Each week, the Flourish team would like to recommend resources that will help you on your journey of Church Renewal. While we don’t endorse every single idea from every single resource we are attempting to cultivate a useful resource list for you.
Resource: The Celtic Way of Evangelism, by George Hunter.
Background: George G. Hunter, III is one of the most helpful guides to becoming oriented towards and reaching post-Christian people. His passion for evangelizing secular people began while seeking to bring the gospel to the weightlifters of Venice Beach, CA in the 60's while a college student. After two pastorates and additional degrees, Dr. Hunter began decades of training pastors and church leaders in evangelism that connects with the unchurched.
Take-aways: In 1 Thessalonians 2:8 Paul talks about the form of life he and his companions operated under while among the Thessalonians as missionaries. It is a form of life most Americans would loathe. We desire an evangelism that bears fruit without demanding much of us. Hunter’s description of the kind of evangelism which prevailed in the Middle Ages (among pagans!) alerts us to the fact that our form of ministry likely costs us too little of ourselves. Living among people, really understanding their current state of mind and heart, noticing the echoes of Eden and the longings for the New Heavens and New Earth in their culture, and then proclaiming the gospel to them in emotion-filled and vivid forms is uncommon for us. Hunter maintains it must become more common if we are to reach increasingly pagan people with no Christian memory. While you likely won’t agree with everything in this book, it will challenge you in ways that will provoke your thinking and ministry practice for God’s glory.
Bonus content: James Petticrew wrote a rather comprehensive review of this book.
