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Book Critique and Reflection
Gracism: The Art of Inclusion/(Anderson et al., 2023) shares the impact of racism and
how individuals can adopt gracism to help further ministry and service for the Lord. Anderson et
al. (2023) use 1 Corinthians 12:22-26 to share eight key sayings of a gracist which are the
following: I will lift you up, I will cover you, I will share with you, I will honor you, I will stand
with you, I will consider you, I will celebrate with you, and I will heal with you. Using these
sayings as a guide to live by as a gracist, the authors share that Christians can move from racism
to using gracism to impact the world for Christ. This paper summarizes the book, applies
reflection on the reading, critiques the book, and provides practical applications to grow in
multicultural skills./
Summary
This book starts by acknowledging that everyone has a dot that distinguishes people from
one another. The authors take the concept of racism through the lens of the Bible and offer an
alternative to dotism and the act of simply noticing another person’s difference. Dotism exists
because sin is still prevalent. Anderson et al. (2023) offer the idea of gracism, which is extending
favor to others because of their class, color, or culture, rather than racism which is negatively
acting, speaking, or thinking toward another individual because of their color, class, or culture.
Using 1 Corinthians 12:22-26 as an outline, the authors provide eight guidelines a gracist should
follow to help practice gracism daily. Through this book, the reader can gain insight from a
Biblical viewpoint of how a gracist should act, and by building connections between individuals
who are different, the gracist can extend the grace of God as Jesus did throughout His time on
earth.
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The eight sayings used to outline different chapters in this book are taken from 1
Corinthians 12:22-26 and are as follows: I will lift you up, I will cover you, I will share with you,
I will honor you, I will stand with you, I will consider you, I will celebrate with you, and I will
heal with you. When a gracist lifts others, they elevate them and are humble enough to let others
exalt them. A helpful way to lift others is by asking individuals how to pray, serve, or lift them to
help in the best way possible. By living by the second statement, the gracist protects others from
embarrassment. This chapter highlights the crucial element of not attacking individuals who may
ask the wrong question or use the incorrect racial language, but instead, covering them and
helping them as they increase their knowledge of diversity and grow in multiculturalism. The
third saying I will share with you focuses on providing resources to those who need them rather
than giving them to those who do not. Anderson et al. (2023) highlight that special treatment is
not wrong, but it is wrong when it damages the community or causes pain. By sharing with
others with the heart of gracism, the gracist shares the opportunity to enjoy the benefits of the
privileged. The saying I will honor you prioritizes giving honor to the individuals who lack it. It
is easy to think that an individual who did not work hard should not receive the reward, but grace
is not fair, and Jesus extended grace to the world when the world did not deserve it. The
statements, I will stand with you, and I will consider you go hand-in-hand and prioritize the
importance of considering other’s feelings and perspectives and standing up for the minority. It
is acknowledging Jesus’ act of bridging the gap for the world and adopting the same attitude in
standing up for the oppressed and those who have been ignored and cast aside; it destroys the “us
versus them” thinking, which creates unity. Living by the statement, I will celebrate with you
means rejoicing when others rejoice to strengthen unity, even when challenging. Lastly, the
statement, I will heal with you is communicating empathy to those in pain, even if there are
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disagreements in opinion. The gracist will empathize to help the suffering individual carry the
pain and heal through the strife. Through living by these sayings, the gracist can impact the lives
of those around them by extending God’s grace across cultures to touch the lives of those in
need.
Concrete Reflection
Throughout my reading, I found myself relating to the stories and being shocked at the
stories authors shared, especially about the African American woman’s coworker placing a
cotton plant on her desk and telling her to pick it up. I was appalled at how someone could boldly
do that without shame. I related to some of the viewpoints the authors shared and realized that, at
times, I do not act in a gracist mindset. The story of the woman at the airport interacting with the
Spanish-speaking family pricked my heart because I realized I am not humble in situations like
that and think to myself, why should I move or why should they have this special treatment when
I was here first or statements along those lines. It made me realize that I need to consider others
who are dismissed because of their race or color and think about how they may feel in a foreign
country that is not foreign to me. In addition, from the very beginning of the book, while
Anderson et al. (2023) discussed dotism, they brought up the point about individuals who feel as
if they have dots on their faces and feel as if they need to hide their dots or overachieve and be
successful to be respected. I relate to this feeling, and while reading this paragraph, it brought up
memories of being a child and looked at differently because my skin was dark and my food
smelled gross because it was different. Because of this, I hated who I was and tried to blend in by
asking my mom to pack different lunches that were more American. As I grew up, I learned to
appreciate my culture more, and while reading, I realized I have some bitterness towards some
white people because of how they made me feel as a child and because the foods I ate when I
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was younger that people called gross and nasty, such as fish, boba, or Filipino dishes are now
popular to eat and seen as delicious. I realized I could be bitter towards the type of people who
hurt me as a child and resent them, or I can appreciate the growth in multicultural knowledge and
be proud of the impact of Asian culture all around the world so that children like me do not have
to feel the shame I felt as a kid bringing non-American lunches to school. The gracist principle of
covering for others spoke to my heart the most. Anderson et al. (2023) mentioned that having an
attitude of compassion, humility, and gentleness leads to faster reconciliation. As a gracist, I
want to provide a space for individuals to grow in multiculturalism and recognize that not every
error regarding race is an attack on me but a chance to correct and cover that individual in
compassion and love so that they can experience growth and knowledge of diverse cultures.
Critique
This book brought insight into areas not thought about before, such as the unfairness of
grace or the difference between favor and favoritism. Further information on how to introduce
this topic to a church or a pastor, especially as someone with no leadership in the church, would
be beneficial. The author made many applicable points and an insightful look at 1 Corinthians
12. In addition, including a white individual's viewpoint helps validate their fear of saying the
wrong thing and the assumption that all white people are racist; many people can relate to that
feeling. This book challenges the reader to place themselves in other people's shoes and share
their experiences to help understand how they feel and empathize with them regardless of
whether they agree with their opinions. The basis of gracism is a Christian worldview. Because
of this, a question that came up was how non-Christians would take on this practice. The authors
made an important point when they wrote that everyone is capable of racism, and sometimes, it
goes unnoticed until the individual practices reflection and self-awareness. Some of the author's
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stories did not connect with the point he was trying to make and seemed too forced to help make
his point. In addition, while the book is short, it seemed like a short message stretched into a
170-page book, but it was still a good read with many great points on living as a gracist. An area
that personally raised a question is when the authors discuss homeless people and the guilt an
individual should feel for their thoughts towards them. This statement is crucial, but it forgets to
address discernment and awareness of potentially dangerous situations, especially as a woman. A
personal experience is walking at night, hearing a homeless person yelling inappropriate
statements, and choosing to cross the street and walk faster for safety. The authors are not telling
the readers to put themselves in dangerous situations, but it did cause a question to form while
reading.
Application
This book provided many potential application areas regarding personal growth, such as
living by the gracism saying of lifting others. Lifting others is also being humble enough to let
others elevate in return. It can be easy for an individual to shut down someone as they try to exalt
them but practicing as a gracist means being humble and allowing others to elevate. Another
aspect of growth for the reader is praying for others and allowing others to pray for them. In
addition, recognizing the importance of empathy, healing, and considering others is crucial to
growth. An individual may disagree with another person’s viewpoint, but they can empathize. To
do this, one can slow down and imagine themselves in their shoes. By doing this, empathizing
with their feelings becomes easier. Reconciliation is a primary topic throughout this book.
Growing as a gracist is building connections to other cultures to help heal bitterness. By seeking
knowledge and desiring to learn more about other cultures, Christians can be more like Christ
and build relationships with others different from them. The counselor wants to ensure their past
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experiences do not affect the client, so to combat that, they should heal from it instead of being
bitter. By acknowledging the personal hurt as a child, the individual can move from it and
provide the space for others to grow in multiculturalism by exercising compassion and not
assuming every slight against them is a racist act but simply an opportunity to share the story of
their culture and allow them the opportunity to grow as well. Through future multicultural
counseling work, the counselor should desire to continuously grow in their multicultural skills
and provide a safe space for all individuals from diverse backgrounds; to do that, the counselors
need to place themselves in different areas where they can have the opportunity to meet other
people such as restaurants, the park, or malls.
Conclusion
Because racism is highly prevalent, adopting the practice of gracism is beneficial to
ministering to others from different backgrounds. This book broke down the reason for racism,
which is sin, and eight sayings a gracist lives by to extend God’s grace into the lives of diverse
individuals. In addition, the authors gave practical tips on how a Christian can actively live as a
gracist to grow in multicultural skills. Overall, this book provides information that has the
potential to change the mindset and hearts of individuals if they let it.
