Evangelism for the Rest of Us: Sharing Christ within Your Personality Style [Paperback]

Mike Bechtle (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 2006

God wants me to talk to strangers? Relax. It's not as hard as you might think. The most common methods of evangelism are tailor-made for extroverts. But what about the rest of us? In Evangelism for the Rest of Us, Bechtle shows readers how to share their faith in more comfortable ways by helping them discover and define their unique strengths within their personality types.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

Witnessing to strangers is fine for extroverts. But what about the rest of us?

The thought of evangelizing makes your knees shake. You feel guilty about not sharing your faith more often. You think, If only I were more outgoing! Yet the problem isn't with your personality.

Evangelism for the Rest of Us shows you how to witness in ways that are compatible with who God created you to be. Instead of going so far out of your comfort zone, you can use your unique strengths to influence others in powerful ways. This book's fresh, biblical insight will revive your passion for sharing Christ as you learn to work within your personality style instead of against it.

"Evangelism for the Rest of Us by Mike Bechtle shows how each of us, whatever our personality style, can share our faith in a joy-giving, joy-receiving way. A splendid book."--Ken Blanchard, coauthor of The One-Minute Manager® and The Secret

"Bechtle's exploration of evangelism helps people discover the unique position God designed them to play and gives them hope and encouragement to get back in the game."--Dave Dravecky, best-selling author, founder of Outreach of Hope

"This book will take a heavy burden of guilt off your shoulders and replace it with the joyful confidence of, 'OK! I can--and want to--share Jesus!'"--Kathy Collard Miller, speaker, author of Partly Cloudy with Scattered Worries

About the Author

Mike Bechtle (Ph.D., Arizona State University) is a senior training consultant with Franklin Covey Company. His articles have appeared in publications such as Discipleship Journal, Moody, and Entrepreneur. A frequent speaker and former minister of worship, Dr. Bechtle lives in Brea, California.

Product Details

• Paperback: 160 pages
• Publisher: Baker Books (May 1, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0801065909
• ISBN-13: 978-0801065903
• Product Dimensions: 8.4 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #255,867 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Needed Perspective, June 7, 2006

By 

G. Bock (Tennessee, United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Evangelism for the Rest of Us: Sharing Christ within Your Personality Style (Paperback)

Books on evangelism are often written by extroverts who think that an outgoing "sales" approach is the only way to evangelize. Mike Bechtle explains that evangelism does not take one universal form; the act of evangelism can manifest in many different ways depending on personality type. This enables us introverts to stop feeling guilty and learn how our unique gifts can be used to fulfill this essential part of the Gospel.

17 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Only introverts will really understand, February 1, 2007

By 

M. Kubo "mkubo2" (Petersburg, AK, USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Evangelism for the Rest of Us: Sharing Christ within Your Personality Style (Paperback)

The author is targeting the introverts of the Christian world, who have been uncomfortable with the traditional methods (forms), the available training, and everything else about much of evangelism that is practiced. The title seems to indicate that the contents of the book are applicable to everyone, but in my reading, only those with introverted personalities will really appreciate, understand, and identify with the material.

I suspect that most of the negative reviews regarding this book will come from the extroverted types, who do not understand what introverted persons feel when confronted with the traditional definitions of evangelism: e.g., that's not how I think, I'm not gifted in this area, if only I could write it out and think through it first, etc. I also suspect it will ruffle the feathers of those who have bought into the idea that there is a correct formula for evangelism and everything outside of it is suspect.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you are an introverted Christian, this book is for you!, February 4, 2007

By 

Heather (Knoxville, TN) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Evangelism for the Rest of Us: Sharing Christ within Your Personality Style (Paperback)

I found this book to be very encouraging to those who, like me, are introverted and have not found many traditional methods (sometimes biblical and sometimes not necessarily biblical methods) taught by churches to fit with my personality. We are definitely called to share the gospel regardless of personality type, which is why this book is so helpful--it encourages those who, like me, have trouble doing what we were called to do because we are intimidated by some of the methods being used.

Although witnessing is simply sharing the gospel message, there are definitely many methods for doing so. It is not just whether one is Christ-like or not. It can be Christ-like to stand on the corner and preach (Christ did preach on the hillside), to talk to strangers on the side of the road (Christ did that, especially with the sick), or to talk to a friend over a cup of coffee (ok, Christ didn't drink coffee, but he did talk to friends many times about the gospel).

Although sometimes more extroverted methods have helped me to step out in faith because of the extreme discomfort they bring me, they have not necessarily been helpful in spreading the gospel to all people--particularly to other introverts. I used to think that it was just me who was affected by these methodologies, but this book helped me see that some people (although already blinded, as another reviewer mentioned), will be a lot more likely to hear the gospel through more introverted methods than through a stranger coming to their door. There are others who are more likely to hear the gospel through the street evangelist.

The point is that God has created all of us with individual personalities. He uses each of us to reach others with individual personalities. This book helps us to think about what personality God has given each of us and how we can most naturally use His gifts to bring others to Him.

If you have been hiding behind your introverted personality as an excuse to stay away from evangelism (as I have subconsciously), then this will be a good, challening book for you.