INSIDER OUTSIDER, by Bryan Loritts

This book is part memoir and part reflections. It deals with the Christian community and race relations. The book is split into nine parts and over 38 chapters. The author, Bryan Loritts, begins his book with a Foreword. He uses John Ortberg to write this Foreword. Loritts ends his book with Acknowledgements and Notes, listing books that were used as information sources for his book. Bryan Loritts is the lead pastor of a Silicon Valley congregation. He has previously served as pastor to congregations in Memphis and Manhattan. He has written many books. He also serves as President to a nonprofit that focuses on cultivating a multi-ethnic Christian community in America.

I have found this book and fast and easy read. That, was, in a literary sense, it is. Emotionally is another matter. If it were not for my own life circumstances and for my TV viewing habits, I would find this book quite offensive. The author comes down fairly hard on white evangelicals, particularly the white evangelical church.And I can see his point. I have found my experience in the white evangelical church disconcerting and sometimes demoralizing or depressing. But, unlike the author, it was not because of my skin color. It was because of my class, political leanings, and other reasons. It is not race and ethnicity alone that contribute to feeling excluded or unwelcome or an outsider in the white evangelical church. The sad truth is, because the church is made up of imperfect people like us, there are divisions and there is segregation. But the author does a good job of proposing solutions that are practical if challenging. His biases come through in the book, but they are subtle and he seeks to be fair to "the other side."

I recommend this book for every serious, thoughtful Christian in the white evangelical church. I especially recommend it for pastors and other Christian leaders. But even secular thinkers who lean left might find this book interesting if they are open to God and things of the spirit.

I have received a complimentary copy of this book in exchange for my truthful review of this book. I was not required to give a favorable review of this book.