EMQ » April–June 2019 » Volume 55 Issue 2
By Sam Chan
Zondervan, 2018
Grand Rapids, MI
288 pages
ISBN: 978-0310534679
USD $22.49
Reviewed by Rick Kronk, PhD, Scholar-Practitioner with Christar, Inc., Assistant Professor of Global Ministries, Toccoa Falls College, Toccoa Falls, Georgia.
Although the Gospel message never changes, each generation of Christians is responsible to make that message understood and available to those with whom they live and work. In Evangelism in a Skeptical World, Sam Chan has done just that. Writing from a complex personal ethnic background (an advantage in the increasingly multi-cultural context of the West) to an increasingly multi-ethnic Church, Chan seeks to help the reader communicate the Gospel more effectively to an increasingly post-modern Western context.
To do so, Chan begins by providing useful definitions and explanations of key concepts such as gospel, evangelism, faith, repentance, and conversion. In so doing he places himself and his text squarely in the evangelical tradition. With examples drawn from both the biblical record and his personal experience, Chan proceeds to walk the reader through what he considers to be fundamental building-blocks to constructing a coherent Gospel message for the current generation. Along the way he deals with topics such as crafting a Gospel presentation (chapter 3), Evangelism to Post-Moderns (chapter 4), and Contextualization for Evangelism (chapter 5).
The strengths of this text are multiple and include a clear articulation of an evangelical commitment to Gospel-centric evangelism, an understanding of the issues surrounding the challenges of bringing propositional truth to post-modern contexts, a range of helpful examples and approaches intended to assist the reader in constructing Gospel-focused communication and an understanding of the dynamics of conversion and the need to appeal to the affective/relational aspect in contrast to a cognitive/information based approach. Of particular interest is Chan’s evaluation (chapter 3) of the adequacy of three popular evangelistic materials/approaches (Two Ways to Live, The 4 Spiritual Laws, and The Bridge to Life) for Gospel communication in a post-modern context.
The highly readable, helpful text leaves little to critique. Though if pressed I would offer the following. In the first chapter in which Chan deals with the Theology of Evangelism, his discussion of Speech-Act theory and its effect on Gospel communication, though accurate, is a bit too technical for a book of this nature. Second, though Chan clearly articulates an accurate doxis and praxis of evangelism consistent with evangelical convictions, he fails to adequately place evangelism in relationship to the Church. Though he notes that the converted person becomes part of the Church at the moment of conversion, he fails to show how evangelism and the Church are complementary concepts and not separate experiences.
For Further Reading
Dillon, Christine. Telling the Gospel through Story: Evangelism that Keeps Hearers Wanting More. Downers Grove, InterVarsity, 2012.
Richardson, Rick. Evangelism Outside the Box: New Ways to Help People Experience the Good News. Downers Grove, InterVarsity, 2000.
