'Beyond the Fringe – Reaching people outside the church'
Nick Pollard
IVP, Nottingham, UK
ISBN 0-85111-648-5
Price in UK £5.99Nick Pollard, of UK's Solent Christian Trust, has edited this book by three UK Christian leaders:
Paul Harris, UK's Evangelical Alliance evangelism co-ordinator
Tony Watkins of the Damaris Project
Phil Wall, Salvation Army Mission Team leader
Paul Harris's section deals with his experience as a minister of church-based home-visiting and offers a model for effective outreach. Phil Wall makes thought-provoking suggestions on models of church evangelism, some of which tie in with Stephen Hall's comments on the Engel Scale. He proposes the importance of allowing people to 'belong' before they 'believe'.
Both contributions would be well worth an evening's analysis and discussion in any church leadership/elder/deacon meeting.
However, it is Tony Watkins section 'Talking with the World' which is most relevant to web evangelism. He writes:
"How can we go on to communicate this good news clearly and relevantly to a lost world?... Why does it feel so much harder now than it once did?..."For the last 200 years, one worldview has dominated our society above all others: the worldview known as modernism. But over the last couple of decades, everything has changed. Modernism hasn't lived up to its promises, but has landed us with massive problems. So most people these days don't believe in or value the things their parents or grandparents did: they have a new worldview known as postmodernism. It rejects modernism and strongly influences almost everyone under the age of about 35 (and move over 35 too)... It is negative and cynical. It doesn't accept anything as true. All that matters is how it makes me feel. People are more aware again of a spiritual side to life, though stopping well short of interest in Jesus Christ. This is not a minor change. It's the biggest shift in outlook for over 200 years. It is a completely new way of looking at life, the universe and everything. And the result is that very often our evangelism doesn't hit the mark.
"It's no longer just overseas missionaries who need skills and understanding for cross-cultural mission. Those who stay at home now need them just as much. If we are to be effective in evangelism we must understand both what makes people tick and how to communicate the gospel relevantly . Ultimately we rely on Gods Spirit to convict people. But that is no excuse for failing to communicate the good news of Jesus Christ effectively."
He goes on to discuss the importance of being in the world, but not of it,
and quotes Bill Hybels' equation:
MI = HP + CP + CC
where MI = Maximum Impact
HP = High Potency
CP = Close Proximity
CC = Clear Communication
Watkins stresses the importance of understanding modern culture and thinking expressed in books and films. He analyses Paul's evangelistic message in Athens (Acts 17) as a model.
Almost everything he says has a direct bearing on how we write webpages which actually relate to modern culture and meet people where they really are. His comments on particular books and films offer a basis for creating 'staging post' webpages to bring people in to the web on these subjects – as does Hollywood Jesus – the book is worth it for this insight alone.
You are welcome to use or modify this review in any Christian publication or church newsletter without attribution.
Ordering the book
It is available in Christian bookshops in UK, but not currently in US or elsewhere.
It is in stock at discount from several UK online bookshops.
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