Advocates: A Book Review
Last year, around this time, my wife and I were blessed to be a part of a breakout session at The Legacy Conference, a conference about urban disciple making, in Chicago, IL. Not only were we convicted about our lack of emotional intelligence, the focus of the break out, but we got a free book all about how the Gospel guides us through racial reconciliation. That book was Advocates written by Dhati Lewis, the pastor of Blueprint Church and the vice president of the Send Network. Sad to say it has taken me half of the year and multiple starts to actually read it, but it was all in God's timing. About a month ago, I finished this book which is blessed by contents that have proven themselves more timely than ever.
In his book, Lewis sets out to help the Christian grab hold of the heart behind biblical reconciliation. He begins the book by establishing common definitions to help the reader answer an essential question “ Where are you?” Specifically, reconciliation is defined as “ reconciling back to God's original design for humanity and reconciling forward toward the future hope of heaven.” This is particularly helpful in cases where there is no friendship or unity to begin with. There need not be an initial friendship when our focus is a Gospel-centered fight that seeks to restore what God has intended from the beginning. For Lewis, bringing clarity and common definitions sets the stage for readers to become self-aware amidst the conversation of the book and before they seek to bring healing in division.
After establishing definitions and some disclaimers, Lewis spends the largest portion of the book helping the reader understand what God longs for Christians to be. Dhati first corrects the contemporary Christian habit to establish an anti-vision, focusing more on what divides us than what unites us, and encourages the Christian to look first at the biblical vision to establish positive perimeters for right action. After looking at Micah 6:8, Proverbs 31:8, and Romans 13:11-14, he concludes that the Christian must be aware of injustice, inequity and inequality in order to work for justice as God has intended. It is not enough for the Christan to give intellectual assent to biblical principles and calls. For true obedience to be achieved, awareness of God’s standard of justice and how our world has fallen short, Gospel-driven action, and emphasis on the supremacy of Christ in every heart and relationship must take place. “We cannot be obedient to God and ignore injustice.”
From an understanding of the Christian’s intended identity, Lewis leads readers to understand the intended responses to division, mainly mediation that brings about reconciliation. He reminds believers to rely on Christ when moving from vision to action in order to check their motives. Christans become righteous advocates by setting their minds on the one who advocates on their behalf. “To be an advocate means that we are walking in the enabling power of God’s grace and applying it to the brokenness of our human relationships.” By encouraging the reader to revere and emulate Christ, Dhati challenges the reader, and all Christians, to engage tension with Christlike courage and dignity. Finally, Dhati finishes the book practically, by thinking through different strategies that can be faithfully implemented toward the end of reconciliation.
What makes this book unique and worth the read is its ability to help those on both sides of the divide find their way back to God's plan for their lives and their ministry. Through anecdotes, biblical texts, and scientific studies, Lewis disarms the reader and shows them the way through the narrow path to racial reconciliation. Dhati’s down to earth writing style gives this book a conversational feel, making it an easy but necessary read for everyone looking to navigate the difficult conversations we face.
I long for you to be blessed by the contents of this book, many of which can be found in the video below.