Product Description

How do people come to Jesus in today's postmodern culture? Not by a mechanical, linear process of cookie cutter conversions. Nor by a nebulous spiritual wandering that never culminates in decision and commitment.

Over the last decade, Don Everts and Doug Schaupp have listened to the stories of two thousand postmodern people who have come to follow Jesus. While their stories are diverse and varied, certain common themes emerge. Postmodern evangelism is a mysterious and organic process that nevertheless goes through discernible phases, as people cross thresholds from distrust to trust, from complacency to curiosity and from meandering to seeking.

Everts and Schaupp describe the factors that influence how people shift in their perspectives and become open to the Gospel. They provide practical tools to help people enter the kingdom, as well as guidelines for how new believers can live out their Christian faith.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #118381 in Books
• Published on: 2008-05-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 134 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780830836086
• BUY WITH CONFIDENCE, Over one million books sold! 98% Positive feedback. Compare our books, prices and service to the competition. 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed
• Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.

Review
"Doug and Don and their brothers and sisters with InterVarsity have discerned a new movement of God's Spirit among our post-Christian, postmodern culture. Their insights from the frontlines of campus ministry provide a whole new paradigm for viewing the process by which one becomes a member of the kingdom of God." -- --Douglas Scott, writer and filmmaker, creative catalyst and video producer, Willow Creek Community Church

"There is great help in this new book by Don and Doug. It reveals clues on how God 'mysteriously and marvelously' moves people toward himself. I'm incorporating the content into my teaching, starting today." -- --Lon Allison, director, Billy Graham Center, Wheaton College

"This is a primer on how postmodernity affects evangelism. Doug and Don's observations are born out of experience, not theory. Their insights are accessible and applicable not only on the college campus but where you live and work." -- --Jim Henderson, author of Evangelism Without Additives and Jim and Casper Go to Church

"What's in the secret sauce? It took two decades of lab work to find out, but two campus ministers working two different kitchens have picked up the five pivotal 'thresholds' that usher postmoderns into faith. This will be high on my list of the most important books on evangelism published so far in the twenty-first century." -- --Leonard Sweet, Drew Theological School, George Fox University, www.sermons.com

"When it comes to evangelism, a one-size-fits-all approach has not worked for a long time--if ever. Schaupp and Everts have helped us all by actually finding out how students these days are making their way to faith. The view of evangelism that emerges is relational, natural and full of integrity. My students, even those who can hardly say the E-word without stuttering, will find their anxieties diminishing and their boldness increasing. This book is now a key component of my reading lists." -- --Stephen A. Hayner, professor of evangelism, Columbia Theological Seminary

Customer Reviews

How Not to be a Jerk for Jesus
For so many of us, sharing our faith is a frustrating exercise. We have the best of intentions, but end up being jerks for Jesus. We avoid non-Christians like the plague for a while. Then some one or some thing convinces us that we really ought to evangelize. So we gear up with self-righteous, fire and brimstone fear of hell for the next round.

And we wonder why Christians have a reputation for being judgmental, close-minded and angry. Why would anyone else want to be a Christian when we make it look so uncomfortable?

If this sounds familiar to you, you are going to love "I Once Was Lost". Get ready to be amazed at how easy sharing Jesus can be. It's a freeing, wonderful book full of insights and practical applications. Not a how-to book on evangelism. More like a how-come what we have been doing hasn't been working. And biblical, helpful ways to see the whole process of coming to Jesus differently than you ever have before.

Emphasizing relationship over religion and loving over lecturing; this book will give you the confidence to share what you love about Jesus and let Him handle the rest. A very special book that every Christian ought to read.

Ya Can't Treat Everyone The Same
I was a little worried about the book's approach when it stated it that there are five stages a pre-christian goes through before understanding what it takes to make a commitment to Jesus (as in, "Oh no, not another formula..."). But as I read I saw these stages as not being so much "steps to peace with God" but more like "steps to understanding the journey they are on". It is a book that snaps everything into place in your head if you have ever tried to unsuccessfully (or successfully) lead someone to Jesus. You will say, "Oh, that's why that person reacted the way they did!". Many times we operate on a different level than people are on. Too many times we are too eager to dump all of our knowledge and training on someone who is asking for just a little understanding. Other times people are ready to make the commitment but we are not seeing it and we let the opportunity pass. This book helps you to discern where people are in their quest for Christ as well as letting you know you are not the only one who screws up the evangelism adventure. A must read!

Helpful Insights for Those Wanting to Reach a Postmodern Generation
How can we effectively evangelize non-Christians in a postmodern age?

How are postmodern people coming to Christ?

What lessons can we learn from their spiritual journeys that might help us as we work to fulfill the Great Commission?

In I Once Was Lost: What Postmodern Skeptics Taughts us about Their Path to Jesus (IVP, 2008), Don Everts and Doug Schaupp draw on their many years of experience in ministry to postmoderns in order to help answer these questions and more. I Once Was Lost is a book born out of evangelistic efforts in a postmodern setting.

Throughout their ministry among postmoderns, the authors began noticing certain common experiences among their friends' journeys to faith. These experiences led them to some conclusions about evangelism to postmodern people.

Using the Parable of the Growing Seed (Mark 4:26-27) as a foundational guide, the authors describe the postmodern journey to faith as both mysterious and organic. Conversion is mysterious in that it comes only from God:

"There is something spiritually liberating when we admit and declare what is beyond us and where we are powerless. We cannot create life. It is impossible for us to predict why some of our friends will choose Jesus and why others just won't. We don't know how to change hearts... This lesson has freed us from the modern temptation to view conversion as mostly a psychological phenomenon, an inner event that can be controlled and manipulated and triggered if we preach the gospel just right..." (19)

Liberated by the mystery of saving faith, the authors conclude that "the monkey is off our back, and onto God's back, where it belongs. The Scriptures teach us that God is ultimately in control of salvation." (19) God's sovereignty forms the foundation of conversion, but that does not keep the authors from seeking to evangelize effectively. Instead, it lends a certain humility in their efforts.

I Once Was Lost is less a prescription for evangelism to postmoderns as it is a description of how effective evangelism is taking place in certain circles. The authors see five thresholds in the postmodern journey to faith:

From distrust to trust. (Somewhere along the line, they learned to trust a Christian.)

From complacent to curious. (They become curious regarding the Christian faith of their new friend.)

From being closed to change to being open to change in their life. (The hardest threshold to cross.)

From meandering to seeking. (At this stage, they begin actively, purposefully seeking God.)

The Kingdom itself. (Trusting in Christ for salvation and confessing him as Lord.)

The authors then devote a chapter to unpacking each of these thresholds and showing the theological and biblical underpinnings for each one. The first threshold is rooted in the incarnation of Jesus. Jesus came and became one of us. The authors warn, however, that In our "incarnational" evangelism, we should not succumb to relativism by pretending that all religions are the same.

The second threshold takes place when the non-Christian begins to see the transforming power of Jesus in the life of the believer. Seeing someone follow Jesus naturally leads to the "Why" question and moves the non-Christian from complacency to curiosity. The authors give practical advice in stoking this God-given curiosity (ask good questions and tell parables). One minor quibble here: The authors wrongly interpret Mark 4 regarding the purpose of Jesus' parables [55], but that aside, they put forth many good ideas for evangelism at this stage in the process.

In threshold three, we are encouraged to give non-Christians the gift of space and permission to explore. The authors believe that moving from being closed to change to open to change is the most difficult step to take. That's why they encourage fervent prayer during this stage (73).

In their zeal for helping people "explore" Christianity, however, the authors put forth the idea that Christianity is one option among many to be "tried." I don't like the terminology they use of "giving God a trial run" (71). Such terminology fits fine in our capitalistic, consumerist culture, but not in the biblical worldview of the God who rightfully claims our lives.

Christians should practice "nonjudgmental truthfulness," and "gentle honesty" at this stage (75). How can one engage in this type of dialogue? By taking a conversation deeper. One example the authors give hardly seems like a "deeper" conversation:

"We all need help to get by. We might get our fix at Starbucks, at a party or on the Internet. But we all need a fix. I find my fix in God. What do you think about a spiritual hook-up?" (76)

But despite the trivial, street-talk given in the examples, the authors are right to assert that "sometimes the most loving thing we can do for someone is not to beat around the bush in conversations, but instead to just call them out on how they are afraid to change" (78). They go further in saying, "We underestimate the importance of our role in speaking words of challenge. If you tend to be that way, please don't let your own comfort level guide how much you speak the truth in love, or you may never get around to it" (81). Bold, but helpful advice indeed.

Once the non-Christian reaches threshold four and begins to be more active in their pursuit of God, the authors recommend that Bible study take centerstage. At this stage, "people do not need to know what you think about Jesus near as much as they need to know what the Gospels say about Jesus" (98). I appreciate the centrality of Scripture that forms the heart of this section of the book.

The authors recommend a sense of urgency at the "kingdom" threshold. It is here that Christians should press the claims of Christ upon their friends, encouraging public commitment to Christ upon personal conversion.

I Once Was Lost is a short book that contains a great amount of helpful material for those interested in engaging a postmodern world with the gospel of Christ. I was pleasantly surprised at the emphasis on Scripture, the encouragement to gently confront, and the reliance on the Holy Spirit's power in seeking to effectively evangelize others. Despite a few weak spots, the book contains much to be commended and deserves a wide audience. I Once Was Lost makes me want to roll up my sleeves and get to work as a more passionate evangelist in this postmodern age.