Conversion isn’t merely a good feeling. It’s not just a change of mind. It’s not turning over a new leaf. Those things may happen, but they can happen for reasons other than conversion. True conversion is unique. It’s born out of repentance and faith, and its fruit is a changed life.
J. Mack Stiles, Evangelism
The book referenced above by J. Mack Stiles is brand new and is well worth your while. The purpose of the book is not primarily to teach about personal evangelism, but to aid in producing a culture of evangelism within a local church. Stiles is a good writer and it shows in this book. Evangelism is approachable and quick to read. The only real drawback I see is that it is relatively expensive for such a brief book. Nevertheless, if the value is based upon its quality rather than it’s quantity, it is worth every penny.
For Stiles, Evangelism is not talking about Jesus, it is “teaching the gospel with the aim to persuade.” Teaching the gospel and anticipating conversion is not the quick evangelistic method that many in the United States learned and grew used to twenty years ago. The tedious work of teaching the gospel may take months or years to lead someone to Christ and it may seem a bit anti-climactic. Teaching the gospel is often devoid of the adrenaline-filled experiences of evangelism we have experienced at times in our lives and it is certainly not as exciting as mass revival. However, if every believer were regularly engaged with just one lost person, teaching the gospel patiently and persistently, imagine the kind of world-wide revival we could experience. It is this kind of “every-person” church-centric evangelism that Stiles advocates, and his message is well worth your while.
