Saturday, February 24, 2018

Evangelism Is Not a Sales Pitch: An Interview with Randy Newman


A few weeks ago I was at my weekly lunch with David, a non-Christian reading the Gospel of Mark with me. David has been spending time with Christians for about a year but had yet to repent of his sins and trust in Jesus. By God’s grace, before our lunch was over, David professed faith in Jesus!

What happened during that lunch?

Just days before, I had finished reading Randy Newman’s excellent book, Questioning Evangelism: Engaging People’s Hearts the Way Jesus Did (Kregel, 2017). Newman calls Christians to employ questions in their evangelism—questions “to move the conversation in a Christ-ward direction, questions that non-Christians are asking (either directly or indirectly), and questions that Christians can use as answers” (19).

At my lunch with David, I put into practice what I learned from Newman’s book. I listened to him more, I asked follow-up questions, and eventually (and unexpectedly) the door opened for me to ask a penetrating question that I believe the Holy Spirit used to open David’s eyes to the reality of his sin and his need for forgiveness.

Questioning Evangelism will benefit Christians in their pursuit of more faithful evangelism. The book is the fruit of Newman’s decades of experience in personal evangelism. Further, as a teaching fellow for evangelism and apologetics at the C. S. Lewis Institute and the founder of Connection Points (a ministry to help Christians proclaim the gospel well), he is uniquely qualified to teach, train, and encourage others.

Newman answered some of my questions, providing further insights and encouragements that I trust will benefit your evangelistic efforts. Read More

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