I loved the heart of this book. The authors encouraged readers to love their actual neighbors.

"Sometimes the term 'neighbor' is used in its broadest sense. We're called to love all people, everywhere. But it's easy to use this metaphorical definition of neighbor - the world - as our only definition. And if that definition is our default, it probably means that by trying to love many, we actually love very few. Therefore, we should start with our most obvious neighbors - the ones that live nearest to us." (pg. 53)

Since this book was written by two people, and they each tell parts of their story from a first-person narrative, there would be something written along the lines of: "My wife Danielle and I (Jay)...." and then in the same paragraph or the one following there would be: "My wife Lauren and I (Dave)...." and I found it confusing to separate the two voices within the text. I feel it would have made more sense to write their shared sentiments in the "regular text", and then include their respective stories in type that was off-set a little to improve the readability.

There were also a few grammatical errors and quite a bit of repetition - it certainly could have been edited better.

However, I liked the general message, and appreciated that they also did address the issues of setting boundaries (you can't be everything to everyone - and shouldn't be), conflict resolution, and proper motives in being a good neighbor - evangelism as an ulterior motive is not a valid, biblical reason. As the authors put it, "We don't love our neighbors to convert them - we love our neighbors because we are converted." ( )

This is a very easy and quick read on Jesus' command to "Love your neighbor." There were a few good practical recommendations on how to start and manage neighbor relations. If anything it's a great challenge to reach out to those directly around your home.

I am not sure that this is what Jesus meant by loving your neighbor. I do believe that we need to know and love those that live in our area, but in many areas, this is just not a practical application of Jesus' words. Many areas are rural, with few neighbors. It is great if you live in suburban America, but a lot of people do not. The commandment to love your neighbors must extend past the people with similar backgrounds, jobs, and resources. ( )

This book looks at what it would be like to take Jesus's command to "love thy neighbor" seriously. Chock full of practical ideas on how to engage with your neighbors, this book is an excellent resource for anyone who is looking to engage with their neighbors and neighborhood on a deeper level. The authors share many personal stories of how they have lived this out and how it has transformed their communities. There is a discussion guide at the end of the book that would be perfect for small groups or just personal reflection. ( )

A lot to reflect on and think about in this book. The thesis is the question "who is my neighbor?" and what did Jesus mean when he called us to love our neighbors as ourselves. We do well loving neighbors across the country and around the world, but how do we do with the people next door? Perhaps when Jesus said love your neighbor as yourself, he meant the actual neighbor who lives next door. What would change if we, as Christians, took up the challenge to get to know, befriend, and love the people who lived right there on our blocks? Lots of fodder for sermons here as well as practical challenges for all of us to embrace. ( )