The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission: Blog Tour & Giveaway

Enter to win a signed copy of John Dickson’s The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission. We have 20 copies to give away, and we should warn you—this book is really, really good. (Learn more about the book below.)

Enter the giveaway by Saturday at noon for your chance to win a signed copy. Take your time deciding whether to enter, because part of the deal is that you’ll review the book on your blog and on amazon.com during August 16-27.

 

More about The Best Kept Secret of Christian Mission Many Christians think of evangelism as an entirely verbal activity, when the New Testament teaches that evangelism involves a range of activities that promote Christ and draw others to him. Speaking the gospel remains of fundamental concern, but in John’s words, “A central aim of this book... is to show just how all-encompassing is the Bible’s call to be involved in God’s mission.” Here are some endorsements:

N.T. Wright says “Dickson explains the whole picture of evangelism with so many real-life stories that one cannot fail to be drawn in to the excitement of this many-sided gospel work. Here is a book offering fresh energy for the whole task of the whole people of God.” (From the book jacket)

Alister McGrath says, “Where some authors leave their readers wondering how on earth they are going to apply their ideas, Dickson offers wise advice, clearly based on experience, as to how best to do this… Dickson’s approach will energise both individuals and churches to promote the gospel, while emphasizing the importance of the church at every level in sustaining the ministry of individual evangelists.” (From McGrath’s forward)

We’ll pick 20 random winners and announce them on Monday. Good luck to you!

John Dickson (PhD) is the co-director of Centre for Public Christianity (www.publicchristianity.org), an independent research and media organization promoting the public understanding of the Christian faith. With a degree in theology (Moore Theological College, Sydney) and a doctorate in ancient history (Macquarie University, Sydney) he is a senior research fellow of the Department of Ancient History, Macquarie University, where he teaches courses on Christian origins and the world religions. John is also the Senior Minister at St. Andrews Roseville (www.standrews.net.au), an Anglican community on Sydney’s North Shore. He has a wealth of experience as a local church pastor, public evangelist, and media presenter. He is the author of more than a dozen books, including the upcoming Humilitas, and the host of two major television documentaries on the life of Jesus (Life of Jesus, The Christ Files). He lives in Sydney with his wife, Elizabeth, and their three children.

Comments

[Brian]

With the two main endorsements by N. T. Wright and Alistar McGrath it makes me wonder if he knows what the "Christian Mission" is.

[Adam]

Hey Brian,
Actually I (Adam) cherry-picked those two endorsements, so my selections may represent more of me than Dickson. Here are more thoughts on his book.

I don't think I understand your criticism, but I wondered if it would be helpful for me to quote something from his book about the content of evangelism. I've excerpted the following paragraph from Appendix 2, called "A Modern Retelling of the Gospel," which is written as if speaking to a non-Christian:

"Christians believe that Christ's healings provide a glimpse of the restoration of all things in God's coming kingdom. They see in Jesus' teaching, especially in his call to love God and neighbour, the shape of an authentic human life. They rever Christ as the one entrusted with God's final judgments, and they rely on him as the one who died so that we might be freely forgiven. Above all, Christians believe that Jesus' resurrection establishes him as the divinely appointed Lord."

I hope that helps you with your question. Thanks!