Becoming Neighbors: The Common Good Made Local

by Amar D. Peterman, James K. A. Smith (Foreword)

The work of cultivating the common good starts in your own neighborhood.



In
Becoming Neighbors, Amar D. Peterman explores how the common good can be cultivated through the practice of neighbor love. And he encourages Christians to join their neighbors at what he calls "the shared table"—a space where communities gather across differences to work towards the flourishing of the whole.


Within every neighborhood, people have daily opportunities to show up for each other and share the best of their traditions, cultures, and beliefs. But too often, Christians keep to themselves—and when they do show up, many spend more time talking than listening. Peterman encourages Christians to adopt a different to sit side by side with their neighbors at the community table, share a meal, engage in mutual listening and learning, and actively commit to each other's flourishing.


Peterman illuminates the faith-based insights that Christians can bring to the table, such as the biblical call to love others, to seek goodness, and to build communities of belonging. And he offerstangible practices of neighbor love—including compassion, resonance, lamentation, and accompaniment—that translate across diverse populations. Peterman also demonstrates how Christ's example as prophet, priest, and king serves as a guide for how Christians might live faithfully in their communities today.


At the heart of this book is a simple but critical
How will we live? Amid our differences and disagreements, through the strife and terror of our world, through the reality of death and the hope of resurrection, the answer for Christians is
We live as neighbors.

Genres: Nonfiction, Faith

144 pages, Paperback

Published March 12, 2026

About the author

Amar D. Peterman is an author and scholar working at the intersection of faith and public life. He holds an M.Div. from Princeton Seminary, where he studied American religious history and public theology, and is a PhD student at the University of Chicago Divinity School. Amar is also the founder of the Good Road Network, a national community of Christian leaders, and of Scholarship for Religion and Society LLC, a research and consulting firm working with some of the leading philanthropic and civic institutions, religious organizations, and faith leaders in America today. His first book, "Becoming Neighbors: The Common Good Made Local," was published with Eerdmans Publishing Company in March 2026.

Reviews

[Amar Peterman]

Hey, this was pretty good.

[Dave Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

A small book that packs a powerful punch. My advice? Buy it and (or so that you can) highlight it as you go. It's the sort of book that you can return to again and again as you engage the ever changing context of "making local" the common good in your life and the world you inhabit.

The foreward by James K.A. Smith outlines what this book is intended to do- call us to "climb out of our various entrenched postions" so that we might instead "come sit together at a table where we can learn to be neighbors again." An act that Smith describes as beginning in wonder and is sustained through communion. A place where "difference is no longer experienced as a threat but as a gift," and where learning to become neighbours becomes an active "expression of hope." It finds it's freedom "when we recognize the "I" that is "We" and the "We thaty is I."

A key and important facet of this however is equally to say, these differences do not do away with the relevance of the particulars. Smith addresses this in the foreward as a key facet of the book's interests:
"Why does our good God come to us enfleshed? Why does God humble Godself to the form of creation? Why does God dive into the waves of cause and effect set in motion by God's very breath? Why does God desire a body that can be broken and bruised and demands nourishment and rest? Why does God chose to break bread and heal the sick with calloused hands? The answer is simple and profoundly beautiful: to give it all away."

In other words, this is a book written specifically to the particulars of the Christian concerning how it is that the Christian story speaks into a world of difference. it is, as the book opens up, a question of the particular Christian imagination, asking us to "imagine a world where we (as Christians) become neighbour's to one another." This notion intersects with a world in which our lives reflect not just theolgoical differences, but religious differences. Further, this is not just contained to the relationship between different persons, each of us is, as the author puts it, "an endless galaxy of beliefs and experiences, joys and sorrows, fears and comforts." Part of the inference here of engaging this whole discussion of becoming neighbours is that regardless of the particulars of ones theological and religious (or non-religious) framework, we all have and hold to a worldview. A story that we are bound to and which defines how we live. And any story, every story, has to attend for this world of difference. That includes Christianity. To hold to the Christian story as true and formative means that it must in it's own way make sense of all the world's stories. The uncomfortable and challenging question to this end is, how does it do this and what does it demand of us as Christians? Here Peterman desires to keep this central picture in full view- the existance of a table where all of these differences are situated. Apart from that picture, there is no way to enter the conversation.

Further, Peterman states that "at the heart of this work is a simple but critical question: How will we live?" To answer that question brings us to the inference of the title- the "localization" of this discussion of neighbour. The way we function in relationship to our physical communities is intimately connected to the way we see the world at large. You cannot detach these two things from one another.

Another key facet of Peterman's thesis emerges at the start here too- the question of shared desire. Here he emphasizes that it's not about shared belief, as though the aim is to reach some extant set of propositions that shape and close off the boundaries of our communities, but about transformation- the creation of communities formed by a table that can accomodate the presence of our differences. And that transformation comes through our ability to recognize the ways in which our stories begin with the goodness of God's creation or not. In this sense, we are never far from that discussion about the ways our stories shape our becomming according to that imagination. It is that imagination that gets at the core and the root of that desire. In a powerful refrain, Peterman calls out the tendencies of our "us versus them" postures to hinge everything on the anticipated end of the world we use the table to shut out and punt to the side, and instead pushes the question, "What will be to each other if the world doesn't end?" As he writes,

"In a world marked by violence, opposition, division, and hatred, God is calling us to meet our neighbour in the thin spaces of goodness, and love amid a world that is not as it should be."

In other words, to "love even when it doesn't make sense, to share even when we lack, to listen even when we disagree, to dream even when we despair, and to seek the good of our neighbour even when they might not do the same for us." What opens up in this act of love is that we "belong" to God and therefore to one another purely on the basis of sharing in that creation.

The table imagery looms large here throughout the book, using this potrait of the liturgy of communion to help us imagine the lived spaces of our lives. How it is that we come to this space in the first place. How it is that we co-exist in this space. Can we, dare we, imagine our differences as gifts rather than inhibitors to our communion. If God is true, if the particular Christian story is true, it finds each of us on the way, moving in a direction towards or away the particulars of that story. It is on the way that it gets fleshed out, that we grow and are formed and challenged and encouraged in wisdom. This is what it is to encounter this truth- is to encounter the difficult spaces of our differences and trust that the story is powerful enough to make sense of this reality. What exchanges this encounter for confusion, a confusion that is inevitably marked by division and conflict and closed tables, is a failure to trust that it is, which is fundamentally tied to the absence of that desired end- transformation. Dig deeper and usually what we find is a fundamental posture that sees the very thing that needs transformation (a creation enslaved to Sin and Death) as good. As the author writes,
"To enjoy something is to love something- like God and our neighbours- for its own sake. To use something is to care about that thing becuase it brings us closer to what we enjioy... What keeps Christians from the table is that we get this wrong: we enjoy the things we should use, and we use the things we should enjoy."

It should be said again here- there is no way to read this book and walk away with the idea that the story itself, meaning the particulars of the Gospel, does not matter. Quite the contrary- the story matters above all. This is not an appeal to a table in which differences coexist as equal claims to what is true. It is, rather, an invitation to trust enough to say, truth exists and so do these differences. Therefore the story we tell shapes the way we imagine the table. The question about neighbours is simply one that asks, are we free to love and to desire the transformation of that which we see as good within the story we are telling. That's the conversation the table evokes. To sit at the table is to inhabit a story that either shuts that world of difference out or welcomes it in so as to be (and to expect) transformation. Here is the true kicker in all of that- that means the tranformation of our own lives as well.

[Graydon Jones · Rating 5 out of 5]

A beautiful, compelling call for a Christianity that “prepares tables” for the good of all. I loved it!

“The transformative work of neighbor love shifts our desire from controlling a chaotic world to living as neighbors in a world we can’t control.” p. 86

[Pete · Rating 4 out of 5]

One time Jesus was asked how to inherit eternal life, Jesus replied by listing a double commandment: to love God and neighbor. Looking for a loophole, his interlocutor asked for clarity: “Who is my neighbor?” In response, Jesus told one of the most famous parables. Rather than limit who is my neighbor, Jesus tells us that we need to become neighbors to others. Love sees the stranger as a neighbor.

Amar Peterman joins a conversation on the church’s posture toward the world, found in books like James Davidson Hunter’s To Change the World, David Fitch’s Faithful Presence, and Stephen O. Presley’s Cultural Sanctification. Becoming Neighbors, a slim volume under 90 pages, provides a rich theological overview of neighborliness. It is more similar to the theological reflections in Shannan Martin’s Start With Hello than the practical strategies in Jay Pathak and Dave Runyon’s The Art of Neighboring.

We often fear the “end of the world,” so we “go to great lengths to ensure that we are on the ‘winning’ side” of history.” Quoting a song by Jensen McRae, Peterman instead asks, “What will we be to each other if the world doesn’t end?” How do we not merely “get along with” each other, but instead build strong community?

Peterman advocates for a posture toward the world that seeks the common good by loving our actual neighbors. Peterman brings his education in public theology and his experience with Interfaith America to bear. (Eboo Patel, the founder and president of Interfaith America, is one of the book’s endorsers.) Like Jesus, Peterman focuses on how we can become neighbors, rather than waiting for others to be neighborly to us.

Chapter 1 explores the image of the table, which has been so important to the Church. We gather around a table to share food and time with others. With a Christian imagination, Peterman explores how the generous invitation of Jesus extends the Eucharist table outward into our communities. Rather than a veneer of politically correct “diversity” in a pluralistic world, he advocates for loving our actual neighbors, with a focus on the local and particular—as he highlights in the book’s subtitle. “Without this, the common good is reduced to whatever is good for the greatest number of people.” The common good isn’t about an “average human,” but the actual human right in front of me.

In the second chapter, Peterman responds to a typical objection Christians may have to the common good: “Christians often veer far from the table because they fear gathering in this way might require them to compromise their beliefs.” He clarifies that a potluck is not a melting pot or blender creating a “homogeneous muck,” but a place where unique dishes are enjoyed together. In fact, he says that the flavor of each food is nuanced and enhanced by the taste of the bites we take of other dishes.

Because of this, we do not need to be ashamed to share our “dish” with our neighbors. He reminds Christians that we have unique dishes to offer: love, goodness, and community. Love is a posture of other-centeredness seen in Jesus. “God’s goodness is revealed in both what is shared and the very act of sharing.” The Trinity is the foundation of true community.

Next, the third chapter lists six practices of neighbor love: compassion, humility, translation, resonance, lamentation, and accompaniment. Each of these builds toward a vision of a certain posture toward the world. These practices form us into neighborly people. Because of the incarnation of Jesus, we can live incarnationally, embedded in the lives of our neighbors. He draws on a wide variety of sources for these practices, including James K.A. Smith and Asma Uddin to explore translation, Hartmut Rosa via Norman Wirzba for resonance, and Paul Farmer for accompaniment. Viewing these practices together, we see a posture of being other-focused and a willingness to sacrifice—the way of Jesus that Paul calls Christians to follow in Philippians 2 and elsewhere.

Chapter 4 is all about building community, since we were created in the image of a building and creating God. I found it interesting that Peterman focused on the building metaphor rather than a growing metaphor. (At the end of the book, he does refer to gardening and kintsugi metaphors to highlight hope, but the building metaphor is more extensive here.) Both building and gardening take a long time, but building highlights the human agency in the equation. It also shows that we can work together to build, how it takes many people in multiple roles.

Peterman uses the categories of prophet/priest/king to explore building community. Prophets cast the vision and clear the rubble. Next, priests are the architects who help us realize that this space is sacred space. “If prophets salvage and resource the material, priests take inventory of what is gathered and sketch out how this new home will be laid out.” Lastly, “[k]ings use whatever agency they possess to seek the good of their community.”

In the final chapter, Peterman pulls these strings together with hopeful imagination. He summarizes his argument for genuine care and neighborliness rooted in distinctly Christian impulses. This is where he most clearly refers to Jesus’s command to love God and neighbor, along with a reminder to be like the Samaritan neighbor from the parable. “I believe that the good life we all seek is found in loving and enjoying God and neighbor.”

Right at the end of the book, Peterman draws on John Inazu and Megan Johnson, two colleagues at Interfaith America, to summarize this posture of love. “The transformative work of neighbor love shifts our desire from ‘controlling’ a chaotic world to ‘living as neighbors’ in a world we can’t control.” This idea sparked a lot of my own thoughts about how to live faithfully in a world of technique (as Jacques Ellul and others have pointed out).

I especially appreciated that Peterman cited a mix of authors I am not familiar with along with those I know. From Christian Wiman to Rubem A. Alves, from Augustine to Andrew DeCort to Willie James Jennings, from Søren Kierkegaard to Christine Pohl to Charles Taylor. The first few chapters heavily relied on Kevin W. Hector’s Christianity as a Way of Life. For such a short book, it includes a rich bibliography.

There’s a lot more this book could have been. It could have included more inspiring stories from Peterman’s work with Interfaith America. It could have given more practical next steps. It could have gotten into the weeds on hot-button issues.

But instead, what this book did really well in such a few pages is to give a framework and ignite our imaginations. Now we can continue the conversation in our local contexts. We can become neighbors by loving our actual neighbors and seeking their common good. That sounds a lot like what Jesus said.

**received early access via NetGalley from the publisher**

[Paul Derrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ever since Jesus said that the second-greatest commandment was to love your neighbor as yourself (Matthew 22:39), countless generations of people have wondered about, and sometimes struggled with, questions such as, "But exactly who is my neighbor?" and "What does it mean to love them as I love myself?"

In this very approachable and easy-to-read book, Amar Peterman looks at those questions, along with many other related ones, through a lens polished not only by the wisdom and teachings of some pretty wise and faithful people from across two millennia, but also from practical experience and common sense drawn from modern life in the 21st century. Many, if not most, of the questions and issues Amar addresses don't have a particular one-size-fits-all answer and, thankfully, he does not try to force square pegs into round holes. Instead, he thoughtfully offers practical and theologically strong ideas about how Christians, who often can be reluctant to engage with people of other faiths, can set aside their reluctance in favor of becoming the kind of neighbors that Jesus calls us to be.

A particularly refreshing aspect of this book is that Amar does not approach the idea of "becoming neighbors" with the narrow focus of how to best evangelize and convert those who are not Christians. Indeed, he emphasizes that being a neighbor has to begin with creating a local sense of community in which everyone is viewed (and treated) as worthy and equal, not only because of their status as having been created in God's image but also because of the unique attributes, cultural and otherwise, that each brings to the table. Everything else is built on that foundation. (And anyone who has spent time talking about Christian faith with unbelievers can attest that how well the gospel message is received often has as much to do with the development of a friendly and neighborly rapport as with anything else. Remember, "they'll know we are Christians by our love.")

I wholeheartedly recommend this book to everyone and especially to those who truly want to follow Jesus' command to love their neighbor but are not sure exactly how to go about doing that. As Amar notes, "[T]he more we attend to the needs of our community, the more attuned we will be to God's purposes and actions in the world." Loving our neighbors begins locally, and this book gives an excellent framework for thinking about and doing precisely that.

[Review of advance copy received from Publisher]

[Brent Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Practice, practice, practice. This is a book on love, but instead of asking what love is and drowning in definitions and intensely narrow exegesis of biblical passages, Peterman begins with love of neighbor as community, relationship, and desiring the good for every person in one’s context that is “more caught than taught. Peterman’s main metaphor for love in local spaces of potluck/table envisions inviting people from diverse backgrounds and creating space for everyone to contribute their unique “dish/flavors” to the festivities in a collective endeavor to love and the good of others without mashing those unique flavors into a boring, flavorless paste. The local church and follower of Christ are shaped through relentless practice of inviting those from the community to our tables and accepting hospitality from others in the community. Practice of shared and received hospitality shapes the loves/desires of the local church into the likeness of the crucified and risen Christ. Followers of Jesus become better listeners, better neighbors, and better bearers of the good news as we practice the hospitality Peterman puts forth on this book. He closes with a vision of neighbor love and desiring the good of the community through the local congregation that is made up those who occupy the three-fold office of Christ as Prophet, Priest, and King. Prophets identify and speak to the failures of those in power to care for the poor and marginalized in the community. Priests who make mediate the presence of God wherever they are located and for whomever is presence. Kings use their power and influence in their contexts to affect and bring about the good/change for those on who need it most.

[Robert D. Cornwall · Rating 4 out of 5]

According to Scripture, we are called to love our neighbors as we love ourselves. According to Jesus, it is one of the two great commandments. So what does it mean to be a neighbor? What might it involve? Jesus offered the parable of the Samaritan who stopped to care for the man who had been left for dead in a ditch when two religious leaders passed him by. Being a good neighbor then involves something more than waving and saying hello. In fact, the identity of the neighbor likely needs to be expanded beyond those close at hand. Nevertheless, caring for one's neighbor can start close to home as we pursue the common good.

Amar D. Peterman offers us a look at what being a neighbor might involve in his book "Becoming Neighbors: The Common Good Made Local." Peterman is the former assistant director of civic networks at Interfaith America and currently leads "Scholarship for Religion and Society. He holds an MDiv from Princeton Seminary and is a PhD student at the University of Chicago Divinity School. This book is in many ways an expression of his work at Interfaith America.

Becoming Neighbors might be brief in pages, but it is deep in purpose. That is because he writes at a time when we are witnessing a backlash against DEI efforts, and questions are raised about the nature of true American identity. The Vice President suggests it's not about holding to American values, but heritage. By heritage, he means, it seems, European Christian descent. Everyone else apparently is a second-class citizen. Amar Peterson, who is himself of South Asian descent, offers us a very different picture. He borrows the image of the United States as a "potluck nation" from his former boss at Interfaith America, Eboo Patel. In this book, Peterman wants to focus on local expressions of neighborliness, such that the conversation doesn't become too abstract.

In his introduction, Peterman reminds us that pursuing the common good "is a deeply local task." As such, he writes that "seeking the common good through this local practice of neighbor love is messy and complicated work" (p. 3). But, "our shared flourishing is impossible unless we enter into a common life where we are formed by and toward one another." In line with the image of the United States being a "potluck nation" where we all bring our diverse dishes to the table, the idea of coming to the table is a thread that Peterman weaves throughout the book. He comes to the table as a committed Christian who recognizes that others come to the table with different belief systems. However, as we come to the table on equal terms, we put ourselves in a position to work together for the common good.

Appropriately, the first chapter is titled "Coming to the Table." He begins by describing the table, noting that it is a "tangible and salient image of the common good." That is because tables serve a variety of functions in the community, ranging from a place to eat together to a place to stack books at the local library. It also represents for us the practice of "intentional hospitality." I appreciate the way he brings Jesus' table practices into the conversation (see my book Eating with Jesus: Reflections on Divine Encounters at the Open Eucharistic Table). Unfortunately, as he points out, Christians have failed to live up to the potential of the table. So, we have work to do. That starts with desiring the table, wanting to be present at the table. From there, we can join together at the table, not by dominating but by sharing with others in being formed by love of neighbor.

With the image of the table developed for us, we can move forward with the conversation. Chapter 2 is titled "Joining God in the Neighborhood." He begins by noting his fears about coming to the table with persons outside his faith community, fears that he might be leaving God behind. What he discovered was that God was already at the table. As such, we are invited to bring our distinctive beliefs to the conversation. To do this, we must begin with the understanding that God is love and that we are called to love God and one another. It also involves a call to goodness, which is because God is good. This is not just a matter of an attribute of God but God's essence. We know this because what God does is good. It also involves a call to the community. As Christians, Peterman suggests this reflects the doctrine of the Trinity. Thus, "as creatures made in the image of God, humans reflect this desire to belong and be known by others. We are made to exist in community." (p. 37). Thus, we return to the potluck, to our diversity at the table.

Chapter 3 speaks of "The Practices of Neighbor Love." This is, after all, a practical book that focuses on living out neighbor love. So, this is an important chapter. The practices Peterman lifts up starts with compassion, which he sees revealed in the parable of the Good Samaritan. He sees in this parable three implications. The first is the parable's revealing of our call to radical compassion, such that we actually get involved. Secondly, we see that neighbor love is fused with enemy love (remember who the Samaritan is). Finally, we see that the command to love our neighbor involves loving the stranger. These are difficult callings, but this is the call nonetheless. The second practice is humility. Then he speaks of translation, which involves making "ideas and concepts understandable across communities."Another practice is "resonance," which involves making sure we are in tune with one another as we gather at the table in pursuit of the common good. It might be a bit of a surprise, but neighbor love also involves lamentation and finally accompaniment. As we accompany others, we discover the presence of God.

In chapter 4, Peterman brings into the conversation a new metaphor, and that is a call to become "A Community of Builders." He suggests we are called to be builders because God is a builder. What he has in mind here is one of creating beautiful things. He brings into the conversation the three offices of Jesus, that of prophet, priest, and king. He develops each of these images for us, such that we might emulate Jesus in our own lives. Having developed the three offices, he turns to the idea of "buildings and builders." We are called to build because God is a builder, staring with building community. This involves faithful presence.

The final chapter simply reminds us that "We Live as Neighbors" (ch. 5). Here Peterman introduces another image, that being one of gardener. The glue that holds us together is, he suggests, having a "resurrected imagination. Gardners understand the reality of death and resurrection, for plants "die" and then return to life under the careful guidance of the gardener. Ultimately, to live with this resurrected imagination is to "begin to live for the sake of others father than for our own gain. We are drawn to the table because God and our neighbor are there." When we do this we put ourselves in a position to flourish.

This is a brief book, less than 100 pages in length, but it is packed with images and ideas that can assist us in pushing back on this anti-neighbor perspective that seems to be taking hold of our communities. Rather than limiting access to the table, Peterman suggests we need to be welcoming of all who would come to the table, bringing their own beliefs and identities so that we might enjoy the potluck that is the common good.

[Stasi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Peterman offers a strong theological argument for coming to the table with neighbors of different backgrounds, primarily speaking to Christians who might hesitate to engage in interfaith dialogue. In some conservative Christian circles, approaching the table with those from other religions is seen as suspect, only an opportunity to witness/convert, or even outright sinful. Peterman builds a biblical case for the practice that should satisfy most hesitant would-be dialoguers. He also explains why it is important for Christians to come to dialogue humbly and with open minds, through theological, practical, and moral arguments. Using a wide variety of metaphors (potluck, music, gardening) that will resonate with various audiences, he offers gentle advice for postures to approach circles of difference, as well as helpful correctives to the colonizer mindset that may be our American Christian cultural default.

I recommend this book to Christians who are curious about their neighbors who believe differently, but aren't quite sure how to approach them to engage in meaningful dialogue. I also recommend it to pastors who want to help their congregations be better neighbors and more positive forces for the reputation of Christianity in our diverse American public square.

[John West · Rating 5 out of 5]

Easter is both completely bizarre and totally quotidian. A divine son dies gruesomely, only to emerge from the tomb to pass along a radical message. I look out my window at the green blades of grass rising, the pink buds announcing themselves: resurrection blooms everywhere your eyes land.

I read BECOMING NEIGHBORS the day after Easter. Peterman writes about the “resurrected imagination” at the center of Easter. “If we live our lives constantly up at the sky awaiting his return,” he writes, “we will miss the active work of the Holy Spirit in the world today.”

I missed Easter this year. But I’m glad I caught this book, which reminded me that imagination, like the flowers in my ill-tended garden, can bloom again.

[Eric Rubio · Rating 5 out of 5]

Drawing from the full breadth of Scripture, as well as the wisdom of theologians and other thought leaders from across the centuries, Amar offers a compelling vision of how to "live as neighbors," and not in a shallow "let's all just get along" but rather in a way that works toward the flourishing of the people right around us. Everyone who reads this book will come away with ideas for how to be a better neighbor in their communities.

[Annah]

[Unrated because I know the author.]

Peterman's debut book argues that the Christian faith demands deep and tangible commitment to neighbor. As a public theologian and interfaith worker, he writes compellingly about practical ways to love across difference and for the sake of the common good. Chock full of my favorite theologians, this was a particular pleasure to read.

[Jason Albertson · Rating 3 out of 5]

Good as far as it goes, but stays pretty zoomed out, mostly metaphorical. I feel like I'm reading Amar Peterman 40 years too early in his career.