Book Review: Evangelism by J. Mack Stiles

Book Review - Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus by J. Mack Stiles

Few words give rise to more fear and trepidation among Christian as the word evangelism. Fear of sharing one’s faith, or fear of making an unattractive gospel presentation, is common in churches. The irony of a word associated with “good news” eliciting so much angst makes one wonder if we have veered off the track somewhere. Evangelism: How the Whole Church Speaks of Jesus addresses the topic of evangelism and its author, J. Mack Stiles, clearly understands the problematic nature of this topic and the need for clear, biblical teaching on it.

The overarching purpose of this book is hinted at when one consider the series it is a part of: the Crossway Books published 9Marks Building Healthy Churches series. Evangelism is a book that addresses the need for biblical evangelism as an integral component of a healthy church.

More specifically, Stiles writes about “biblical evangelism” (17), and “more than that, [the book is] also about developing a culture of evangelism” (18). The author is concerned about teaching the reader what biblical evangelism is and he believes that it includes implementing and encouraging a culture of evangelism within the church. Stiles further expounds on this issue with teaching on healthy evangelistic platforms as well as “basic principles that shape the actual practice of sharing our faith” (19).

Chapter one concerns itself with important definitions of evangelism, the gospel, and biblical conversion. These definitions provide the foundation for the rest of the author’s discussion of this topic. Evangelism, “teaching the gospel with the aim to persuade” (26), is thoroughly explained. Teaching the gospel–“the joyful message from God that leads to salvation” (33)–is the means of evangelism. And, the goal is biblical conversion which occurs when we “repent, place genuine faith in Jesus, and walk with him” (38).

Chapter two’s content is made obvious with its title: A Culture of Evangelism. Stiles initiates this discussion with a polemic against both programmatic evangelism and pragmatic evangelism. The antidote for these unbiblical methods of sharing the faith is an approach that the author sees as “communal and personal: a culture of evangelism” (47). In the chapter we read that a culture of evangelism, though hard to succinctly and exhaustively define, is a culture that: is motivated by love for Jesus and his gospel (48), is confident in the gospel (49), understands the danger of entertainment (50), sees people clearly (51), pulls together as one (53), has people teaching one another (53), models evangelism (55), celebrates when people share their faith (56), knows how to affirm and celebrate new life (57), does ministry even when it is risky and dangerous (58), and understands that the church is the chosen and best method of evangelism (60).

The importance of the church as God’s plan for evangelism is the sole concern of chapter three. Stiles seeks clarity for the reader by defining the church and arguing that the church is “God’s great plan for evangelism” (100) and the way we can best implement God’s great plan is by developing and nurturing a culture of evangelism in Christ’s body. In fact, Stiles argues that all churches have a culture of evangelism and that the difference from church to church is in the health of that culture. This chapter deals with evangelism at the corporate level.

Chapter four considers the individual Christian within a healthy culture of evangelism. Stiles indicates that believers must be “intentional evangelists” (79) with the context of a church’s evangelistic culture. Stiles elucidates how individual Christians become intentional evangelists: by preparing our hearts, mind, and feet (84); by understanding a gospel-shaped way of life (88); by slaying our assumptions (90); by perceiving evangelism as a discipline (94); by praying (96); by giving leadership in evangelism (97).

Finally, in chapter five Stiles addresses the actual sharing of our faith. The author purports the best instructions we receive on sharing our faith come through the New Testaments illustration of Christians as ambassadors. Stiles indicates the significance of conversations and displays what these might look like. He instructs that an ambassador must be bold, clear, and deliver the message while trusting Christ for the response. Stiles finishes with a call for ambassadors to not lose heart.

On a practical level, I found Stiles’ book edifying, enriching, and encouraging with both myself and the church in mind. His faith-filled optimism and clear biblical teaching is both informative at the head level and motivating at the heart level. His practical wisdom won from real-life experiences was also helpful.

I have noticed a greater awareness in my life for opportunities to share the gospel and find myself less apprehensive than I once was. For those two reasons alone I am thankful for this book. This book is an easy-to-read and hard-to-put-down volume on evangelism that will benefit both leaders and members of churches.

80 Tweetable Quotes from Evangelism by J. Mack Stiles

Here is another collection of Tweetable quoted from another book in Crossway/9Marks' series called Building Healthy Churches. This one, Evangelism by J. Mack Stiles, was simply excellent. This was a much needed and timely read for me. This process of collecting Tweetables is a great way for me to review a book and quickly remind myself what it was all about. I hope these are useful for you as well. Enjoy.

1. “Usually the wrong ideas [of evangelism] are based on marketing principles or on human understanding about how to argue someone into the kingdom.” (18)
2. “Much of our problem with evangelism is that we don’t have a big enough view of the church.” (19)
3. “I believe that God loves the world and has a wonderful plan for evangelism: his church.” (19)
4. “There is much room for humility when it comes to evangelism.” (23)
5. “There is no formula that dictates how god must work in evangelism.” (23)
6. “I…will take people practising evangelism as best they can over those who forgo evangelism until they have the perfect practice.” (23)
7. “…the Bible never uses results to guide or justify evangelistic practice.” (24)
8. “…when we set out to practice evangelism, we must start with biblical foundations.” (24)
9. “We must look to [biblical foundations] to shape, guard, and inform how we share our faith rather than looking for a way to gain maximum impact.” (24)
10. “Sadly, what often informs our evangelistic practices is the world…business…self-help section…rather than Scripture.” (25)
11. “…people trade biblical principles for worldly desires and our evangelistic practices get twisted.” (25)
12. “Evangelism is teaching the gospel with the aim to persuade.” (26)
13. “…many churches offer a costless, comfortable, and benefit-giving “gospel” that is found nowhere in Scripture.” (28)
14. “Jesus was engaging, but he never entertained…” (28)
15. History of modern evangelism: “The high-pressure sales job has been replaced by the soft sell of self-help.” (28)
16. “First, there is no evangelism without words.” (29)
17. “J. I. Packer…says that Paul’s method of evangelism was primarily a teaching method.” (30)
18. “Great things happen when we can teach the gospel.” (30)
19. “Being able to teach the gospel benefits our spiritual lives as it makes sure we are living according to gospel themes.” (30)
20. “If you do not know how to teach the gospel, you may not truly understand it.” (30)
21. “…remember that the gospel must be taught before someone can become a Christian.” (31)
22. “We make the gospel too small by thinking it only “gets us saved,” that it is a sort of fire insurance…” (32)”
23. “…the gospel becomes both the door of salvation and the pattern for life.” (32)
24. “Additions to the gospel, however good or good-hearted, corrupt the gospel.” (33)
25. “The hope in evangelism is that we so steep ourselves in gospel truth and gospel living…that the gospel can’t help but come out of us.” (34)
26. “…we don’t just lay out gospel facts academically or haphazardly. We have an aim or direction in our gospel teaching.” (35)
27. “…no one is born a Christian…all Christians are converts.” (36)
28. “…just as we cannot produce conversion, neither can we produce genuine faith.” (37)
29. “We aren’t persuaded in a biblical sense unless we repent, place genuine faith in Jesus, and walk with him.” (38)
30. “Unbiblical evangelism is a method of assisted suicide for a church…” (39)
31. “…if you ask most normal people what hinders their evangelism, the vast majority will tell you it’s fear.” (42)
32. “Evangelize with believing friends who will pull you along.” (42)
33. “…since I believe in the church as the engine of evangelism, we need to develop cultures of evangelism in our local churches…” (42)
34. “It just makes sense to share our faith alongside friends.” (43)
35. “…usually when we think of evangelism in community, we think of evangelistic programs, which is not the same.” (43)
36. As opposed to evangelistic programs, “most people come to faith through… [familiar] Christians intentionally talking about the gospel.” (45)
37. “A strict diet of evangelistic programs produces malnourished evangelism.” (46)
38. “…programs can often make us feel as if we’ve done evangelism, when we haven’t.” (46)
39. “I yearn for a culture of evangelism that never trades confidence n the gospel for confidence in techniques, personalities, or entertainment gimmicks.” (49)
40. “In a culture of evangelism, we don’t mistake entertainment for ministry, or ministry for entertainment.” (51)
41. “We need a culture of evangelism that never sacrifices to the idolatry of entertainment…” (51)
42. “When Paul says that we should see people through the eyes of Christ, he means for us to have a gospel view of people.” (52)
43. “…in a culture of evangelism, most of all we’re mindful of what people can become: new creations in Christ…” (53)
44. “…I long for a culture that remembers what people can become through the gospel.” (53)
45. “I would happily trade all the pizzazz of stunning speakers, mind-blowing music, and…popular…pageants for a culture of evangelism…” (55)
46. “In a culture of evangelism, people carefully teach one another how to share their faith in a biblical way.” (55)
47. “The practice of celebrating evangelistic efforts is…hugely important in developing a culture of evangelism.” (57)
48. “I yearn to be in a church where even evangelistic attempts are championed.” (57)
49. “Even if an evangelistic effort doesn’t lead to a gospel conversation, evangelistic failure is better than not trying evangelism at all.” (57)
50. “I long for a culture of evangelism that is risky in the sense that we’re confronting culture.” (59)
51. “I long for a church that understands that it…is the chosen and best method of evangelism.” (60)
52. “I long for a church that disarms with love, not entertainment…” (60)
53. “I long for a church that…lives out countercultural confidence in the power of the gospel.” (60)
54. “…if you are part of a healthy church that has a culture of evangelism, you are part of the greatest way of evangelism ever known.” (63)
55. “…a culture of evangelism is grassroots, not top-down.” (65)
56. “In a culture of evangelism, people understand the main task of the church is to be the church.” (65)
57. “The question is not, “Do we have a culture of evangelism?” but “Is our culture of evangelism sick or healthy?”” (67)
58. “Every Christian should know what makes a church a church.” (70)
59. “In a culture of evangelism, people who love Jesus work together as instruments in the grand symphony of God’s work.” (81)
60. “…in a maturing culture of evangelism, people trust God to do something bigger than what they see with physical eyes.” (81)
61. “Sometimes we unwittingly motivate congregations with blunt instruments such as guilt.” (85)
62. “[Churches] must use their gatherings to regularly rehearse and think through the gospel…” (85)
63. “It is easy to go from a welcoming church to become a church that jettisons the gospel in its desire to be “friendly.”” (87)
64. “Unfortunately, many churches fall into…heresy when their main concern becomes the non-Christian rather than fidelity to the gospel.” (87)
65. “The quickest route to heresy and error is “relevant” evangelism.” (87)
66. “Good-hearted motivations that try to shape the church for the needs of man and not the glory of god are the death of biblical churches.” (87)
67. “…churches are called to concentrate on God, while individuals are called to be sensitive to seekers.” (87)
68. “…trying to live a moral life is impossible. Living a gospel life is a gift from God.” (89)
69. “If we live gospel-centered lives, we will find ourselves sharing the gospel.” (90)
70. “If you are bored with the gospel, you need to take a deep look at the sin of your heart.” (91)
71. “…if the gospel does not resonate in your heart, check and see that you are truly converted.” (91)
72. “We don’t know whom God is calling to himself. Praying for others keeps us mindful of that.” (96)
73. “Besides teaching and modeling, one of the most important things leaders can do is just talk about evangelism.” (97)
74. “We must deliver the message regardless of the discomfort produced, effort required, and shame endured.” (101)
75. “Ambassadors exist to deliver messages.” (101)
76. “It’s my sense that boldness is the most needed element for evangelism for the Christian community.” (106)
77. “The Bible calls us to remember those who have been brave and faithful, and to follow their example.” (107)
78. “…I’m convinced that sharing our faith, regardless of the response, is a key to spiritual health for the individual and for the community.” (112)
79. “Evangelism is bigger than what we see.” (114)
80. “Sometimes God lets us see tired people transformed into people filled with light. That’s a glorious thing…” (114)