Customer Reviews

Conversational Evangelism: How to Listen and Speak So You Can Be Heard

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
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I've always been a big fan of Norman Geisler, viewing him as a real giant in the area of Christian apologetics, a great intellect and philosophical force of nature. He's the perfect guy to stand toe-to-toe with the Richard Dawkins, Christopher Hitchens, atheistic philosophers of the world.

That he would write a book of such sensibilities was a great and pleasant surprise. Perhaps it's the influence of David, but this book brings some serious intellectual firepower to everyday interpersonal interactions.

The Geislers emphasize the need to listen carefully to what people are saying, and rather than blast away with the right answer, ask clarifying questions. "Help me understand..." can be a disarming way of starting a conversation. The Geislers help equip the Christian in understanding the type of questions to ask that will reveal some of the big problems in the postmodern worldview.

Sometimes evangelism is a process. This book is very helpful in enabling believers to shepherd that process along...to help someone "move one step closer to Christ."

According to the authors, conversational evangelism is sharing God's word with people in everyday conversation. Hopefully, these conversations will lead people to study God's word with us in a home study, or while attending church with us. Well written and easy to read, the Geislers encourage us to reach out to others for Christ in our everyday lives.

One point made in this easy-to-read book is to talk with non-believers--not at them. To talk at them is a lack of respect and puts them on the defensive. That is part of the base of the technique of conversational evangelism. It is simple, yet brilliant. Another point was to listen--not just talk. This leads to finding common ground. Without it, the evangelist might as well give up hope.
Finding common ground may be easier said than done. There are many different religions that may seem a bit off-the-wall. Some people just have a different up-bringing/foundation of beliefs. The authors detail tips on how to witness to those of specific other religions, such as Hinduism.
This is book is brilliant. Use this to make evangelism effective, efficient, and maybe even pleasant. This book is needed by church leaders, missionaries, and all Christians interested in leading others to God. This is revolutionary!

This book restores a much needed balance between the extremes of heady, argumentative outreach that turns people off and relational but contentless approaches that almost seem ashamed of the idea of truth. In Conversational Evangelism you learn how to reach hearts AND minds. The Geislers successfully explain how to get on the inside of people's defenses, not by a frontal assault but through gentle methods of conversation that show respect to those we wish to reach. But the book doesn't stop there. The authors show how, once inside those defenses, you can help people begin to discover the truth of the Gospel. I highly recommend this book to anyone who is tired of impersonal, simplistic or in-your-face evangelism. If you want help at being ready to give an answer, with gentleness and respect, to those who ask, then this is the book for you.

Finally, a useful apologetics book. If you have a relative, friend, or fellow traveler who needs the Word of God in their lives, this is the book to read--a hands-on, easily readable, how-to book with questions to ask and answers to give for a step-by-step evangelical conversion.

I was a tract witness before i read this book but now after reading and applying the material covered in the text, i now share Christ much more frequently and comfortably. Dr. Giesler is an excellent apologist and i have admired his work for most of my Christian walk. Thank you for such great materials and inspiration!

Sometimes...you just get "sick and tired" of being "sick and tired" on how you share your faith with others (or don't!) because you don't know exactly how to approach the subject. I was at such a point, until someone recommended Geisler's book. Bingo! I FINALLY found one that addressed all of my issues and gave clear and insightful points on how to do it better. First by learning how to "listen" well...and second by understanding how to direct your questions. If only I had this book YEARS ago..I might not have blown it sometimes when it came to sharing! Gone are the days when just saying: "Jesus is the way" and people would give their lives to God. Now...it's about listening to deeper issues and arguments from those who want a much more analytical approach to your points. A week after reading Geisler's book, I had one of the best conversations ever with a friend regarding the Bible and my faith. If you truly want to speak...so you can be heard? This is definitely the book for you! It's a gem!

First off I respect Norman Geisler and this he is an excellent Christian apologist. I have several of his other books and they are spot on. In Conversational Evangelism I have less of an issue with the doctrine, since I agree with his premise and supporting Scriptures. Rather the main flaw of the book is its approach to reaching people. Geisler goes into great detail to help the reader understand the challenges of evangelism (with which I agree) and after explaining these challenges he offers some approaches of outreach. Here is where I begin to differ. Though the approach is correct "in theory" I think it fails in practical application.

Please do not misunderstand this critique. It is a very good book to purchase and have among multiple books on evangelism because there are some real nuggets of truth to add to your understanding. But you need you compliment your study with some other works to round out the picture of evangelism and the role of the Church in this divine mandate.

At least one reviewer here seems to frown upon Geisler's relational, non-confrontational apologetics approach. Seems to me that he's taking a narrow view of how one should talk to non-believers. As well, he is choosing to ignore the fact that our world today is (culturally) tremendously different, and he is in denial that God created us to be curious and rational beings.

On his website, Geisler informs us in his excellent article, "The Need For Apologetics," ([...]) that "Paul tailored his starting point to where the audience was. With the heathen at Lystra he began by an appeal to nature (Acts 14) and ended by preaching Jesus to them. With the Jews he began with the OT moved on to Christ (Acts 17:2-3). But with the Greek thinkers Paul began with creation and reason to a Creator and on to His Son Jesus who died and rose again (Acts 17:24f)." Sounds like relational apologetics to me!

In the same referenced article (above), Geisler also states, "...we are to give a reason to those who ask the questions (cf. Col. 4:5-6). It is not expected that every one needs pre-evangelism, but when they do need it, we must be able and willing to give them an answer.

Finally, it links doing pre-evangelism with making Christ Lord in our hearts. If he is really Lord, then we should be obedient to Him by "destroying speculations and every lofty thing raised up against the knowledge of God, and ... taking every thought captive to the obedience of Christ" (2 Cor. 10:5). In other words we should be confronting issues in our own minds and in the expressed thoughts of others that are preventing them from knowing God. That is what apologetics is all about."

I would have rated this one a bit higher if it wasn't the sort of thing I was taught in missionary school. Don't just harvest, but plant good ideas, weed out heretical ideas, cropdust misunderstandings (bugs), water and fertilize with things to make the person more inclined to go to Christ. They use the Musician, Artist, Archeologist and Builder instead of the farmer, but it is the same sort of thing. Still, for those not trained by the Agape Force or other ministry school (or even a few who were) this is a very good idea. Especially the emphasis on listening. I have run into far too many would be missionaries trying to convert me, even though I was a missionary before they were born. None seem capable of hearing any answer not in their little tract sized instruction book. This book correctly points out as one of its main methods paying attention to what the others say, and building from it. As the subtitle goes "How to listen and speak so you can be heard." (It really should be 'listen then speak' but close enough.)