Love Outside the Lines
Beyond the Boundaries of Race, Difference, and Preference
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- $9.99
Publisher Description
Discover Jesus' goals of togetherness, oneness, and unity in an increasingly divided world. When you learn to confront the areas in your heart that might not love as Jesus loved, you can help build a flourishing, Christ-like culture.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus specifically bridged the gap with the ostracized, outcast, and overlooked. He told his followers to do the same. The gospel message is for everyone—and our mission as believers is to make disciples of Jesus, not duplicates of ourselves. This requires us to live and love beyond our preferences, to build relationships with those who are different from us, and to go beyond the boundaries of unspoken rules and invisible lines. It's time to break the strongholds of division that have been passed down from generation to generation.
In Love Outside the Lines, Jimmy Rollins will
expand the gospel message of Christ beyond the lines of cultural norms,show us how to follow in Jesus' footsteps by moving away from racial stereotypes and moving toward things that unite us,empower a culture of people willing to be part of the conversation on racial reconciliation,help us embrace the kingdom truth that we are better together than we are divided, andexemplify a life of dynamic diversity at church, work, and home.
Join Jimmy on a powerful journey to rediscover the discipleship of diversity that leads to unity. Together, we will confront our comfort-zone barriers—both known and unknown—and take a detour to pursue the kind of diverse relationships and honest dialog that build a flourishing Christ culture.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Rollins, the former pastor of i5 City Church in Maryland, debuts with a jejune call for readers to "love like Jesus loves, and explore the areas in our lives and in our hearts that may be roadblocks to racial reconciliation." Rollins discusses how Christian principles can enable readers to connect across differences, racial and otherwise, as when he illustrates the importance of reaching across the "invisible fences" that separate Black and white communities with the story of how Ananias's willingness to build bridges helped him convert Paul, despite Paul's virulent opposition to Christianity. Rollins's tendency to couch his suggestions in metaphors amuses but leads to hazy advice. For example, he describes how when he was nine, his basketball team overcame a formidable opponent through teamwork, and he asserts that Christians "have to play as a team on and off the court" without providing further guidance on how to do so. The optimistic message is well-intentioned, but readers looking for a rigorous take on how to confront racism in Christian churches will be let down by the bromides ("We must stop being afraid to break through barriers and form relationships with people who don't look like us"). This means well, but it doesn't add much to the conversation.
