Discussion Post: Gracism
My favorite chapter in the text was chapter four titled “Saying One: ‘I Will Lift You
Up’”. Quite possibly because this was the principle I identified with the most being that I have
always felt that God has placed me in an encouraging role in a lot of my personal relationships
and pastoral relationships in ministry (Anderson, 2010). To be honest most of my life’s mission
has been centered on encouraging and lifting up those that are down and lacking in support and
confidence and I am excited to start applying these inclusion and grace filled principles to the
marginalized population by specifically encouraging those that are of a different ethnic
background to my own (King & Liley, 2019).
As I continue my work as a pastor and begin my work as a counselor I will start applying
the art of inclusion with minority groups by reaching over the color line by including races
different from mine in my counseling practice and ministry (Anderson, 2010). I work for a
church that has an extremely diverse congregation and I hope to have the same diversity in my
future counseling cliental as I purposely reach out to include ethnicities different from my ethnic
background.
As was specified in the text, relating to marginalized populations is not something that
happens on accident or on autopilot (Anderson, 2010). Relating to different cultural backgrounds
is something that must be done on purpose and thus this is something that must take careful
thought and consideration. To avoid the lapse of falling into what is comfortable by dealing with
more cliental that is of the same ethnicity as myself I will make it a common practice to include
the minority populations in my area by setting up a regular practice of reaching out to
populations of different ethnic backgrounds to myself (King & Liley, 2019).
Finally, I also plan to link up with an organization that specifically works with the
minority cultures in my area in an effort to not only better understand the marginalized
communities in my area but to also work to better include these populations in my counseling
practice.
References
King, J. & Liley, S. (2019). Counseling: Integrating a Christian worldview. In R. T. Simmons, S.
Lilley & K. A. M. Kuhnley (Eds.), Introduction to counseling: Integration of faith,
professional identity, and clinical practice (1st ed., pp. 141-190). Kendall Hunt
Publishing.
Anderson, D. A. (2010). Gracism: The art of inclusion. Ivp Books.
Discussion Reply 1:
Hello Jennifer, I loved how the first principle that you noted as important to you was the
“I will lift others up” principle. I too was very inspired by this principle as I consider this
principle to be the foundation of Christianity, counseling, and the art of including minority
populations. I associate the idea of this principle being foundational with the fact that as
Christians we are called to love God and others before we are called to anything else (Anderson,
2010). The verse that you quoted is a powerful example of how Christians are called to love
others. Not only does this apply to Christianity but it also is a cornerstone concept to counseling
marginalized communities (Anderson, 2010). It is quite impossible to accurately create a healthy
counseling relationship without love and encouragement especially when the clientele is that of a
different ethnic background from the counselor. What a different world it would be if not only
Christians but humans in general would extend more love to those that surround them but
especially to the marginalized communities around them. Great work on this post. I look forward
to continuing to learn and grow with you throughout the remainder of this course.
References
Anderson, D. A. (2010). Gracism: The art of inclusion. Ivp Books.
Discussion Reply 2:
Hello Ashley, you mentioned in one of your opening lines that you observed that Dr.
Anderson exuded passion in his writing of Gracism: The Art of inclusion, and I could not help
but to observe the same of your thoughts in your post. You seem to be truly passionate about the
ideas that you wrote in your discussion and to be honest your enthusiasm was successfully
contagious. What fantastic principles Dr. Anderson introduced. The applications for Christians,
counselors, and humans are truly endless (Anderson, 2010). I am so glad to see that this text was
such an inspiration to you and your journey as a counselor.
What great ideas to start your gracist journey. Having these seven principles hung in a
place that is a constant reminder will help your journey of grace to stay active instead of
becoming passive as many new journeys often become (Anderson, 2010). It sounds to me that
you have a great road map in place and that you are committed to this journey of growth as you
continue along the path towards becoming a counselor. Great post and I look forward to
participating with you in this journey as we continue through this course together.
References
Anderson, D. A. (2010). Gracism: The art of inclusion. Ivp Books.
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