'They [pre-Christians] were asking questions I wasn't prepared to answer, and they no longer seemed interested in the questions I was prepared to answer.' Does this ring true for your efforts at evangelism with postmoderns (pre-Christians)? It was common for author Rick Richardson until he began to truly understand the postmodern mind. But once he understood, God began to work in truly new and exciting ways in Rick's evangelism efforts. Rick began listening to postmoderns, and learning how they viewed various major life issues. He studied postmodern thought, and asked postmodern, pre-Christians what they were looking for in spirituality. Now he knows where postmoderns are, and what is necessary to help them experience God's love. And you can too, by reading Evangelism Outside the Box.
This book is a vivid reminder that God is looking for people to work with and through to bring the lost into His kingdom. In Richardson's words, God 'wants to turn the big, ugly green station wagon (maybe an appropriate analogy for our church or ministry!) around and race to wherever these lost and hurting people can be found. But he's letting us drive.' What a privilege and responsibility! But before we can do this, we must remove the boxes we have tried to constrain God in, and the boxes in which our evangelism efforts reside. We must understand the way postmoderns think about life and spirituality, we must understand their questions, and how they come to know and love God. And then we must change our ways (not our message) of reaching out to them to fit their experiences and thoughts.
To that end, Richardson shows us what some of our boxes might be, and offers practical insight into how to effectively reach out and offer a life-changing experience with God. He emphasizes awakening the souls of pre-Christians (making them realize their need for Jesus), drawing them into community, challenging them to convert, and helping them be transformed into disciples. These four practices have been used throughout Christian history to bring the lost into the kingdom, but Richardson has added a distinctly postmodern understanding to each one. The result is a practical, life-changing and ministry-changing book that will stir the embers of your evangelistic fervor into a roaring flame. And that flame will bring heat and light to a lost generation that God longs to reach.
