"Speaking of Jesus: The Art of Not-Evangelism" Review

Carl Medearis' book Speaking of Jesus: The Art of Not-Evangelism  (pick it up here on Amazon.com) was a fresh look at how to talk about Jesus to non-followers of Jesus. This book challenged me to rethink how I talk to people about Jesus and if the ways I had done evangelism were even effective. The first thing that Medearis does is to challenge the us verses them mentality that many Christians have. He says, "What if I told you that this 'us verses them' model of Christianity also misses the point? And that when you speak of Jesus from that paradigm, you are not only ineffective--you will also lose the game?" These two questions set me on the journey through this book that has changed the way I look at evangelism.

What I liked about the book: This book is straight to the point and an easy read. Some evangelism books are so technical that I wonder if it is useful in helping a Christian share Jesus with anyone. Medearis also points out in this book that the gospel is not an idea, a what or a how. The gospel is a Who. The author helps the reader get reconnected with the fact that the gospel is about Jesus not some model of how to share the gospel.

Probably the biggest thing I liked about this book is that it showed that evangelism is not a single or once in awhile action that Christians do but is a lifestyle that we live. Medearis says, "...because evangelism is an -ism, it encourages people to think of it as a philosophy or methodology as opposed to a lifestyle." Instead Medearis is calling us to make disciples (for a great book on that see this post.)

What I didn't like about the book: The first thing that almost turned me off from the book was on page 20 (Kindle version) when Medearis writes, "The problem was, after He [Jesus] moved in, He started throwing some of my stuff out, and I had pretty neat stuff. I had a college degree, I had a ministry, and I had a whole bunch of really valuable Christian things. Solid doctrines, good theology, and a vision for the lost. And He threw them out." I understand that he was trying to make a powerful illustration about how often Jesus is removed from salvation and these other things are put in its place, but these things are still valuable and there could have been another way to make his point.

In the end this is a great book and a good read. I encourage you to take the time to pick this book up and read.