2Embracing the Spiritual Lessons of Unbelonging

Too often, cultural belonging becomes a battle, and its winners gain the world: access, comfort, safety, community. Yet for those on the margins--set apart from their culture by differences such as ethnicity, class, ability, and faith--God offers something even greater.

The Gift of the Outsider celebrates the blessings found in unbelonging--and calls Christians of all backgrounds to love and listen to their community's outcasts. As a Christian, a Black American, a woman, and an expatriate, author Alicia J. Akins offers heartfelt reflections on her own experiences as an outsider. She illuminates how we can

• cherish the unique gifts that God bestows on those who endure loneliness and adversity
• encourage and humbly receive the invaluable insights outsiders of all kinds have to offer
• delight in how the differences within God's people reflect his majesty--and how Christ's reign unifies all believers

Compassionate and biblically grounded, The Gift of the Outsider enriches today's broader conversations surrounding diversity and inclusion, and is sure to encourage and challenge outsiders and insiders alike.