Overview

Step into a journey toward liberation, belonging, and a faith that makes you whole again. We need belonging to survive and thrive, but too often the church is an impediment. For Christians who know the pain, isolation, and loss of identity that comes with the ongoing struggle to be seen in churches and institutions full of barriers to belonging, you are not alone. Sometimes it can feel easier to walk away from faith completely. But there is another way. When it feels as though there's no place left to belong, Jesus invites us into a love that knows no bounds and a community that truly liberates. In this hope-filled book, author Rohadi Nagassar brings the margins to the center to help readers rediscover a reality of love, belonging, and beauty through the journey of deconstructing, decolonizing, and reclaiming faith. For those on the margins struggling to find belonging, for everyone who wants to join in building radically inclusive communities where all people can live fully in their own skin--now begins a journey to find this freedom.

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9781513810362

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Reviews

From deconstruction to atonement theory to institutionalization, Rohadi Nagassar pastorally and prophetically leads the reader through the systemic and systematic barriers of holistic belonging, which he knows intimately. With sights set on a reverberating ancient-yet-present hope, he shows us that true belonging can only come from inclusive belonging, where Christ-permeated radical mutuality of LGBTQIA people, BIPOC people, disabled people, and women can offer the prophetic imagination the church so glaringly needs today. I'm deeply grateful for this book, and hopeful for the church that listens. ----GENA RUOCCO THOMAS, speaker and author of Separated by the Border: A Birth Mother, a Foster Mother, and a Migrant Child's 3,000-Mile Journey When We Belong captures Jesus' core message of belonging. The gospel communicates the simple but powerful truth that those marginalized, pushed aside, and overlooked are no longer outsiders--rather, they are people worthy of being included in God's beloved community. This book not only reminds us of this truth but seeks to refuel those who have lost hope and faith along the way. If you have been tired and weary on your faith journey and are looking for words to remind you that belonging is the way forward, then Rohadi Nagassar's book is for you. ----TERENCE LESTER, founder of Love Beyond Walls and author of When We Stand: The Power of Seeking Justice Together and I See You: Opening Our Eyes to Invisible People When We Belong takes a sobering and spirited look at a way of being that simply ain't right. Leaning into the necessity and reality of deconstruction, this book confronts the diverging paths of resignation and liberation. The result is an image of a belonging that frees us all to be well. ----R. G. A. TREY FERGUSON III, founding president of RFX Ministries, director of equipping at Refuge Church Miami, and cohost of Three Black Men podcast Belonging is an open door that gives us a warm welcome. It allows us to enter without any hidden agendas or judgment. We are accepted as we are and loved unconditionally. When We Belong gives us a panoramic view on the importance of belonging in faith communities, which are often discriminatory, exclusive, and inequitable. ----REV. GRICEL MEDINA, OWS, pastor, speaker, church planter, and advocate In When We Belong, Rohadi Nagassar explores ideas connected to belonging, oppression, and freedom with beautiful writing, astute truth-telling, and ardent hope. This book will be a kind companion for Christians on the periphery of the church and a helpful guide for those who aren't. ----CHARLOTTE DONLON, spiritual director and author of The Great Belonging: How Loneliness Leads Us to Each Other In this book, Rohadi Nagassar lays out information about the barriers to belonging in the church. By deconstructing and reclaiming church history, Bible interpretation, and contextual spirituality, he argues that authentic belonging and flourishing can be achieved. ----ANGIE HONG, writer, worship leader, and cofounder of Kinship Commons Rohadi Nagassar has given the church a powerful gift. By sharing his own stories interlaced with stories from the community and Scripture, he invites us to reconsider belonging, liberation, and freedom together in ways that will lead to flourishing. As so many of us grapple with deconstruction, Nagassar has provided an embodied path of true belonging, not in spite of our questions, doubts, or discomforts with church, but because of them. ----SARAH BESSEY, New York Times bestselling author of A Rhythm of Prayer and Jesus Feminist Rohadi Nagassar is both fearless and gentle. You're either scared for your life or grateful for his (or both equally). Either way, his words invite you to legitimately examine your place, your truths, and your journey. When We Belong is just like him--fearless and gentle. The transformation available when you read it is liberating. So embrace the parts you want to run away from and enjoy the belonging in these pages. I did. And I'm better for it. ----CARLOS A. RODRIGUEZ, founder and CEO of The Happy Givers Rohadi Nagassar's When We Belong explores the idea of belonging in all its twenty-first-century complexity. It is a personal journey and does not attempt to offer an easy answer but casts a vision for belonging that does not lead to more division or to some new grand master plan. It is the story of a very human journey of belonging within the land where one finds oneself. ----REV. DR. RAY ALDRED, director of the Indigenous Studies Program at the Vancouver School of Theology Topics like deconstruction, reconstruction, and decolonization are heady and emotional for white Christians looking to dismantle white supremacy, and for BIPOC Christians looking to reclaim spiritual practices. Rohadi Nagassar's When We Belong surfaces difficult questions for those looking for belonging and challenges us to ask those questions of ourselves and our communities. ----BLAKE CHASTAIN, host of the Exvangelical and Powers & Principalities podcasts and writer of The Post-Evangelical Post newsletter

Author Information

Rohadi Nagassar is a writer, entrepreneur, non-profit developer, and pastor. He lives on Treaty 7 Land in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. He currently writes in the areas of anti-racist discipleship, diversity and inclusion, deconstruction, and decolonizing the church. He has previously contributed in the areas of church planting, missional thinking, and church revitalization. He is both a practitioner and thought leader, having planted two churches including an inner-city multiethnic expression called Cypher Church. You can find his articles on mission and decolonizing the church at Sojourners, V3, New Leaf Network, Mosaic Ministries, and more. His previous books include Soul Coats: Bible Themed Adult Coloring, Thrive. Ideas to Lead the Church in Post-Christendom, and #changethestory: A Short Resource on Dismantling Racism in the Church. Visit him at rohadi.com for more, including his podcast, ""Faith in a Fresh Vibe.""

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