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The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission: Promoting the Gospel with More Than Our Lips, by John Dickson
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This book comes out of years of reflection, failures, and some successes in the task of reaching out to others with the gospel. Many Christians think of the task of mission as an entirely verbal activity, when perhaps the best kept secret of New Testament teaching about mission is that it involves a whole range of activities that explicitly promote Christ to the world and draw others to him, and only a few of them involve speaking. Without diminishing or downplaying the importance of speaking the gospel, John Dickson shows that, on the other hand, downplaying the range of activities that promote Christ to the world has its own set of problems. It can make those who are not confident about speaking—of anything, let alone Jesus—feel inadequate and self-conscious in the task of reaching out to others. Equally, it can make those who do have a flair for speaking feel as though they are fulfilling Christ’s mission just by talking. But the reality is that the Lord wants our whole life, not just our lips, in the task of bringing the gospel to the world. Every facet of our lives can be used by God to promote the news of his power and mercy. In this practical guide to the biblical art of sharing your faith, John Dickson offers refreshing insight into the ways that all Christians can and should be involved in spreading the good news of Jesus. While not all Christians are called and gifted to become evangelists, we are all called to promote the gospel through a wide range of activities—prayer, financial partnership, good deeds, godly lives, public worship, daily conversation, etc.—with and without our lips. As readers engage with this book, grapple with its arguments and hear the stories of people coming to faith, they will be inspired to see the whole of life as significant for bringing the gospel to the world, and they will be liberated out of guilt and self-consciousness in evangelism into becoming perfectly natural promoters of Jesus Christ.
- Sales Rank: #175385 in Books
- Brand: HarperCollins Christian Pub.
- Published on: 2013-04-30
- Released on: 2013-04-30
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.50" h x .63" w x 5.47" l, .55 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 240 pages
Review
Whereas so many books on evangelism are filled with techniques and strategies, the first and most heartwarming thing to commend about this book is that it is biblical---excitingly, eye-openingly biblical from start to finish, moving backward and forward within the Bible and between the Bible, and offering abundant 'case studies' in today's world. The book's second great feature is that it is balanced---showing us in just how many ways the Bible speaks about what we can do to promote the gospel. Everything is there, from being bold to being beautiful (yes, even that is biblical), from doing good to doing worship. Here is a book that takes us beyond merely talking about the gospel (without ever leaving that behind) to really living it, and also makes sure that when we do talk about the gospel, we actually have in mind something that the gospel writers and the apostle Paul would recognize. Biblical, balanced, and---well, brilliant. -- Christopher J.H. Wright, Author, The Mission of God and The Mission of God's People
|This book has the potential to radically change for good your perspective on evangelism. It is required reading at Parkside. -- Alistair Begg, Senior Minister, Parkside Church
|This is as lively and sensible a book on evangelism as I have seen, especially valuable for bringing out the wide range of activities that need to be carried on in effective Christian witness in contemporary society. It encourages congregations to recognize the varied gifts of their members and to enable each one to be involved in evangelism, even though not all of them may be called to be evangelists in the narrower sense of the term. -- Howard Marshall, Professor, University of Aberdeen
|When I was asked to review this new book on evangelism, I didn't know what to expect. But I soon discovered: this is a terrific book! Without compromising or reducing the gospel to pious platitudes, Dickson presents evangelism as the Christ-centered imperative of biblical faith. Theologically rich and practically helpful. -- Timothy George, Editor, Christianity Today
|John Dickson's The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission was not only a great stimulus to my own thinking about evangelism but also proved a real help to our congregation at St. Ebbe's, Oxford, as we thought through how we could best fulfill our role as Christ's witnesses. It's a wonderful mix of thoughtful reflection on the Bible and down-to-earth practical application. -- Vaughan Roberts, President, The Proclamation Trust UK
|Even---or perhaps especially---if you do not consider yourself to be a gifted evangelist, John Dickson will encourage you from Scripture with many varied ways to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ. -- Collin Hansen, Author, Young, Restless, Reformed:A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvinists
|John Dickson shows that taking seriously the church's message, worship, and ecclesiology, along with the biblical call for Christians to impact the social and cultural world around them, does not negate the mandate and high calling of evangelism. In fact, to be ambassadors for the gospel of the kingdom is at the heart of what it means to be a Christian and to change the world. This is a message that needs to be heard. -- Jim Belcher, Author, Deep Church
|John Dickson has given us a biblically rich and powerfully written book on evangelism. His views are deeply embedded in Scripture and well-rounded. He does not fall into formulas, but encourages us toward a lifestyle of living and speaking the gospel in our culture today. I recommend this book to those whose passion for evangelism has flagged as well as for those who are actively sharing Christ with their friends and neighbors. -- Tremper Longman III, Professor, Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College
|Any twenty-first-century Christian who has felt the dread of proselytizing people into the faith should read John Dickson's empathetic, confessional treatise on Christian mission. He combines the mind of a scholar with the heart of a pastor to talk to us as fellow Christians about the compelling wonder of Christ for the twenty-first-century world. -- David Livermore, Executive Director, Global Learning Center, Grand Rapids MI
|Some years ago John Dickson ran an excellent evangelism training course in our local church. The course material---now available in this book---is biblical, liberating, and practical. I commend it as a stimulating resource for congregations and church leadership teams. -- Christopher Ash, Director, Cornhill Training Course , London
|A biblical, practical, warm, and encouraging book that does exactly what it sets out to do: equip us as the Christian community to promote the gospel. This should become a standard text on the subject. -- Michael Frost, Director, Centre for Evangelism and Global Mission, Morling College, Sydney
|Having read Dr. Dickson's published doctoral thesis, I am delighted that he has now produced this highly readable book for all church members in the biblical art of mission today. The style is down-to-earth and lively. I warmly recommend it. -- Donald Robinson, Principal of Moore Theological College, Sydney
|Here is a compelling case for the involvement of all believers in promoting the gospel, not based on hype or overwrought exegesis but on a profound understanding of Scripture and illustrated with contemporary and moving human experience. A must-read. -- Robert Forsyth, Bishop of South Sydney, Anglican Church of Australia
|I warmly recommend this book. I have learned from reading it, and I have no doubt that others will as well. It challenged me, encouraged me, and often inspired me. And at my age that's quite an achievement! -- Alister McGrath, President, Oxford Centre for Christian Apologetics
|In The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission, John Dickson winsomely demonstrates how each of us can be part of the greatest story ever: God's mission to our hurting world. He insightfully observes that proclaiming the gospel is not only about witnessing to the reality of God's worth and uniqueness with our lips but with our very lives---through such everyday but life-transforming acts as prayer, faithfulness, compassion, and worship ... I wholeheartedly commend John's book to you and know you will be richer for his insights. -- Ravi Zacharias
|'John Dickson presents a bigger picture of evangelism than most of us are used to. We should, he insists, recognise worship, love, prayer, and generosity as all part of 'gospel' work. Still more refreshing is the heart of the book: a treatment of Jesus and the Kingdom of God---the message of the four Gospels---as the centre of 'the gospel.' God's good news is about the entire new creation, and ourselves caught up into it; it is not just a mechanism for getting individuals into heaven. Dickson explains the whole picture with so many real-life stories that one cannot fail to be drawn in to the excitement of this many-sided gospel work. Here is a book offering fresh energy for the whole task of the whole people of God.' -- N. T. Wright, Bishop of Durham
|Dickson offers a thoroughly biblical account of evangelism, informed and enlivened by stories from his own experience. For many who are weary of what often goes by the name evangelism, this book will be a most refreshing and inspiring experience. -- Richard Bauckham, Senior Scholar, Ridley Hall, Cambridge
From the Back Cover
"Dickson explains the whole picture of evangelism with so many real-life stories that one cannot fail to be drawn in to the excitement of this many-sided gospel work. Here is a book offering fresh energy for the whole task of the whole people of God."
--N. T. Wright, Bishop of Durham
"Biblical, balanced, and--well, brilliant."
--Christopher J. H. Wright, international director of Langham Partnership International, author of The Mission of God and The Mission of God's People
"This book has the potential to radically change for good your perspective on evangelism."
--Alistair Begg, senior minister of Parkside Church, Cleveland, Ohio
"This is as lively and sensible a book on evangelism as I have seen."
--I. Howard Marshall, emeritus professor of New Testament, University of Aberdeen
"A terrific book . . . theologically rich and practically helpful."
--Timothy George, founding dean of Beeson Divinity School of Samford University and senior editor of Christianity Today
"Even--or perhaps especially--if you do not consider yourself to be a gifted evangelist, John Dickson will encourage you to promote the gospel of Jesus Christ."
--Collin Hansen, Christianity Today editor-at-large and author of Young, Restless, Reformed: A Journalist's Journey with the New Calvinists
"This is a message that needs to be heard."
--Jim Belcher, author of Deep Church
"A biblically rich and powerfully written book on evangelism . . . that encourages us toward a lifestyle of living and speaking the gospel in our culture today."
--Tremper Longman, Robert H. Gundry Professor of Biblical Studies, Westmont College
"Dickson offers a thoroughly biblical account of evangelism, informed and enlivened by stories from his own experience. Most refreshing and inspiring."
--Richard Bauckham, Senior Scholar, Ridley Hall, Cambridge
"A wonderful mix of thoughtful reflection on the Bible and down-to-earth practical application."
--Vaughan Roberts, rector of St. Ebbe's Church, Oxford, and president of The Proclamation Trust UK
About the Author
John Dickson (PhD, Macquarie University, Sydney) is a senior research fellow of the Department of Ancient History, Macquarie University; co-director of the Centre for Public Christianity; and senior minister at St. Andrew’s Roseville. The author of more than a dozen books, he is the host of two major historical documentaries for Australian television and is a busy public speaker in corporations, universities, churches, and conferences.
Most helpful customer reviews
20 of 20 people found the following review helpful.
This book reviewed
By Steve
I've just read The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission by John Dickson, subtitled Promoting the Gospel with More Than Our Lips. It is not often anymore that I read books on evangelism or mission. I am tired of "how to's" and this book's title smelled like another how to book. Although I must admit that I've never liked sermons giving me 10 ways I can defeat the enemy or 15 ways to act like a Christian, I thought I'd give this book a chance - mostly because it had forewords by one of my favorite authors, Alister McGrath, along with Ravi Zacharias. It also had a nice word written by N.T.Wright on the back of the book jacket along with several others. So, I read it. I'm glad I did!
John Dickson begins with an apology. Not an apologetic, but an apology. Dickson is a self-admitted evangelist. And as such, feels that how evangelism has been taught has oftentimes hurt more than helped. By giving us specific ways to bring someone to the point of a `sale' we have moved away from genuine interchange and into the realm of artifice. Potential `buyers' can smell it and put up their sales resistant shields. Thus fewer and fewer sales are made and a rift is placed between the sellers and `targets'. The joy of sharing the gospel is replaced with self-consciousness and frustration and the world is left without a clear witness to Christ from His people. John hopes to help remedy that situation through this book.
John lists four unhelpful perspectives that have come from how we have been taught. These unhelpful perspectives have undermined our witness to Christ. First, because we have been given what words to say when, we have become self-conscious and contrived. Evangelism has become a special type of behavior that is somehow different than our daily life in Christ. We go out to witness as an add-on to how we actually live our lives. Thus our witness becomes contextually divorced from life.
Second, since our witness has been divorced from life, when we get an opportunity to say something about our faith in Jesus, we feel the need, nay the requirement, to say everything that we can say about the gospel. Every verse that has a bearing must be said. The `Roman road' has trod over many a weary traveler, to this I can attest.
Third, we reduce the gospel to two simple points. First, we are unworthy of God's acceptance, and second, that to be accepted by God we need only believe. The actual story of Christ Jesus as testified to in the four gospels is never mentioned. It is as if we expect people to already know who Jesus really is and all they need is some guilt and or fear to move them along. `Witnessing' becomes a sales pitch instead of a personal testimony of the living Lord of life. No wonder people often feel like they have been sold a bill of goods. The Jesus that John wrote of who he had seen with his own eyes and his own hands have handled is noticeably absent.
The fourth unhelpful perspective is that we have underestimated the mission we all have in promoting the gospel in this world. We have often thought that the only way to get the message of Jesus out is to preach, or at least give verbal witness (lip service?). Now Dickson assures us that the verbal expression of the gospel is vital. He just wants us to realize that the verbal witness to Christ must come in a context that promotes the acceptance of this verbal witness. We all have a role in promoting the gospel by living a life consistent with the truth of this gospel.
This is where the title of the book comes in. Dickson writes "perhaps the best kept secret of Christian mission is that the Bible lists a whole range of activities that promote Christ to the world and draw others to him. These include prayer, godly behavior, financial assistance, the public praise of God (in church) and, as already mentioned, answering people's questions. All of these are explicitly connected in the Bible with advancing the gospel and winning people to Christ. They are all "mission" activities, and only a couple of them involve the lips at all." The first seven chapters are devoted to filling out what he means by these ways in which we all can promote the gospel.
He makes a helpful distinction between promoting the gospel and declaring the gospel. While we all can promote the gospel by these ways, not everyone is to declare the gospel through preaching. This service is set aside for those whom God has equipped and called to do such things.
This book was both a relief and a challenge to me. A relief in that I do not have to knock on doors or accost people at the mall in order to contribute to the church's witness to Christ. The last vestiges of that leftover guilt was washed from my spirit, of which I am thankful. It is a challenge in that I can see several ways that not only I, but also those I lead, could be more involved in promoting the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ.
This book is an excellent and timely encouragement. In an era where the pressure on Christians to acquiesce before the god of this age is intensifying, squeezing them into a crippled posture of hopelessness and ineffectiveness, the thoughts that John Dickson has shared herein can work as an antidote. I pray for the day when Christians will live their lives in such a way as to adorn the gospel with beauty, presenting Jesus as He is, the gracious and awesome Lord of all.
12 of 12 people found the following review helpful.
Great Example of Exposition
By Martin Pitcher
Let me start out by saying that it is an easy read at 218 pages, with a font that is very comfortable to read with or without my glasses on. That has become very important to me over the coarse of the last year. Dispersed throughout the text are call-out boxes that give further background, illustration, definitions, or what have you, that give the content an extra lift. Each chapter (with one exception) is short and nicely divided into small sections by subtitles. The flow is wonderful and makes for enjoyable reading. The book itself is a page-turner and I have had trouble putting it down.
The chapter titles are short with an explanatory subtitle; i.e.
* The One and the Many: Why Get Involved in Mission?
* The Many and the One: The Challenge of Pluralism.
* Following the "Friend of Sinners": The Missionary Mind of the Ordinary Christian.
There is so much that I could say about this book, but I have chosen to limit myself to comment on three chapters in particular.
Let me start with chapter two, The Many and the One: The Challenge of Pluralism. I find that the author does a tremendous job of explaining pluralism in an easy to understand way. Sometimes we get so caught up in definitions that we lose many people along the way. On the other hand, Mr. Dickson does not. He gives a clear, concise, two-part definition of this issue, having divided it into popular and sophisticated pluralism.
In The Hidden Mission: Promoting the Gospel with our Prayer (which is chapter four) you will find sections such as; Compassion and Prayer (Matthew 9:35-10:5), Prayer and Mission Throughout the Bible, Pleading with God, Intercession for Others, Lifting the Gospel Above Our Circumstances, and The Hidden Mission. This chapter alone is worthy of your time to read and re-read.
Finally, I want to spend time speaking to chapter eight, What Is the Gospel? The Message We Promote. It is a rare thing to have someone give a clear focus on exactly what the gospel is. Mr. Dickson does not lets us down, as this is the longest of all the chapters. In this chapter, he takes us to various passages of Scripture in order to give a precise presentation of the Gospel message. Studying this chapter will pay huge dividends as you go forth and present the message of salvation. For those who teach and preach, I would recommend looking carefully at how Mr. Dickson uses the expository method in his writing. There is much fruit to be harvested from the example he has set forth here. If for no other reason, all who preach or teach the Word should learn exposition as the author has. What a delight!
This is a fantastic look at what it means to be on mission, to do mission, to live out our mission. Get the book. Read the book. Study it with your Bible in hand, looking up each passage. Pray as you learn what mission is. You will not find a better book on the subject outside of the Scriptures.The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission: Promoting the Gospel with More Than Our Lips
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful.
This book will impact how you share your faith
By Drewcephus
When I read this book, I had just returned to the US from a 6 month missionary journey through England and South Africa. We went through some incredible evangelistic training and were coming back to begin planting a church here in the States. Knowing that I could never read enough about sharing the Gospel, I picked up this book to sharpen our plans for evangelizing our community. What a great choice.
I have been part of countless evangelism techniques and have great stories from many of them. Even the door-to-door work I've done was used by God in incredible ways. But, it always made me feel like a salesman. I really think the methods that are out there are better than nothing, but in many cases end up pushing people away rather than drawing them to Jesus.
In, The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission, we encounter a natural, non-technique framework for sharing our faith. Dickson outlines several "evangelistic activities" that the Bible describes to help us share the truth without being trained like vacuum cleaner salesmen. It is a great resource to take people through who want to do more to evangelize, but are just not sales people. The chapter on "The Friend of Sinners" is one that I will read over and over.
The negatives of the book are not content oriented at all. The title and cover of the book are about as dull and unappealing as I could possibly imagine. I realize that I am fighting against the tried and true axiom, "You can't judge a book by it's cover," but when I have a stack of books to read and I have to weed them out based upon some sort of decision-making process, the reality is I will judge the book by its cover. This one nearly failed. Thank goodness the McGrath/Zacharias/Wright comments were on this book or I would never have opened it.
Overall, this is a book that will truly revolutionize the way we share our faith. It gives real illustrations that help us visualize how we can do the same things. It supplies biblical foundations for each and every point and it does so in a style that is easy to read and well paced. If you want to share Jesus with a particular person, or if you want to train others to do the same, this book will surely give you a running start.
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