Dr. Randy Newman has given the Church another gift in Mere Evangelism.
If you are familiar with any of Randy’s work, then you know that his holistic and thoughtful approach to evangelism challenges many of our preconceived notions or narratives about what evangelism should or will look like today. In “Questioning Evangelism,” Randy questioned (wink) the pre-packaged and simple evangelistic methods which have been so common in evangelicalism. While pragmatic (and no doubt fruitful in some situations), such methods do not typically honor the non-Christian in their doubts and questions. Nor do they honor what we know about how Jesus presented the gospel and his kingdom to those he encountered.
In “Unlikely Converts,” real stories of God’s saving and transforming work in others not only led to good lessons for our work of evangelism, but they were also deeply encouraging. God really is still at work today! As much as we need tools to grow in our own evangelism and relationships with non-Christians, we need to be desperately dependent on God to move and work.
This is what I’ve come to love about Randy’s work: helpful reflections on the work of evangelism that never depart from a dependence on Jesus to seek and save just as he promised. Now in Mere Evangelism, he gives us his thoughtful reflections and honest heart through the lens of C.S. Lewis. The result is an absolute treasure.