Dear friends,

The stories we tell about one another have incredible power in shaping our relationships and societies. Below, I’ll share a 60-second meditation on how Jesus talked about “the other” in his culture. Jesus shows us what hopeful, healing storytelling can sound like in our world today.

If you want to dig deeper, I’m also sharing the recording of the first webinar on my book Reviving the Golden Rule. This conversation was so thought-provoking, and I trust you’ll enjoy it.

Thank you for joining me in reviving the golden rule,

Andrew

A New Story

“Do this and you will flourish.”

– Jesus (Luke 10:28)

The stories we tell about others shape our relationships and world. In Jesus’ society, Samaritans were often storied as villains. Religious, ethnic, and political differences marked them for rejection. But Jesus rewrote the script. When a religious leader asked him about how to go to heaven, Jesus told a story about a good Samaritan who practiced love for his suffering enemy. Jesus then said, “Do this, and you will flourish.”

Who are the villains in your community’s stories? Will you join Jesus in telling new stories that lift up their dignity?

This meditation was originally published by Red Letter Christians on August 13, 2025. Dig deeper into the new story of neighbor love with my book Reviving the Golden Rule: How the Ancient Ethic of Neighbor Love Can Heal the World (IVP Academic), available for pre-order now. 

Webinar:

Just Peace, Neighbor Love, and the End of Othering

This webinar on Reviving the Golden Rule was generously hosted by my friend Peter Anderson Digitale and Peace Catalyst International. I’m grateful for the thoughtful — and sometimes blunt — questions Peter asked. Together we explored why “love your neighbor” is not just an old Sunday school slogan but a vital response to some of today’s most urgent challenges. We looked at how this teaching has evolved through history, what it means for us now, and how we can live it out even when “others” are branded as “existential threats.”

I hope this conversation energizes you to tell a new story about our othered neighbors today.