Love Outside the Lines: Beyond the Boundaries of Race, Difference, and Preference

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. (Jan.)