Thanks to everyone who joined me for the book club discussions of Jacob Needleman's book, The American Soul. I appreciated the conversations we had at all three sessions and they helped me get a lot more out of the book.I've just started reading a new book I'm considering as the selection for my next book club which will start in January. The book is called The Heart of Evangelism and was written by Jerram Barrs, Professor of Christianity and Contemporary Culture at Covenant Theological Seminary.
I frequently try to choose a book that goes well with the focus for my Sunday preaching. My first teaching series in 2013 will be about how Christians can share their faith with others in authentic and humble ways. The emphasis will be on the life that must precede and accompany the message. I'm calling this series "Birthing Belief: Sharing Our Lives and Our Faith." Each week I'll be talking about a specific action/behavior/attitude that must precede or accompany any effort to evangelize. With that in mind, I'm hoping that Barrs book will be a good complement to my series. If you've read the book and have any opinions about it, I'd appreciate hearing from you.
Here is the publisher's description for Barr's book:
All Christians are called. Called to love God with all
that we are. Called to serve Him. Called to reach out to the lost.
However, if we are honest, the majority of us would admit that we find
this last calling the most difficult. While we gladly support the
evangelistic ministries of others, many of us feel discouraged by our
own attempts at witnessing because our memorized approaches don't seem
to work. This biblical study of evangelism gracefully reminds us
that the New Testament model of witnessing is not a one-size-fits-all
methodology. With compassion for the lost filling every page, Jerram
Barrs shows the variety of approaches used in the New Testament-where
the same uncompromised Gospel was packaged as differently as the
audience-and calls you to follow its example.
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