Evangelism after Christendom: The Theology and Practice of Christian Witness

by Bryan Stone

Overview

Most people think of evangelism as something an individual does—one person talking to one or more other people about the gospel. Bryan Stone, however, argues that evangelism is the duty and call of the entire church as a body of witness. Evangelism after Christendom explores what it means to understand and put to work evangelism as a rich practice of the church, grounding evangelism in the stories of Israel, Jesus, and the Apostles. This thorough treatment is marked by an astute sensitivity to the ways in which Christian evangelism has in the past been practiced violently, intentionally or unintentionally. Pointing to exemplars both Protestant and Catholic, Stone shows pastors, professors, and students how evangelism can work nonviolently.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781587431944
Publisher:	Baker Publishing Group
Publication date:	03/01/2007
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 0.70(d)

About the Author

Bryan Stone (PhD, Southern Methodist University) is E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at the Boston University School of Theology, where he is also cofounder and codirector of the Center for Practical Theology and founder of the Center for Congregational Research and Development. Stone has written books such as Faith and Film: Theological Themes at the Cinema, and served as editor for the Journal of Christian Theological Research.

Table of Contents

Introduction: Reclaiming the E-word
Part 1: The "Practice" of Evangelism
1. Is Evangelism a Practice?
Part 2: The Story of the People of God
2. Israel and the Calling Forth of a People
3. The Evangelistic Significance of Jesus
4. Apostolic Evangelism and the Genesis of the Church
Part 3: Rival Narratives, Subverted Evangelism
5. The Constantinian Story
6. The Story of Modernity
Part 4: The Evangelizing Community
7. Evangelism and Ecclesia
8. Evangelism as a Practice of the Holy Spirit
9. Context and Conversion
Part 5: Evangelism as a Virtuous Practice
10. Martyrdom and Virtue Conclusion: Evangelism before a Watching World Bibliography
Index