Evangelism Handbook: Biblical, Spiritual, Intentional, Missional

508 Pages·2009·2.12 MB·English

by  Alvin Reid

Copyright © 2009
by Alvin Reid All rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-0-8054-4542-8
Published by B&H Publishing Group Nashville, Tennessee
Dewey Decimal Classification: 269.2
Subject Heading: EVANGELISTIC WORK—HANDBOOKS, MANUALS,
ETC.
Unless otherwise noted, Scripture quotations are taken from the Holman
Christian Standard Bible ® Copyright © 1999, 2000, 2002, 2003 by Holman
Bible Publishers. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked (ESV) are from The Holy Bible, English Standard
Version, copyright ©2001 by Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News
Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked NASB are from the New American Standard Bible.
© The Lockman Foundation, 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975,
1977. Used by permission.
Scripture quotations marked NIV are from the Holy Bible, New International
Version, copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by
permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.
Scripture quotations marked NKJV are from the New King James Version.
Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Publishers.
Scripture quotations marked NLT are from the Holy Bible. New Living
Translation copyright © 1996, 2004 by Tyndale Charitable Trust. Used by
permission of Tyndale House Publishers.
Scripture quotations marked KJV are from the King James Version.
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Foreword
Acknowledgments
1. Things Must Change: The New Mission Field
Part I: Biblical
2. A Movement Not a Method: The Message We Share
3. Why Do We Do the Things That We Do? Motives for Evangelism
4. The Mission of God: A Missional Reading of Scripture
5. Jesus and Paul
6. The Birth of a Movement: Evangelism in the Acts
7. History I: Second through the Eighteenth Centuries
8. History II: Nineteenth Century to Our Time
9. A Theology of Evangelism
Part II: Spiritual Resources
10. The Work of the Spirit
11. The Power of Prayer
12. Testimony
13. The Potency of Consistency: Character
14. Disciplines
Part III: Intentional
15. The Need of the Hour: Leadership
16. Personal Evangelism: The What
17. Personal Evangelism: The How
18. Church Evangelism
19. Worship Evangelism: Linking the Glory of God to the Gospel
20. Mass Evangelism
Part IV: Missional
21. Paradigms
22. Church Planting
23. Reaching the Unchurched
24. Reaching Children and Families
25. Reaching the Next Generation
26. Reach the Cities, Reach the Nations
Conclusion: Missional Living Realized
Afterword
Name Index
Subject Index
Scripture Index
Foreword
It is the best of times for evangelism in America, and it is the worst of times. It is
the best of times because there is a high receptivity to the gospel. According to
our research, four out of ten non-Christians in the United States would welcome
a conversation about Jesus with a Christian. That means that over 60 million
people who are lost and without hope would like to know how to be saved and
filled with hope. What a great opportunity! What a mission field!
But it’s the worst of times as well. The American church is in serious decline.
The passion for evangelism is less evident each year. Many church-going
Christians will never share with an unbeliever the truth claims of the Savior.
Never. Not one time. And many pastors and other church leaders are moving
evangelism to the backburner of priorities. In fact, in one study we completed a
few years ago, we found that 53 percent of senior pastors had not shared the
gospel even one time in the previous six-month period.
It is the best of times, and it is the worst of times. The mission field is filled
with opportunities for the message of the gospel to be heard, received, and
affirmed. But the American church is largely and sinfully silent.
The publication of Evangelism Handbook could not be timelier. The need for
every word in this volume could not be greater. And the priority for the message
of this book could not be more urgent.
I have known Alvin Reid for years. We have been on the same platform in
conferences. Our writings often end up in the hands of the same people. The
courses we have taught are similar. And more than any of these, Dr. Reid’s
passion for the sharing of the gospel is what I admire about him the most. This
man is not merely writing a book from the wealth of his intellectual expertise.
He is writing a book from the passion of his heart. I love this quote directly from
Dr. Reid in the book: “for me evangelism is not a job, it is the passion of my life.
And the need of the hour is for the church to become more missional in its focus,
a challenge for which I will give the rest of my life.”
Don’t think for a moment that Evangelism Handbook is just filled with passion
and void of solid content. To the contrary, this book offers one of the best
overviews of the discipline of evangelism that I’ve ever read. The first part is an
incredible overview of evangelism from both a biblical and historical
perspective. We are able to see why the message of the gospel is so important
and why that message must be theologically and biblically sound. And we are
able to walk through the history of the Church, looking at her evangelistic
victories and her evangelistic mistakes.
The second part of the book reminds us of the critical need to be spiritually
empowered to do evangelism. Dr. Reid powerfully examines how the spiritual
disciplines can make a believer effective in sharing the message. In other words,
he reminds us that, while the message is vital, the role of the messenger cannot
be overlooked.
From history and theology and spiritual power, the book turns to the practical
application of evangelistic approaches. And in the final section, Dr. Reid
examines the missional focus of the church, offering incredible insights on how
each local church should view its community from the same perspective as a
missionary on a foreign field.
So there are many great truths, many great facts in Evangelism Handbook. But
one thing that stands out in the book is Dr. Reid’s passion for evangelism. That
heartbeat, that spirit, permeates every part of the book.
The late Dr. Lewis Drummond, my mentor and my evangelism professor, said
repeatedly, “Men and women, evangelism can be taught. Its truths are timeless.
But more than anything, evangelism must be caught.” It is that passion that
Alvin Reid brings to this book, a passion that is caught.
I have read this book. I have caught the passion. May many more do likewise.
Thom S. Rainer
President and CEO
LifeWay Christian Resources
Acknowledgments
I never dreamed of becoming an author. During my freshman year in college, I
received a B+ on every theme paper I wrote, convincing me I would never excel
as a writer. Then a seminary professor wrote a comment on a term paper: “You
are a very good writer.” That statement changed my perspective, even though to
this day I often question its accuracy! I enrolled in a writer’s conference held at
my seminary and published an article soon thereafter. I have been writing ever
since.
I share this little glimpse about my writing for three reasons. First, it illustrates
the power of words. The things we read do affect our lives. We can make a
difference through what we write! Second, it shows an individual can change.
My perspective about my ability to write changed through a simple comment. I
pray that the words of this book will convince you that you can make a
difference in evangelism—and, if you are not confident in your ability, that you
can change. Third, we can misjudge our abilities. I do not consider myself a
great writer, but I believe I can write. I had misjudged myself. Whether you are a
pastor or a deacon, minister or layman, student or teacher, if you have doubts
about your ability to make an impact for the kingdom of God, read on. You
might discover that you, too, have misjudged yourself and the God who has
called you to follow Him.
This book builds on my Introduction to Evangelism released in 1998, on the
eve of my fortieth birthday. I turned fifty as this revision and major expansion
was coming to completion. A conversation a few years ago began my journey
that has become this book. My former student and current colleague Bruce
Ashford and I enjoyed breakfast one day in my tenth year at Southeastern. He
asked me a question that I could not let go. “What do you teach differently now
about evangelism than when you taught me almost 10 years ago?” he asked. I
mumbled something to the effect that I taught essentially the same. But inside
my head I already had ideas spinning, motivated by troubling thoughts about the
way the Western Church has practiced evangelism, about our failure to reach the
hard-core unchurched, and about how we were losing youth faster than we could
win them. This book culminates much of what I have thought about and learned
over the last 10 years.
The gospel itself never changes. But culture, technology, and many other vital
parts of life change all the time. Applying the unchanging gospel in a changing
culture through churches that vary in degrees of effectiveness (more are actually
ineffective) means we must adapt the unchanging message to unsteady times.