leaders and others in this complex society in which so many live. Westerhoff tells us their stories in a winsome way as she attempts to encourage and to inform us for the benefit of our own daily decision-making regarding who we are, where we are going and what we are doing while we practice true hospitality to those around us. CO One charm of this vivid, personable work is the author's defining of words that are key to the thought. We are invited into the delight of using words effectively, not just by definition but in illustrations from life and minsitry, scripture and tradition. Another helpful provision is a brief overview at the beginning of each chapter.