LOVE ANYWAY : AN INVITATION BEYOND A WORLD THAT IS SCARY AS HELL
JEREMY COURTNEY
Zondervan
288 pages
In a world with much polarization, people do not often go over to the other side of the political divide. Jeremy Courtney and his wife Jessica were transformed in their theology and politics. And, as I read the book that tells of their conversion, I do not hear animosity to other side. They get angry at the situation and some of the players, but they are interested in helping the people affected by the Iraq War. They decide to love anyway, everybody and anybody.
Jeremy and Jessica decide that they have been called to be missionaries to Turkey. They are supported by the people of their church and community in Texas. They move to Turkey, and are just there, to be. Jeremy does not look for work, but tries to engage people in conversation, with the purpose to convert them to Christianity. They are not successful, and both of them get frustrated.
They attend a seminar in westrn Turkey, and they are transformed or converted. They heard a message of inclusion, and that they must work to help people, and not worry about conversion of people’s souls. On page 47, Courtney writes, “ For the first time, I realized I was aggressive and angry, conquering and defensive, armoured in self-righteousness. I was orthodox, armed to the teeth, and utterly void of what mattered most . ’ You don't love them, Jeremy’ ( the seminar leader ). And then in an instant , the whole world changed .”
The Courtneys then move to Iraq. It is a crazy part of their story. They are just going to love people. They go into one of the most dangerous places in Iraq, Fallujah. They bring in doctors to serve the children who are most at risk. It is extraordinary that they are able to make connections in the middle of a war zone between Iraquis and Americans, and anyone else who can be helped . They do this for years, and they form an NGO to get donations and followers all over the world.
I had a few problems with a few minor things in the book. There was a lack of chronological, geographical and political contexts . The book does not do a good job of explaining the places that Jermey’s group is working in, or the time frames that they were working, during the Iraq war . And, the book does not get into much of the politics either, but that may be by design, because it should not matter when you are helping people.
There are two metaphors that Courtney uses in the book, and they seem to be his ways of explaining the world and his work within it. The first statement he uses often is , “ The Way Things Are”. To him, he talks about politics and religion in America as normal. You accept American political interventions as the right thing. He and his wife were accepting the world of war, poverty and destruction. They are transformed in their thinking to their second statement to a “ The More Beautiful World . “. The Courtneys have decided to work for a better world. It is a very inspiring story of faith and hope.
Fred Redekop
A storyteller for Mennonite Central Committee,
A pastor at Poole Mennonite in Ontario
And a local municipal politician
Ponder Anew 