A Brief Book Summary from Books At a Glance
by Steve West
Table of Contents
Introduction
1 Of Altar Calls and Laser Lights
2 A Culture of Evangelism
3 Connecting Church and a Culture of Evangelism
4 Intentional Evangelists in a Culture of Evangelism
5 Actually Sharing Our Faith
Appendix
Summary
Chapter 1: Of Altar Calls and Laser Lights
There have been many altar calls where the gospel message has not been clearly presented, and where people have not fully understood what they were doing when they went forward. Many pastors and mature believers can testify that they were saved in churches that practiced evangelistic techniques that they no longer consider valid. Although we want to be biblical and theologically rigorous, we also want to recognize that God saves people through imperfect techniques. Even a small amount of the true gospel can be used to bring people to life. Nevertheless, Scripture does not merely judge by results, and we want to conform our practices to God’s Word. We must focus on God’s honor and truth, rather than mimic worldly wisdom. Paul warned against twisting the Word and manipulating the message; he also warned against speaking the truth with a lack of clarity.
A simple, working definition of evangelism is that, “Evangelism is teaching the gospel with the aim to persuade.” We need to aim to persuade but without manipulating to gain results. We also need to teach the gospel and present Jesus without minimizing the hard aspects of his call. By catering to the desires of sinners, we can present them with a false gospel that they might be willing to embrace. Today, the gospel is often cast as self-help for personal improvement and comfort. The four key words in the definition of evangelism are teaching, gospel, aim, and persuade. Teaching requires words, and the Bible—God’s verbal revelation—is filled with teaching, instruction, and explanation. People cannot receive the gospel without having been taught it. The gospel can be made too small (e.g., simply being saved from hell), or too bloated (i.e., the gospel + every implication and application). The gospel is the message of God that leads to salvation. It tells us about God, the problem of our sin, and the solution in Jesus. It tells us about Christ’s work that reconciles us to God. Knowing our aim in evangelism helps us keep focused and motivated, discerning what’s most important. What we are aiming for is seeing people converted into disciples of Jesus. Conversion requires faith, and faith is the gift of the Spirit, so we need to pray that God will grant saving faith to the lost. Doing evangelism in wrong ways gives false assurance to the lost and over time leads the church away from Christ. . . .
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