The old saying “don’t judge a book by its cover” applies here (you’ll have to purchase the book to see what I mean) but I understand a second edition is already underway and will bear a different cover design.

Jerram Barrs is the resident scholar at Covenant Theological Seminary and the Francis Schaeffer Institute. He is one of the best known and most able apologists in the reformed and evangelical world today. For many years he served at L’Abri in England.

What is so special about this book? Isn’t it just another book on evangelism? The late Francis Schaeffer, who influenced so many of our lives, was one of the 20^th century’s outstanding Christian apologists; yet he used to say that he was not an apologist but an evangelist, and even defined apologetics as pre-evangelism. Barrs would echo that same sentiment and it definitely comes through in this book.

In one sense this book is a handbook on evangelism, while on the other hand, it clearly underscores that there is no one final way to do evangelism. The one thing which should cut across every model and every method is a deep compassion for the people with whom we wish to share the Gospel.

In one sense this book could be labeled relational evangelism. In another sense it could be a textbook on the art and skills of communicating the Gospel in today’s world. As I read The Heart of Evangelism, my only regret was that Barrs beat me to the punch in writing it. This is just the kind of book that you would expect Barrs to write, because you cannot know him for long without recognizing his passion to build bridges into peoples lives in order to share the Gospel and the love of God.

In the introduction Barrs states, “What I have sought to do in this book is to examine once again what Jesus and His apostles teach us about evangelism, and also to look at the way they practiced evangelism so that we might learn both from their instructions and their example.” I believe Barrs was successful with his intent.

The book is divided into four sections and each section clearly builds on the previous one. In part four “Making the Gospel Known” he reaches his stride and sets forth seven principles of communication that characterized Paul’s evangelistic method. You will see Paul building bridges into the different people groups to whom he ministered. You will see how careful he is to use the right language for his audience as well as genuine persuasion in his method. Barrs shows Paul applying biblical truth in three different settings, using three different methods. The conclusion is that there is no “cookie cutter” method of evangelism. Even the seven principles are not an attempt to give a rigid step-by-step approach to evangelism. If one thing about Paul’s method comes through in this book, it is that he definitely worked at knowing his audience and choosing the words that would best enable him to communicate. His methods were definitely biblically and theologically driven, but he demonstrated his sensitivity and masterful skills at being all things to all men for the sake of winning some to Christ.

One thing that Barrs underscores, which needs to be echoed again and again, is the importance of showing respect for unbelievers. He understands that before dealing with man the sinner, he is dealing with man who is the image of God. People are to be treated with “grace” and “respect.” Our words to them must be honoring, no matter what they believe, no matter how they live, no matter how they speak to us or how they speak about us and about our faith….Yet the fact remains that people are sinners. Because they are sinners, made in God’s image, Barrs states that we should treat them with mercy and gentleness, for they are in need of Christ’s forgiveness.

This book lends itself to personal reading, group study, and sermon ideas. It is profound yet easy to read. I did not find it a quick read because I was forced to pause, reflect, and think about my own approach to sharing the Gospel both personally and in the pulpit. I was also reminded that evangelism is not a rigid one-way method of reaching people, nor is it a “notch-the-gun” activity. It is caring about people because you love God and you love his image in them. This keeps us, as Barrs points out, from sharing Christ from an air of superiority.

Bay all means buy this book and read it carefully and prayerfully. You will be glad you did.

- Charles Dunahoo, CEP Coordinator