Book Review: Four Things You Need to Know About "The Gospel in Color — For Parents"
6 min read
"This book does a great job of summarizing the main issues that need to be addressed, and giving tools on how to engage."
"The Gospel in Color shocked me because it is so thorough and deep — yet at the same time, each chapter is not too short or too long."
This Gospel in Color is a masterpiece in making a complex issue understandable. The authors waste absolutely no time and mince no words in articulating the issue of racial reconciliation. As I reviewed this project, I was struck by the comprehensive organization, not only in theological content, but in explaining the history behind the sociological climate we find ourselves in today.
I have read many books on race, history, and sociology, and I think that this book does a great job of summarizing the main issues that need to be addressed, and giving tools on how to engage this topic. I’ve often encountered people trying to figure out where to start learning about the complex issues of race, racism, and ethnocentrism, and I’ve found it hard to recommend the right resources to help them. But now, I can recommend this book to everyone looking to learn about this challenging issue — and so I offer you four reasons why this resource is a must-have.
1. Complex Issues, Made Understandable
A problem I have often encountered is that people who may want to start engaging this topic need a particular theological and sociological grid to be able to understand the complexities involved. Other people may not feel they have enough time to dive into the depths of the issues. If either of these descriptions fit you, and you desire to learn more about the topic of race and what God’s word says about it, then I have good news: The Gospel in Color is for you. The Gospel in Color — For Parents is ideal for the person who does not have any background or prior knowledge on this issue. One of the unique aspects of The Gospel in Color is that it uses specific tools to help the reader discover and deepen their understanding — not only of what is at the heart of the conversation, but of the reconciliation that is the heart of God. I also deeply appreciate the authors’ dedication to giving definitions of words that are important for people to learn for the sake of comprehension.
2. Easy Readability
I have some friends who love to read large books. I am not against giant books, and I read them on occasion because I love the depth of information I can glean. But The Gospel in Color shocked me because it is so thorough and deep — yet at the same time, each chapter is not too short or too long. The authors indeed found the sweet spot of not making you feel like you just drank from a firehose, without going to the other opposite extreme where you feel like you ordered a cup of coffee and they cheated you by only filling it halfway!
3. Teaching Tool for Community
One of the reasons I'm extremely excited about this work is how it's organized. It is arranged in such a way that it’s going to be a great resource not only for parents, but for the local church context. As a pastor and church planter, I can say that this is the type of curriculum that is perfect for your church’s small groups, discipleship groups, and leadership development contexts, as well as for use as a core-team training tool.
A little bit of personal history: I used to live in Seattle, Washington, and felt a deep burden to learn more about racial reconciliation and why it was a biblical issue that needed to be addressed in Seattle and in the church at large. So I moved from my home in Seattle to Memphis, Tennessee, to learn from a gospel-saturated community that intentionally pursued racial reconciliation and multi-ethnicity in a city that has been healing from an extremely difficult racial history. I learned so much, and the authors of The Gospel in Color (Curtis A. Woods and Jarvis J. Williams) were instrumental in my growth, as their prior works helped shape me to fight for God’s good creation, to seek peace where sin has birthed chaos, and to join with God in applying his justice where there is injustice. With this book, you won't have to move across the country to learn more about God’s heart for racial reconciliation — because it will point you to the true book that has the final word on reconciliation.
4. Scripturally Rich & Biblically Rooted
My absolute favorite part of The Gospel in Color is its ultimate commitment to rightly dividing and applying Scripture in the area of racial reconciliation. I, like many others, have seen the truth of God’s word abused, taken out of context, and used for selfish ambitions. Because of that reality, there are many people who are skeptical of Scripture — not because of its actual content, but because of the way people have mishandled it. But the authors of this project use the Bible as the rule and authority, as they take us by the hand and show the multifaceted dimensions of racial reconciliation, describing how the gospel of Jesus and the ethical imperatives of his kingdom should shape the hearts of its citizens.
This resource is indeed a must-have for adults, pastors, and leaders in the church. After reading this book, you will have a great grasp on the main issues of a complex topic. I encourage you to get The Gospel in Color — For Parents and dive in, knowing that you won't get lost, because you’ll be guided by well-trained siblings in the family of God, who wrote this blessing of a work knowing that all God’s children will end up in the same place: God's forever-multiethnic kingdom, where we will eternally sing to a God who has displayed his gospel, in color.
Pre-order "The Gospel in Color" Now
Jevon Washington (B.A. of Biblical & Theological Studies, Memphis Center for Urban & Theological Education/LBC; M.A. Missional Leadership, ReTrain; currently pursing a M.A. of Social Justice at Kilns College) is a church planter and lead pastor of Flourish Church Rainier Valley in Seattle, WA.