A review by Judith McKeown on Dr. Andy Bannister's latest book
I think most of us will admit that talking about Jesus in our everyday conversations isn’t easy; we feel fearful and when we get those sceptical looks that say, ‘You really believe that?!’, it’s easier to stay quiet. This book, however, will boost your confidence. It’s written in an easy-to-read style and the author is very relatable and humourous! (I would strongly recommend the footnotes because they provide some light entertainment.)
I particularly enjoyed chapter four, ‘Evangelism in Everyday Places’, because the author acknowledges a concern I often have after listening to an evangelistic talk by someone who is very experienced in sharing their faith: ‘Well, that’s OK for you, but I can’t do that!’ Sometimes when we listen to gifted Christian apologists, we can feel demotivated to share our faith, so to counteract that feeling the author gives many examples of what he describes as ‘everyday evangelism’, from introducing a ‘food-for-thought’ section in your church café, starting a book club with your neighbours to planting a ‘faith flag’ at work. The author wants to help us see that we can share our faith, and to encourage us the book centres around the use of good questions as an evangelism tool.
As a backdrop to this the author lists different reasons we may be fearful in evangelism; for example, we don’t want to look like an idiot, we don’t want to cause arguments, we fear failure etc. One theme that begins in this chapter and which threads its way throughout the book is the reminder ‘that salvation is ultimately God’s job’. I was glad to be reminded of this because often I feel that the ‘success’ of my evangelistic efforts depends on me; it does not! It was also helpful to be reminded that in the West we live in a risk-adverse culture, and this can overflow into our view of evangelism; something we must guard against. Using the analogy of rock-climbing, the author argues that what we need when it comes to evangelism is some basic training and a constant reminder of who ‘holds the rope’ i.e. our confidence is in God.
As part of that ‘basic training’ we then come to the core of the book; the use of questions. The author teaches us how to ask good questions and emphasises that prayer must be a priority. He dedicates chapter six to considering how Jesus asked questions. Then we get to the ‘toolbox’ of our training, the four ‘W’ questions: What, Why, Wondering and Whether. As he explains the use of each of these questions, the author gives both biblical and contemporary examples, demonstrating how we would use these questions in a conversation with an atheist or someone of a different religion. The author argues that the ‘Why’ question is important in our feelings-driven culture because society views ‘religion [as] a feelings topic rather than a truth topic’ and when we ask why people believe something, we can get a bit deeper. The ‘Wondering’ question helps us see what our friends really care about. The author argues that by asking the ‘Wondering’ questions we get our friends to consider the source of the things that matter to them: wondering why they feel gratitude, wondering why they care about human rights. The ‘Wondering’ question is a signpost to the next question, the ‘Whether’ question. Interestingly, the author points out that the gospel itself is a question. Jesus asks, ‘Who do people say I am?’ (Mark 8:27) and with the ‘Whether’ question, we are asking people to ‘come and see’ (John 1:43-46) whether Jesus is who he says He is. The author emphasises that we must get individuals to Jesus. It is not our clever questions and answers that win souls, but Jesus Himself, so in our conversations we must remind our friends of things Jesus did, things Jesus said and stories Jesus told.
There is a lot of content, and at times I doubted whether I could remember the list of tips we had been given if I did find myself in a conversation; but the final chapter is a summary of the book and addresses this very fear, with a final reminder that it is God’s work and that God is looking for my faithfulness and availability, not my ability. I would especially recommend this book to anyone who is involved in training others to share their faith. This book will equip you with tools and confidence to help you point people to Jesus (and then they will have forgotten about the answers you didn’t know anyway!) because God, as the author reminds us, ‘is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us’ (Ephesians 3:20-21).
Dr. Andy Bannister is the Director of the Solas Centre for Public Christianity, speaking and teaching regularly throughout the UK, Europe, Canada, the USA and the wider world. He regularly addresses audiences of both Christians and those of all faiths and none on issues relating to faith, culture, politics and society
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