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When We Belong: Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins
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.
- GenresChristian
200 pages, Kindle Edition
Published June 14, 2022
7 people are currently reading
136 people want to read
About the author
Rohadi Nagassar
5 books27 followersStep into a journey toward liberation, belonging, and a faith that makes you whole again. "When We Belong: Reclaiming Christianity on the Margins." This book will offer pathways to belonging, deconstructing faith, and decolonizing life. Now available (2022).
Check out, "#changethestory. A Short Anti-Racism Resource for the Church", "Thrive. Ideas to lead the church in post-Christendom." and "Soul Coats: Restoration. Adult Coloring Book Adventure"
Co-pastor of online community called A Beautiful Table.
Blogger on issues of deconstructing and decolonizing Christianity.
Entrepreneur and non-profit developer.
Check out, "#changethestory. A Short Anti-Racism Resource for the Church", "Thrive. Ideas to lead the church in post-Christendom." and "Soul Coats: Restoration. Adult Coloring Book Adventure"
Co-pastor of online community called A Beautiful Table.
Blogger on issues of deconstructing and decolonizing Christianity.
Entrepreneur and non-profit developer.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
July 2, 2024
LET"S GO!
May 15, 2022
Special thanks to NetGalley for an advanced reader's copy of Rohadi's When We Belong. This work is complex, but necessary. Rohadi's experience in the faith world and position culturally created a perfect avenue for him to develop this loving but insistent work for the church. The church is ready for a cultural and internal shift, and Rohadi's work will become bedrock to identify "what ain't right" and what can lead us unified into an embodied ethic of justice and inclusion. This book is beautifully structured, passionate, and worth reading.
December 7, 2022
When We Belong is a story about Christianity on the margins. Not on the margins of faith or of faithfulness, or on the margins of God’s love or grace, but a Christianity on the margins of…well…Christianity™. You know, the culturally empowered Western Christianity that is overwhelmingly White, middle-class, and conservative. Before When We Belong, I would have called it American Evangelicalism, but author Rohadi Nagassar writes from a Canadian perspective, so maybe it’s more like a White Evangelicalism. In any case, Nagassar’s goal is to focus on the faithfulness of this culturally marginalized group in all its forms and show that being on the margins of “organized religion” just may place one closer within the will of God.
Nagassar writes from a personal and practical perspective. He’s a church planter with a non-traditional church. He leads a diverse church congregation that meets once a month for group church service, but one meets together and lives and works together continually throughout life. Nagassar is also Asian and Indian-American, living in a predominantly White area (on land historically belonging to Canadian Indigenous peoples).
One of the highlights of When We Belong for me was his discussion about making a home on the margins rather than seeking a belonging that looks more like assimilation. In the chapter “The Problems of Belonging,” Nagassar says that belonging can happen in five different ways: assimilation, join an ethic church, build diversity, leave, or—his preference—create something new. I am White, but served in an ethnically Chinese church for many years. Through that experience, I saw the need for ethnic churches and how most churches that said they wanted to be multi-cultural really just wanted some browner faces in the congregation (not in places of power). Nagassar highlights the problem of assimilation—the fact that everyone is expected to conform to White cultural expressions of faith. But then he also points out the problems with ethnically segregated churches. For Nagassar, it’s not even enough to build diversity. Instead, When We Belong invites us to rethink what church means for us.
Nagassar envisions belonging as something happening in a church environment that is built out of community and shared togetherness. There is little positional hierarchy and it’s the gathering together as humans to engage as a group in social and creative acts that serve as the community’s core. When We Belong offers a radical new way of thinking about church—something increasingly necessary as we look at where the “traditional” church has gotten us.
Nagassar writes from a personal and practical perspective. He’s a church planter with a non-traditional church. He leads a diverse church congregation that meets once a month for group church service, but one meets together and lives and works together continually throughout life. Nagassar is also Asian and Indian-American, living in a predominantly White area (on land historically belonging to Canadian Indigenous peoples).
One of the highlights of When We Belong for me was his discussion about making a home on the margins rather than seeking a belonging that looks more like assimilation. In the chapter “The Problems of Belonging,” Nagassar says that belonging can happen in five different ways: assimilation, join an ethic church, build diversity, leave, or—his preference—create something new. I am White, but served in an ethnically Chinese church for many years. Through that experience, I saw the need for ethnic churches and how most churches that said they wanted to be multi-cultural really just wanted some browner faces in the congregation (not in places of power). Nagassar highlights the problem of assimilation—the fact that everyone is expected to conform to White cultural expressions of faith. But then he also points out the problems with ethnically segregated churches. For Nagassar, it’s not even enough to build diversity. Instead, When We Belong invites us to rethink what church means for us.
Nagassar envisions belonging as something happening in a church environment that is built out of community and shared togetherness. There is little positional hierarchy and it’s the gathering together as humans to engage as a group in social and creative acts that serve as the community’s core. When We Belong offers a radical new way of thinking about church—something increasingly necessary as we look at where the “traditional” church has gotten us.
August 8, 2022
Really great read. Appreciated the way complicated concepts were broken down, and as a POC, I felt seen. Really enjoyed the creative ideas in the last chapter.
June 21, 2022
I am writing this review also as an endorser. So my endorsement follows: From deconstruction to atonement theory to institutionalization, Rohadi pastorally and prophetically leads the reader through the systemic & 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, BIPOC, disabled, 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.
May 30, 2022
I highly recommend this book for anyone disillusioned by the church—particularly as it pertains to white supremacy—and isn’t done with Jesus. Rohadi brings his own expertise in church planting, as well as his experience in deconstruction and decolonization, to help move the Western church beyond the confines of colonial Christianity into something new and beautiful: new creation. He helps us imagine a truly Christlike vision for the future of the church, pointing to Jesus’ preferential option for the poor and oppressed. This book is a game changer and I’m convinced Rohadi is tapping into the leading edge of something huge—something that many followers of Jesus are desperate for.
December 1, 2022
Such a needed book for Ekklesia in so-called N.America. Rohadi brings his personal experiences and knowledge as a mixed-race person growing up in the western evangelical world... helping us to reimagine what Ekklesia and Koinonia can look like. This timely book is written with the experience of the pandemic, and the rise of various anti-racism protests/movements in the forefront.
As a woman of color (Asian), the time during the pandemic has awakened me to my own internalized racism and realizing how deep some of the racist attitudes are embedded within western society, towards someone like myself. Before I used to deny it or think that micro-aggressions are not a big deal.
Also really appreciate Chapter 8 where Rohadi talks about the limits of English translations of the Bible, and how that affects the lens in how we interpret today. Much of it through the lens of white men.
I can certainly relate to this book a lot and really thankful for Rohadi's voice and boldness in sharing his journey/experiences. I think all evangelical pastors in so-called Canada should read this book!
As a woman of color (Asian), the time during the pandemic has awakened me to my own internalized racism and realizing how deep some of the racist attitudes are embedded within western society, towards someone like myself. Before I used to deny it or think that micro-aggressions are not a big deal.
Also really appreciate Chapter 8 where Rohadi talks about the limits of English translations of the Bible, and how that affects the lens in how we interpret today. Much of it through the lens of white men.
I can certainly relate to this book a lot and really thankful for Rohadi's voice and boldness in sharing his journey/experiences. I think all evangelical pastors in so-called Canada should read this book!
July 9, 2024
Great read, and I will definitely be using some sections for my senior religion class. Awesome takes on “Christ consciousness” rather than “a biblical view”, for the author states that any biblical truth must be filtered through interpretation.
June 14, 2022
“Deconstruction is a pathway that may liberate us from all that seeks to make us less whole. …deconstruction involves the work to reclaim what gives life; discard what does not; and create beautiful tales.”
This is a must-read for those who are deconstructing! Rohadi weaves thought-provoking, challenging truths about Christianity and the ways it has been malformed by whiteness while pointing to a better way back to Jesus. He shares from his experience as a multiethnic Canadian pastor who has worked to expose and discard the parts of cultural Christianity that don’t align with the Gospel message of belonging and liberation in Jesus, and move forward in the pursuit of truth and wholistic healing. He describes the barriers to belonging, the need to name the powers that create those barriers, and how to reclaim Christianity on the margins in the pursuit of abundance and flourishing for all.
Rohadi shares a vital perspective that is often missing from conversations among white folks in the deconstruction world. As he says in the book, “If you’re not dealing with white supremacy, are you even deconstructing?” His approach is wholistic and embodied, and his discussion of the topic is robust, including relevant church history and lived experience. I appreciate how he confronts the problems we need to face while envisioning a way forward. I finished the book feeling hopeful and inspired!
This is a must-read for those who are deconstructing! Rohadi weaves thought-provoking, challenging truths about Christianity and the ways it has been malformed by whiteness while pointing to a better way back to Jesus. He shares from his experience as a multiethnic Canadian pastor who has worked to expose and discard the parts of cultural Christianity that don’t align with the Gospel message of belonging and liberation in Jesus, and move forward in the pursuit of truth and wholistic healing. He describes the barriers to belonging, the need to name the powers that create those barriers, and how to reclaim Christianity on the margins in the pursuit of abundance and flourishing for all.
Rohadi shares a vital perspective that is often missing from conversations among white folks in the deconstruction world. As he says in the book, “If you’re not dealing with white supremacy, are you even deconstructing?” His approach is wholistic and embodied, and his discussion of the topic is robust, including relevant church history and lived experience. I appreciate how he confronts the problems we need to face while envisioning a way forward. I finished the book feeling hopeful and inspired!
March 29, 2023
about 2/3 of the way through. he's an incredible author, and one of the few xtian non-fiction books i've read where he just starts with the topic, instead of endless intro chapters telling you what the topic will be. (maybe this is an american thing too, who knows. i hate filler and there is zero filler here, is what i'm saying). but also, i wish it were a bit longer, on the solutions-side especially.
i appreciate a lot of the notes of how dismantling your childhood faith also means working to dismantle white supremacy.
i appreciate a lot of the notes of how dismantling your childhood faith also means working to dismantle white supremacy.
August 24, 2023
I had a hard time with the first few chapters, but when we got farther in I found a lot here to think about and admire. My question now is how to find a community like the author describes, in the rural midwest??
November 19, 2024
The best book I have read on deconstruction and staying Christian. I thought it would take me awhile to work through the 7 hrs of this book, but it was so good that I could hardly stop listening.
This book is grounded in the author's experiences and filtered through deep thought and broad reading. I swear almost every time he quoted someone I thought, "Oh, I loved that book!" Rohadi Nagassar provided me with words to describe deconstruction, and he landed in a place of humility, pointing to a path forward for the people of God. That path forward, unlike so many that I have read, is local, communal, diverse, and without blueprint. This points to the kind of future I envision as well, one that is messy and scary, while also being empowering and free, and Holy Spirit led in the most bumbling sense of the phrase.
I might quibble a bit with the summary of the history of Christianity. I disagree with the discussion on circumcision and am not a fan of NT Wright's theology.
This book is grounded in the author's experiences and filtered through deep thought and broad reading. I swear almost every time he quoted someone I thought, "Oh, I loved that book!" Rohadi Nagassar provided me with words to describe deconstruction, and he landed in a place of humility, pointing to a path forward for the people of God. That path forward, unlike so many that I have read, is local, communal, diverse, and without blueprint. This points to the kind of future I envision as well, one that is messy and scary, while also being empowering and free, and Holy Spirit led in the most bumbling sense of the phrase.
I might quibble a bit with the summary of the history of Christianity. I disagree with the discussion on circumcision and am not a fan of NT Wright's theology.
December 5, 2022
Rohadi Nagassar hits at every level - mind, body, spirit - to get you thinking about belonging. If you've ever wondered whether you belong in a Christian space, this is a thought-provoking and necessary book. Especially for me, as someone navigating that at multiple levels lately, this hit home. I am grateful for his voice contributing to the necessary work of collective liberation in an age of intersecting struggles.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews