Evangelism After Pluralism
The Ethics of Christian Witness
(Baker Academic, 2018)
WHO: Bryan Stone, associate dean for academic affairs and E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at the Boston University School of Theology, where he also codirects the Center for Practical Theology.
HE SAYS: “The ethics of evangelism is an ethics of response, embodiment, and exemplification, not an ethics of results or extension.”
THE BIG IDEA: This book addresses the reasons evangelism often fails. The author argues for evangelism as a work of imagination and a witness to beauty rather than a crass effort to compete for converts in pluralistic contexts.
THE PROGRESSION:
The author begins by defining important terms and concepts, showing that the way we lead our lives as Christians is the most meaningful tool of evangelism in today’s rapidly changing world.
He emphasizes that because evangelism is always about having a ridiculous hope, Christians need to better define and exemplify this hope so it can be recognized as the good news, stating that ultimately we should be recognized by this hope.
“Evangelism is the offer of beauty rather than an exercise in positioning the good news within a crowded marketplace in an attempt to fight off the competition.”
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