Friday 16 April 2021

How to Talk About Jesus (without being THAT guy)

I don't know why Zondervan allowed this book to be made. It pretty much removes the need for anyone to read Sam's previous book Evangelism in a Skeptical World. This book is pretty much that one only shorter, clearer and all about being practical.

There was nothing in this book that I hadn't heard from Sam before, but I would still recommend this book for it is easy to access. It is harder for me to say check out these two talks from Sam, or you should watch this funny but informative 13 min clip of Sam giving three tips for evangelism.

Instead in this book, there are 8 general tips for evangelism ranging from how to find or make opportunities to tell your friends about Jesus to the actual telling them about Jesus. The basic premise is that we need to build social cred or trust with others, to not just present the gospel in abstract terms, but we need to build plausibility with people we know so they can then listen to the good news.

There is an idea of community, that you shouldn't be the lone guy who joins a footy team to talk to others about Jesus. Instead, you should do this with friends. You need to merge your universes together, you need to not just keep inviting people to church events while at the same time not going to their things. There is always a give and take in a relationship. There is also to be an understanding of what level of conversation you are having. It is a front yard chat about the weather, is it a morning tea chat over coffee in your workplace or is it in your backyard over a BBQ?

Some may push back and say building a friendship is a lot harder and longer and waiting for opportunities to arise may take too long. Shouldn't you just declare the gospel at someone and if they don't believe it is on them? It worked for Billy Graham. And this may have been true in the 50's and 60's as the culture was pretty Christian and people were been called back to a faith they all kinda knew. But fast forward 70 years and there is no underlying religion of the day. Standards and laws are made by the majority, not because of some abstract objective reason. Everyone is living how they want (as long as it's not hurting someone) but in doing so they are all just fumbling along looking for meaning and satisfaction.

The influence you have on someone is proportional to your relationship with them. That is why there are millions of dollars going into social media. Your friend's recommendations are more influential than corporations. Since everyone is trying to navigate this life, they will turn to their friends and observe them and also talk to them about life, if your open and willing. Christians need to stop living in silos and need to make friends with their neighbours and workmates (outside of 9-5) for the sake of the Gospel.

When this book comes to the tips on talking about Jesus, Sam encourages us to persuade people by presenting a better story. Why is are you a Christian? What is so compelling or satisfactory about that? Why does Christ give you meaning in your life right now? Think about your answer and then tell it, not as a chronologically series of events, but as a story with a beginning, middle and end, with a complication, climax and denouement.

The book also encourages us to disagree well. Sometimes we are too worried about offending someone by disagreeing so then we don't even talk. But, are friendships really ruined because you had a differing opinion over something? You can disagree over movies, food, travel, books etc and still be friends. Embrace the differences and disagreements with your non-Christian friends. Don't be scared of a disagreement, if anything it may even make the friendship stronger. Be open and willing to listen and understand, and show that you are there for them, go to their things, invite them to yours. Hospitality and friendship are today's apologetics.

Overall this was a good book about evangelism in today's climate. It encourages relationships, listening and speaking. In December I gave out 25 copies of this book to all the youth leaders at our church - before I had even read this book (a risky move sometimes), but I am glad I did.

Other things by Sam Chan:
Evangelism in a Skeptical World
Preaching as the Word of God
Sam's testimony as a story content I have used since 2014.

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