I have been reading a book with our staff team, that has made me pump my fist in excitement and exclamation more than anything I have read for a long time. It is called Evangelism after Christendom: The Theology and Practice of Christian Witness by Bryan Stone. I am only about a third of the way through the book, but I have enjoyed the historical look at Jesus and his teachings combined with a church-focused imperative for missions. So far it has challenged many of our current notions of success, and questioning our current evangelistic strategies, as well as drawing us back to a realistic dependence on Jesus' teachings as our mission defined. We've also had some powerful discussions that are leading the way to greater actions as a church community. Be warned, it is not for theologically the faint of heart - it is a very slow read, but a very fulfilling one if you can hack it.
exerpt . . .
Because of the new order present in Jesus and because of the social, political, and subversive dimensions of that new order, "believing in Jesus" is not a private mental assent to a set of propositions about his nature, an individual experience of his person, or a legalistic performance of his teachings. Apostolic evangelism is an invitation to be formed socially by the Holy Spirit into the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus through incorporation into his body. Anything less can never be a full "offer" of Christ.
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