Wilson L. Deaton
19th December 2006, 08:30 PM (20:30)
More Ready Than You Realize: Evangelism as Dance in the Postmodern Matrix – Brian McClaren
In this book, McClaren, addresses the issue of evangelism in the Postmodern world. Of course, McClaren doesn’t like the term evangelism because of the negative connotations. His preferred idea is that of, “spiritual friendships.” A "spiritual friend" is a friend "who is truly spiritual, safe to talk to, and worth talking to." (He says that previously we have tended to have two alternatives: People safe to talk to with nothing to offer or People with something to offer but not safe to talk to.)
The subtitle sums up the overall theme. He says that we should view evangelism as a dance. He says that modern evangelism has been more like a wrestling match (we “defend” the faith, “win” souls, etc.)
For example, he says we need to overcome the adversarial mindset. This is one of my favorite quotes demonstrating what he is saying. He first points out that one of our most common terms is, “the Lost.” He then says, “The term comes from Jesus’ stories of the lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son in Luke 15. Unfortunately, the term , which in the story means loved, precious, and sought after, can become on our lips a synonym for ‘impure’ or ‘unclean.’ Do you feel the implied judgment of calling someone ‘lost’ –especially as opposed to calling them ‘missed’ or ‘treasured.’”
The format makes for a very interesting read. It is built around an actual spiritual journey of a postmodern he corresponded with. He met her at an event and they became e-mail pals. With her permission, he shares her messages while adding commentary and sharing the kinds of things he had replied to her (he had not saved his actual replies). This is not something included in the book but rather the format for the entire book.
Unless you are already having outstanding success sharing the Gospel among Postmoderns you should read this book. It is a great eyeopener.
Wilson
In this book, McClaren, addresses the issue of evangelism in the Postmodern world. Of course, McClaren doesn’t like the term evangelism because of the negative connotations. His preferred idea is that of, “spiritual friendships.” A "spiritual friend" is a friend "who is truly spiritual, safe to talk to, and worth talking to." (He says that previously we have tended to have two alternatives: People safe to talk to with nothing to offer or People with something to offer but not safe to talk to.)
The subtitle sums up the overall theme. He says that we should view evangelism as a dance. He says that modern evangelism has been more like a wrestling match (we “defend” the faith, “win” souls, etc.)
For example, he says we need to overcome the adversarial mindset. This is one of my favorite quotes demonstrating what he is saying. He first points out that one of our most common terms is, “the Lost.” He then says, “The term comes from Jesus’ stories of the lost sheep, lost coin, and lost son in Luke 15. Unfortunately, the term , which in the story means loved, precious, and sought after, can become on our lips a synonym for ‘impure’ or ‘unclean.’ Do you feel the implied judgment of calling someone ‘lost’ –especially as opposed to calling them ‘missed’ or ‘treasured.’”
The format makes for a very interesting read. It is built around an actual spiritual journey of a postmodern he corresponded with. He met her at an event and they became e-mail pals. With her permission, he shares her messages while adding commentary and sharing the kinds of things he had replied to her (he had not saved his actual replies). This is not something included in the book but rather the format for the entire book.
Unless you are already having outstanding success sharing the Gospel among Postmoderns you should read this book. It is a great eyeopener.
Wilson