Can you change culture
without being changed by culture?
You probably feel more like an outsider in our culture today than you did ten years ago. If that's the case, you're not alone. The question is: What kind of outsider will you become?
In Joyful Outsiders, pastors Patrick Miller and Keith Simon will train you to be a joyful outsider by laying out six ways to navigate a confusing culture at home, work, and beyond.
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Full of wisdom and grace. A needed book in our day!
Trevin Wax
Vice President of Research and Resources, North American Mission Board
Joyful Outsiders offers a fantastic way to engage the culture around us—not by becoming “insiders” but by becoming more like Jesus in His role as an outsider. This book will fortify your spirit and invite you to reframe cultural tension as beautifully ripe with possibility.
Heather Holleman
PhD, speaker, professor, and author of The Six Conversations: Pathways for Connecting in an Age of Isolation and Incivility
Living as an outsider may not seem to spark joy. But Patrick's and Keith's message counters so much of the fear and loathing perpetuated in politics and media. They offer practical hope for every Christian in this engaging, accessible book.
Collin Hansen
Vice president for content/ Editor-in-Chief, The Gospel Coalition
Rather than a rigid set of to-dos, Miller and Simon remind us that “[Our] exile is creative tension. It is holy improvisation.” This culturally astute and pastorally sensitive book is an important resource for all those who long to live the way of Jesus amid the idolatry of our modern Babylon.
Jay Y. Kim
pastor, author
Joyful Outsiders is soaked with biblical truth, and it’s presented with much pastoral wisdom gained from lived experience. If you want help living in the tension of resisting worldly values while graciously reaching the world, then this book is a must-read.
Preston Sprinkle
host, Theology in the Raw podcast
I’m unusually excited about this book. We needed this. Read it. Think about it. Share it. Discuss it. Above all: Let’s do it. (Now I don’t have to write this book, and mine wouldn’t have been this good.)
Brant Hansen
radio and podcast host, and bestselling author of Unoffendable, Blessed are the Misfits, and The Men We Need
Joyful Outsiders gives readers helpful, scriptural tools for when to fight, when to build bridges, and, most importantly, how to represent Christ well. Pastors and lay leaders alike will want this book, both to better lead the people they serve and to give to those confused by life in America in the twenty-first century.
Daniel Darling
director, The Land Center for Cultural Engagement
A practical, elegant handbook to help everyday Christians chart a course marked by faithfulness, discernment, and joy.
Christopher Watkin
author, Biblical Critical Theory
Joyful Outsiders is the book the church needs right now. Compelling biblical insights are matched by practical examples of how Christians can live faithfully for God in the midst of Babylon. I hope every pastor, leader, and congregant will read this book and put it into practice.
Justin Brierley
broadcaster, speaker, and author of The Surprising Rebirth of Belief in God
I joyfully commend this book to all my fellow outsiders who follow Jesus in our modern Babylons. May this book help us love him more and our neighbors better.
Justin Whitmel Earley
Lawyer, speaker, and author of Habits of the Household
Thrive in tension.
About the Authors
Patrick Miller pastors at The Crossing in Missouri, cohosts the podcasts Ten Minute Bible Talks and Truth Over Tribe, and has coauthored Truth Over Tribe. His writing can be found at The Gospel Coalition, Mere Orthodoxy, Christianity Today, and Newsweek. He graduated from Covenant Theological Seminary (MDiv). He and his wife, Emily, live in Columbia, Missouri, with their two children.
Keith Simon is a lead pastor at The Crossing, cohosts the podcasts Ten Minute Bible Talks and Truth Over Tribe, and coauthored Truth Over Tribe: Pledging Allegiance to the Lamb, Not the Donkey or the Elephant. He graduated with an MDiv from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School. Keith lives in Columbia, Missouri, with his wife, Christine, and their four children.
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