I received this ebook from
Crossway to review; I do not have to give a positive review.
Highlights
Jeff is honest, sharing problems that he had in his own life where he would find that he needed to speak the Gospel into his own life, both as a young man and as a young pastor, that's appealing.
He also shared a story about a disconnect in his own wife's heart and head towards the Gospel, its a very moving yet sensitive story- hopefully he got her permission to share, although I am sure he did.
Show and Tell, in this section he
talked about Displaying the Gospel, if this section was earlier in the book I
might have been worried that it was ‘always share the gospel sometimes use
words’, but coming towards the close it was clear where this section was going
yet also proved the point how slow we are to get it. Vanderstelt says we should
be different in living out the gospel as a metaphor, redeemed, rescued,
advocate etc. He tells us he shared this
concept in a church and a lady came up after and said how her cul-de-sac was
such that no-one spoke to each other and she and her husband spoke to everyone
including the man who no-one liked. After hearing Vanderstelt share on
Displaying the Gospel and our needing then to share the Gospel she came up to
him and said when she has been asked why she was kind to the grumpy old man she
said, “it doesn’t take much to be kind” this was a twist I didn’t see coming. She didn’t get it, he shocked me I thought
she was going to give her testimony of how she ‘displayed the gospel and then
shared the gospel’. This for me proved
the necessity of another book on this vital subject. It was also a highlight of
the book that where I found it predictable in places there were some definite
curve balls.
I liked that he was honest, he
shares about a friend of his who wasn’t a believer but comes along to the
group. He mentioned her again, and still not a believer. I like that, because
in spite of the title of the book he isn’t trying to sell us a brand, or a
formula he is trying to get us to love Jesus and through that love be able and
willing to share it.
What I really like about this
book is that it is centred on how to live out the Gospel in our daily lives.
Whilst there are quite a few books out there on this type of subject the
narrative sections reveal that it is often the case that many people in
churches, and many churches don’t get this, even evangelical churches. The
Gospel is as much for Christians as it is for non-Christians.
Lowlights
It took me awhile to get into
this book, the title was a bit gimmicky and even though I liked where he was
going I struggled with Vanderstelt’s trying to sell what I believe to be biblical
Christianity as ‘Gospel Fluency’. Also in places it was a bit repetitive but I
suppose if something is worth saying once its worthy saying again and it definitely
is worth saying . The book is aimed at an American audience and I wondered how
some of the ideas he suggests for within a group setting would pan out in a
home group in the UK.
Conclusion
If you're not filled with a desire to live with the Gospel as the centre of all you do, or if you are but are wondering how to impact people around you with the Good News of Jesus this book might be a big help.
God Bless
Stephen
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