J. Mack Stiles, Marks of the Messenger: Knowing, Living, and Speaking the Gospel. IVP Books, 2010.
Prequel: Stiles, Speaking of Jesus
Referenced in: Approaches to Evangelism – Modern Classics
LifeandLeadership.com Summary
This is a follow-up to Stiles’ Speaking of Jesus, which continues to enjoy a wide readership among evangelicals. This first one, Speaking of Jesus, is about doing evangelism. This newer volume describes the concepts that make up healthy evangelism.
Stiles expresses his ideas as a “Manifesto for Healthy Evangelism” that is developed in separate chapters, but is summarized toward the end of the book in these ten statements (112-113):
1. Healthy evangelism is rooted in our own commitment of faith in Christ rather than in any pragmatic method of evangelism. So, first, we become people of faith by putting our complete trust and faith in Jesus. Since we trust with our whole lives that the gospel is true, we desire to share the gospel out of faithfulness, not technique. (chapter 1 – Don’t Peddle the Gospel)
2. We become students of the gospel. We know it through and through. We resist the natural tendency to shape the gospel to our personal tastes and the tastes of the culture by adding to or subtracting from the message. (Chapter 2 – Don’t Add or Subtract from the Gospel)
3. The healthy evangelist guards the gospel. Because we know that the gospel can be lost, we never assume the gospel but emphasize the gospel in our fellowships and in Christian leadership. (Chapter 3 – Don’t Assume the Gospel)
4. The first application of our understanding of the gospel is not necessarily to share our faith, but to live a gospel-centered life. So we sit at the foot of the cross when there are differences with other brothers and sisters. We remember our own sin and failings when we discipline our children. We apply principles of grace in our marriage and with our coworkers. We especially think through how gospel themes bear on our presentations of the gospel to make sure the message we bear looks like the message we share. (Chapter 4 – Living the Implications of the Gospel)
5. We always remember that evangelism is an act of social action and produces social change in and of itself. It is not a category separate from social action. (Chapter 5 – The Gospel and Social Change)
6. Since many things mimic true Christian conversion, we gain a clear biblical understanding of conversion. The healthy evangelist knows that the hearer must understand the message of the gospel before conversion can happen. True conversion, when it does happen, is marked by a radically changed life. We understand that we’re only instruments in the hands of God, that God is the one who generates conversion. (Chapter 6 – Understanding True Christian Conversion)
7. The healthy evangelist seeks boldness in witness and work to slay the “fear of man,” one of the great obstacles to sharing faith. (Chapter 7 – Slaying the Fear Factor When Sharing Our Faith)
8. Since love is the mark of a Christian, we endeavor to gain a biblical view of love, while rejecting corrosive, worldly views of love. (chapter 8 – Mistaking the World’s Love for God’s Love)
9. The healthy evangelist knows, in light of the commands of Jesus in John 13 and John 17, that biblical love, practically applied in the church, is the greatest image of the gospel we offer the world. (Chapter 9 – The Gospel Made Visible)
10. As we speak the gospel to those who don’t know the gospel, we cycle through three foundational challenges in our minds: Do I know the gospel? Do I live the gospel? Do I speak the gospel? (Chapter 10 – Taking Action)
From the Publisher
Many think evangelism is rooted in a method. It is rooted in something much deeper. It is found in what makes us whole and healthy messengers of God’s truth about Jesus. Mack Stiles has lived the life of the healthy evangelist in homes and coffee shops, at universities and farms. He has lived out and spoken about the gospel to Kenyans, Koreans, Arabs and North Americans. What he has learned around the world and at home is summarized here in a few basic truths that can shape any of us into faithful people who bring good news to needy and hurting friends. The whole gospel changes much more than our relationship with God. Stiles shows how it changes all of who we are and what we do. It means learning the whole gospel without shaping its message to meet our tastes. It means not just going through the motions of accepted behaviors. It means showing the unity of witness and justice. It means love. It means community. Join Mack Stiles in a life-giving adventure of boldly knowing, living and speaking the gospel.
About the Author
Mack is the southeast regional director for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship. He and his wife, Leeann, live in Kentucky with their three sons.
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