Insider Outsider: My Journey as a Stranger in White Evangelicalism and My Hope for Us All
Digital Verbum Edition
Overview
In Insider Outsider, Pastor Bryan Loritts offers an intimate look at what it's like to be a person of color in the American church today and how we can support each other in the quest for belonging.
God boldly proclaims throughout the book of Acts, "There is no ethnic home team when it comes to Christianity." But the minority experience in America today - and throughout history - too often tells a different story.
When Pastor Bryan Loritts wrote an op-ed piece in Christianity Today about this "evangelical gentrification" in the American church, he received an overwhelming response of more than one million views and sparked a provocative national conversation. In Insider Outsider, Loritts dives deeper into what it's like to be a person of color in predominantly white evangelical spaces today and where we go from here. Drawing on insightful snapshots through history, eye-opening personal experiences, and biblical exposition, Loritts awakens both our minds and hearts to the painful reality of racial divides as well as the hope of forgiveness.
As Loritts writes, "It is impossible to do theology devoid of cultural lenses and expressions. Like an American unaware of their own accent, most whites are unaware of the ethnic theological accent they carry." Insider Outsider bears witness to the true stories that often go untold - stories that will startle, enlighten, and herald a brighter way forward for all seeking belonging in the family of God.
This seminal book on race and the church will help Christians discover how they can learn the art of listening to stories unlike their own, identify the problems and pitfalls that keep Sunday morning the most segregated hour of the week, and participate in an active movement with God toward a holy vision of what Dietrich Bonhoeffer calls "life together."
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- "Distinguishes between white evangelicals and “white evangelicalism"
- Aims to challenge the "accent" of white evangelicalism
- Sheds light on the corners of our world, our churches, and our minds that are often unexamined and perhaps even unimagined
An Evangelical Eulogy
- Listen
- An Invitation to Life Together
Higher Learning
- School of Origins
- The Dark Side of Contextualization
- Bible School Initiation
- Crash Course
- Like Robin Hood
- "Saving the Black Church"
Minority Owned
- The Real Problem of Privilege
- Searching for Home
- Birthed Out of Rejection
- Whose Table Is It?
Multiethnic Sharecropping
- Twelve Years in Memphis
- The Problem of the Multiethnic Church
- A Culture of Honor
- Under the Surface
- Deeding the Land Back to Jesus
Kaepernicked
- Anatomy of a Church Split
- Begin with Orthodoxy, Conclude with Orthopraxy
- The Cost of Discipleship
Scouting Jackie
- Black Preachers Adrift
- Never Saw It Coming
- The Next Bryan Loritts
- The Price Tag of Diversity
- Let's Just Say It Didn't Go Well
- The Inescapable Network of Mutuality
Trumped
- Real Talk About Politics and Power
- Squaring with the History of How We Got Here
- Is This an "Us" Space?
- A Jesus Who Can Sympathize
"Gay" and Other Labels
- Let's Do Better Than "Love the Sinner, Hate the Sin"
- Friendship Beyond Tribal Lines
- Writing in the Sand
- Annual Women's Tea
A Love Supreme
- A New Mission
- To Be Like God
- Fifteen Shekels and Barley
- Raising the Bar on Tolerance
- A Hopeful Eulogy: Practical Steps to Realizing the Desired Kingdom
Top Highlights
“This book aims to challenge the accent of white evangelicalism, not the language she speaks.” (Page 24)
“Therefore, we need to include people who look like us to disciple us.” (Page 52)
“White evangelicalism has not only brought its perspective, but it has historically done so from a position of religious, cultural, and political power. Left unchecked, this power has morphed into ugly periods of oppression and tyranny.” (Pages 22–23)
“When people of color are not mentioned in substantive ways in white spaces, we’re just not on your heart, and if we’re not on your heart, you are telling us we don’t really matter.” (Page 41)
“There has always been an imperialistic air to white evangelicalism, to the point where if she cannot take over and be in charge, she won’t come to the table.” (Page 152)
Insider Outsider is a smart, candid, and transparent reflection on the state of modern white evangelicalism in America. Bryan Loritts implores us to see and embrace the fullness and simplicity of the good news and to be brave enough to reject any counterfeits in the process.
Dr. Korie Edwards, associate professor of sociology at The Ohio State University and author of The Elusive Dream
The first time Bryan Loritts preached at our church, my eight-year-old daughter said, “Dad, you should preach more like that guy.” Bryan has an ability to communicate truth with a poignancy that challenges the seasoned believer and an accessibility that engages the eight-year-old. Insider Outsider is filled with provocative questions that at times made me squirm but need to be asked. We in the white evangelical community need to understand what is in the hearts of our brothers and sisters of color, and Bryan helps us see them from his unique vantage points. He serves up strong medicine on a bed of humor and personal illustration and with a blanket of genuine pastoral warmth. Prepare to be challenged, enlightened, and encouraged.
J.D. Greear, PHD, pastor of The Summit Church, Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, and president of the Southern Baptist Convention
If ever there was a time for this book, it is now. Bryan Loritts’s voice in this critical conversation is informed, winsome, and challenging. Reading this with an open mind, a humble heart, and an intentional spirit truly may move us toward God’s kingdom on earth
Nancy Ortberg, CEO of Transforming the Bay with Christ