Customer Reviews

Evangelism Outside the Box: New Ways to Help People Experience the Good News

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I'm just finishing up this book, and I'm already excited about its implications in my own style of evangelism. Richardson seems to articulate what anyone who has been involved in evangelism has probably already suspected... that something is radically changing in our culture which should change the way we approach evangelism. Richardson isn't saying anything totally new, but his synthesis of the information is what makes this a valuable book. He describes well the characteristics of a postmodern generation and then outlines the implications for effective outreach.

A striking point in the book is the observation that eloquent arguments for the resurrection and the existence of God are often not as compelling as they used to be to a "pre-Christian". The urgent questions being asked by postmoderns are not about what is objectively true and verifiable. Rather they are asking questions of identity and belonging, and Richardson explains how Christianity can answer those questions in a meaningful way to this generation.

Richardson's application of Wesley's approach to outreach is also tremendous. Again he is synthesizing the observations of other brilliant Christian writers, but his application is excellent. He has adapted Wesley's "Four Steps into God's Kingdom" to be relevant to outreach today. In Richardson's approach these steps are: "Soul Awakening, Community, Conversion, and Transformation". The key points here are that people's interest in spirituality can be awakened by strategic events and encounters, and that "belonging comes before believing".

I have been strongly recommending this book to the evangelism ministry at our church, and they are going to use it. They are already using Mark Mittleberg's "Building a Contagious Church", so this should be a valuable supplement to that approach.

We all sense that the culture is changing rapidly, and we grope for answers as to how that affects our ability to fulfill the Great Commission. The word most used to describe this shifting context is "postmodernism," but few can agree fully on what the term means. With even the definition of postmodernism being such a moving target, defining church outreach strategies seems even more difficult.

Reaching this new generation requires that we learn to evangelize an increasingly secularized culture. In his book, Evangelism Outside the Box, Rick Richardson leans into past movements of God for valuable lessons, and then combines them with striking insight into today's culture which flow out of his vast experience of reaching university students through his ministry with InterVarsity. The resulting conclusions could dramatically improve church leaders' efforts to reach spiritually lost people - including the many who currently don't consider the local church a viable option in their search for God.

In Axis, Willow Creek Community Church's ministry to Gen-X, we have leaned into Rick's learnings and reconsidered some of our approaches to reaching a postmodern generation. That process has given us increased clarity and impact in our own unique setting.

Evangelism Outside the Box avoids the trap of presenting simplistic steps for reaching the world. Instead, a process is proposed that helps churches build relevant and effective ministries for postmoderns.

Daniel Hill, Evangelism Leader for the Axis Ministry

(...)I've been reading through Rick Richardson's Evangelism Outside the Box, and I thought I'd take a few moments to offer some reflections.

Here's the bottom line up front: parts of this book strike me as shallow and weak (especially in terms of application and practice), but in a number of places - particularly where he analyzes cultural shifts, and considers how our practices are perceived by unbelievers - Richardson is spot on. Where this book is good, its really good; fast-paced, easily accessible, it's definitely worth the price of admission.

I found Richardson's analysis of postmodernism (Ch 2, 3) very, very helpful. While I'm not sure I buy his division of history into intellectual epochs, he understands that strange things are afoot at our cultural Circle K's. He illustrates well how allegiances of modernism are shifting:<ul>
<li>in truth - people are no longer interested in abstract, universal truth; they are looking for a truth that is "local, personal, experiential" - in a word: they want authenticity.</li>
<li>in community - people aren't looking for experts who have all the answers; they are looking for friends who can identify with their struggles - they want "a community to belong to rather than a message to believe in"</li>
<li>in imagination - people increasingly value art, beauty, heartfelt expression over sterile conformity to standards of "rightness" - its not so much what you say as how you say it.</li>
</ul>Richardson offers a great summary of postmodern values:

"This generation of people understand that a picture can be worth a thousand words. They value authenticity as their highest ethic. They can't stand hypocrisy, or 'playing politics.' They tend to be inclusive, passionate for fairness, committed to reconciliation in relationships. They are highly motivated toward community and are very aware of actions that break trust and community. They honor the beliefs and choices of other people." (p. 83)

Anyone who has spent any time with unbelievers will recognize that Richardson knows that of which he speaks. This is where people outside our churches are at; this is where those leaving the church are headed. Heck - this is where I am!

Those of us left in the church had better figure out (soon) how to re-contextualize our message to speak to these people or we will render ourselves irrelevant.

Ch 10 is also a keeper, as Richardson wrestles with the importance of building community:

"Today people are looking for a community to belong to more than a message to believe in. Evangelism is about helping people belong so that they come to believe. Most people today do not 'decide' to believe. In community they 'discover' that they believe, and then they decide to affirm that publicly and to follow Christ intentionally." (p. 100)

I think Richardson is dangerously accurate in his analysis here: in my experience, this is precisely what unbelievers are looking for - a place where they can belong just as they are. I use the word 'dangerously' for a reason, however. You see, once we see a problem clearly, we naturally start thinking about the solution. In so doing, however, there are several potential pitfalls we must be careful to avoid.

(...) Overall, this book is definitely worth buying and reviewing. Just read it thoughtfully...

Richardson's book is a very readable and accessible approach to contemporary evangelism. He does a good job of describing the difference between the Roman and Celtic ways of thinking about evangelism and all of life, and the implications of this philosophical shift in society. This is just another way, though very useful, to express some of the key differences between modernity and postmodernism. I appreciated his references to the historical underpinnings of our theology of conversion.

He also includes several useful appendices with information about the Alpha Course, Groups Investigating God, and his Circles of Belonging illustration.

My primary complaint is that this book didn't seem as "outside the box" as the title would suggest. Though he certainly provides a few new paradigms for us to consider, much of this book is nothing more than the prevailing approach to evangelism across American Christianity. He seems to think that his Circles of Belonging illustration is profoundly unique, but it seems to me to be another permutation of the Bridge diagram.

To be clear, I found all of this information to be helpful and well-written. And I recommend the book as a useful resource for anyone interested in learning more about effective evangelism. I simply suggest that is really isn't sufficiently "outside the box" to justify the title. If you really want to read some challenging ideas about evangelism, read Brian McLaren's "More Ready Than You Realize" instead.

Rick Richardson brings his experience in campus ministry and understanding of the current culture and helps readers come to a new understanding of how to communicate the message of the Gospel in relevant and meaningful ways. Key to Richardson's assessment is the fact that culture and society is changing. Many Evangelical Christians assume that there has always been one of way of presenting the Good News of Jesus. However, Richardson demonstrates that as culture changes, the delivery and presentation does as well. This does not mean that the content changes. Rather, the content remains the same... but it must be communicated in a relevant manner.

This book is a very helpful book in taking a fresh look at the issues surrounding Christian witness in a postmodern world. Rick makes use of comparisons between the kind of questions university students used to ask in generations past to the sort of questions being asked today. It is not that the old questions are never asked anymore. Rather, to get to those questions, Christians must first address the questions that people are asking today.

I highly recommend this book for anyone seeking to adjust how we relate and communicate the Gospel to postmoderns.

It is the author's premise that if the church is going to reach the postmodern generation it will have to use new methods of evangelism. He contends, and rightly so, that may of the forms, structures and practices that may have been effective in the past, are no longer so.

The author does an effective job in defining the postmodern mindset. His discussion on classical, medieval, modern and postmodern thinking is excellent, it helps the reader put postmodernism in the larger context of the history of thought.

I have to admit, I liked this book. Unlike Reid's Radically Unchurched, this book was a gripper for me. Perhaps those who are familiar with postmodernism may have found this book a little redundant, but for aging boomers, it was excellent.

I liked Richardson's discussion on John Wesley's methodology and how it can be of use in reaching postmodern generation. Also pertinent was his discussion on St. Patrick and the Celtic mind vs. the Roman mind in evangelism. These discussions move the reader past ethereal theory to the actual nuts and bolts practice of evangelism. I have to admit that the evangelistic model given at the end of the book seemed a little confusing to me. But I accepted it as a challenge to get to know the postmodern mindset.

After reading several books on outreach to the 'postmodern' church, Rick Richardson's book finally described the post-modern culture, and approaches that the church might use to reach the post-modern culture, in ways that make sense to me. Its straight to the point, has lots of application, and is an easy read. I highly recommend this to those that are striving to understand the role of the church in today's post-modern culture.

While it may be true that some have been saved by this method of evangelism, and have continued to be saved throughout their lives, the end result is usually not that happy. Statistics show that there is an 80-90% fall away rate from decisions in our churches, and nearly a 100% fall away rate from Crusades. Bill Bright himself, in one of his later interviews, admits that he was wrong for using and promoting this method because of the tragic results it produces (Revivals Golden Key, p.83). Rather than producing real conversions, the "love, joy, peace" gospel seems to only produce stoney-ground hearers and bitter backsliders who are innoculated to the gospel message.
Martin Luther called the ones in his day who used the same love-joy-peace gospel message that the majority of modern evangelists use a "sect" that was "stirred up by Satan"

I would not recommend these tracts or this method, but rather the method that Jesus, Paul, all of the great preachers in history (including C.H. Spurgeon, Wesley, Finney, Edwards, Moody etc) have used and promoted vigorously. This is the biblical method that is timeless, was shown to us by Jesus and expounded upon by Paul. I think we can mix this method with post-modern ideas, but we cant stray from the core of it, for if we do that we are straying from the method the Bible teaches us.
It is the use of the law to bring men to Christ. For a good book on this, i recommend reading "Hells Best Kept Secret" by Ray Comfort, or "Revivals Golden Key" by ray comfort.

Rick Richardson does a good job here of getting 21st century Christians to THINK about evangelism in new and innovative ways. He encourages readers to get a better understanding of today's society, emphasizing that we as a church can't provide Biblical answers if we don't take time to listen to the questions. The author stays true to his title and draws outside the lines to explore new means of bringing people to Christ.

Some people may misunderstand this book, thinking that Richardson is forsaking the time-honored gospel by substituting church growth gimmicks and man-made strategies. Actually Richardson is very conservative in his theology, but very progressive in his methodology. Unless the reader distinguishes between the two, he/she will have a difficult time benefiting from this work.

I recommend this book to all believers, especially church leaders, who are looking for new ways to cultivate relationships with the lost and to bring them to salvation in Christ.

Rick Richardson wrote an execellent work on reaching lost people through various appoarches. I enjoyed this book and it inspired me to fan the flame of evangelism.

Another book that is inspiring and written by both a pracitioner and teacher is "Breaking the Evangelism Code" by Dr. Victor H. Benavides. The approach of the book is to show that New Testament methods and philosophy still work today.