Editorial Reviews. From the Publisher. Features: -a fresh look at doing relational evangelism Evangelism for "Normal" People: Good News for Those Looking for a Fresh Approach - Kindle edition by John P. Bowen. Download it once and.
Table of contents
- Good News for Those Looking for a Fresh Approach
- Evangelism for "Normal" People: Good News for Those Looking for a Fresh Approach
- evangelism-for-normal
Please try again later. I read this after reading Unbinding the Gospel by Martha Grace Reese which I think is a must for those who are serious about evangelism. This book's foundation is: Planned methods of evangelistic outreach are affirmed, but not without a proper place for prayer. The author bases his work on both examples taken from the Bible and his personal and extensive background in evangelism. Like Unbinding the Gospel he identifies three important relationships, our personal relationship with God, the relationships in the faith community and our relationships with the community outside the church.
I found myself skimming some section of the book but there were a number of very good ideas and some food for thought. He stresses taking concrete steps and with a number of very specific actions a congregation can take to become a welcoming community with non-confrontational and relationship building activities. But they have to flow from an overall philosophy which he identifies as: So I would recommend this as a companion to Unbinding the Gospel not as your primary resource.
One person found this helpful. I can't recommend this more highly!
In the last year or so, I've read several great books on evangelism. Master Plan of Evangelism is superb and a must-read. Sharing the Gospel Naturally is wonderful.
I highly recommend all these books. But I have to put Evangelism for Normal People in a class by itself. It started out slow, in a way that I though he was "watering down" the whole topic. But as it got rolling, my whole perspective on evangelism started changing in a more biblical direction.
Bowen' treats the big picture of evangelism, encompassing much more of what the Bible has to say on the topic beyond the usual, commonly cited verses. The net result is a perspective on evangelism with greater biblical fidelity and therefore greater likelihood of "success. It is more a book about spreading the good news, getting more souls into the fold, and having their lives transformed by God's grace. With that said, there is a good outline or plan of "how to. Yet this book is not just a lot of blah, blah, blah.
It is a real plan to make you and your community an evangelistic community that is a conduit of God's grace and mercy. While the philosophy and approach may be different from the other books mentioned above, it is not incompatible with them. It emphasizes more the role that the community of believers - as a community - plays in evangelism. The role the individual plays is, however, spelled out too. If you are interested in the spread of the faith, get this book! Evangelism for Normal People - the title really captures the essence of the book. Living in the Bible Belt, I am all too often accosted by evangelical Christians who demand to know if I've been saved - as if this was a yes or no type of question.
I sometimes wish that the answer could be as easy as yes or no, but then again, I know that such an answer would not be true to my faith. Bowen's book gives a new perspective on evangelism. He writes about evangelism as a process, and emphasizes that evangelism is effective for most people when it is addressed as such. Evangelism is a part of every Christian's life, or it should be, and it expresses itself in ways that are sensitive to culture.
This takes it out of the aggresive "Have you been saved" mode and puts into the realm of how we live our lives and express our innermost needs and feelings. For me, this is both affirming and empowering. His key image is to contrast correct evangelism with what he calls "flasher" evangelism.
Good News for Those Looking for a Fresh Approach
In his view, many approach evangelism as a project that is accomplished by formula in a 'flash' with no real interest in the life experience of the person they are attempting to convert. We need to educate ourselves about our neighbors lives. With Buddhists, Muslims, Mormons, Jews, etc.
If we are going to be intentional about reaching out to others we must come with questions -- not statements. Statements can come later, as offerings to be 'tasted' by our new friends. To do otherwise is misrepresent Jesus. See all 6 reviews. Most recent customer reviews. Published on November 20, Published on August 23, Amazon Giveaway allows you to run promotional giveaways in order to create buzz, reward your audience, and attract new followers and customers.
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Evangelism for "Normal" People: Good News for Those Looking for a Fresh Approach
Click here Would you like to report this content as inappropriate? Click here Do you believe that this item violates a copyright? The writing style wasn't always my cup of tea, but there was a lot of good helpful things to think about in here. Evangelism has a bad rap in a lot of places, and let's be honest, understandably so. If evangelism means talking about your faith with random strangers, we are talking about something that is probably not relationally appropriate.
What we believe about God and religion is near the core of who we are for many of us.
evangelism-for-normal
Is it really a good idea to try and manipulate conversations to bring The writing style wasn't always my cup of tea, but there was a lot of good helpful things to think about in here. Is it really a good idea to try and manipulate conversations to bring them to that place?
A productive discussion about faith is much more likely to happen if you know each other and if this is a topic you are both interested in thinking through and learning about. How do you find yourself in those kinds of conversations? Lots of good thoughts in the book on that. I did a lot of highlighting in this book.
If we aren't genuinely caring about the person we are doing it wrong "Evangelism is a slow process. This means we need a place where faith can grow, an incubator, if you like. Church should be a place where faith is not allowed to stagnate but also isn't forced to premature expression. Like the physically challenged, they find it difficult simply to walk in, the way that others can do.
They need the equivalent of ramps and elevators to enable them to access church in a way that is manageable for them. Dec 26, Frank rated it really liked it Shelves: His emphasis on Evangelism as a process in which the whole community of faith has varying roles is helpful in showing how even those without a gift for sharing the Good News can have a role in this work. May 16, Graham rated it it was ok. A very easy read. You can chew through it in a few sittings.
While there is nothing ground breaking here, it does introduce the key ideas of facilitating a faith discussion with acquaintances. As the title suggests this isn't an in depth, specific how to, but a brief introduction for the person relatively new to sharing faith with others.
I would recommend this to some folks who have never or only seldom ventured out in faith to articulate their own beliefs to others. Jan 17, Karen rated it really liked it. The word 'evangelism' in the title is enough to lose people's interest in the book, but despite that it is a very interesting and readable book--not a frustrating 'how-to' manual but a more global picture of the whys and misconceptions behind evangelism. Seth rated it it was amazing Nov 13, Graham rated it it was amazing Jan 24, Ben Gresik rated it really liked it Jul 04, Jeff rated it liked it Jan 14, Zach Helton rated it it was amazing Feb 16, David Matthews rated it it was amazing May 17, Shannon rated it really liked it Mar 11, Yvonne Schenk rated it liked it Dec 29, Tom rated it liked it Sep 27, Anne Hokenstad rated it really liked it Mar 11, Marcia King rated it really liked it Dec 29, Ryan rated it really liked it Feb 09, Matthew Brough rated it really liked it Jul 15, David Mcminn rated it it was amazing Nov 19, Jake rated it liked it Aug 28, Christina rated it really liked it Dec 16, Kevin Slous rated it liked it Mar 04, Dani rated it liked it Dec 08, Cody Milliron rated it liked it Nov 30, Jenn marked it as to-read Jun 25,