The Insider: Bringing the Kingdom of God into Your Everyday World [Paperback]

Jim Petersen (Author), Mike Shamy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 2, 2003

Evangelism is not just for the gifted few; it’s for all of us. In The Insider, Navigator authors Jim Petersen and Mike Shamy will give you the awareness and skills needed to share your faith and deepen your outreach to others.

Editorial Reviews

From the Back Cover

You are right where God wants you. As a citizen of God’s kingdom, you are already uniquely positioned to live out your kingdom citizenship among the people you relate to every day. God has called you to be an “insider” to your family, neighborhood, and workplace. As you adopt the winsome patterns of a kingdom lifestyle, people in your life will see that there is, indeed, a better way to live. In The Insider, the authors help you: ·See your family, neighborhood, and workplace through kingdom eyes: You’ll discover God’s eternal purposes and the strategic place of the insider, the call of the kingdom of God, and a vision for spiritual generations. ·Overcome the obstacles to fruitfulness: You’ll look at ways to heal fear, isolation, time pressures, and feelings of personal inadequacy. ·Form new kingdom lifestyle patterns: You’ll learn lifelong habits for taking little initiatives, praying and responding, serving others, and exploring the Bible. Evangelism is not just for the gifted few-it’s for all of us. This paradigm-changing book will give you the awareness and skills you need to share your faith with the people in your everyday relational circles. Discover the profound sense of meaning that comes from being daily connected with the eternal purposes of God.

About the Author

MIKE SHAMY is an International Vice President for The Navigators and mentors the regional leaders of Europe Latin America and the South Pacific. Through his ministry in New Zealand Australia and the United Kingdom Mike has gained practical experience of what is needed to be an insider in increasingly post-Christian cultures. After eight years in the US he and his wife Audrey now live in Auckland New Zealand where they seek to personally live as insiders as well as help others to do the same. They are the parents of four adult children.

JIM PETERSEN is an associate to the general director of The Navigators. In 1963 the Petersen's pioneered The Navigator ministry in Brazil. They began with university students and then followed them as they started families and moved into their careers. This in time expended the ministry into a movement across Brazil. In 1973 Jim began to recruit and coach missionary teams for other Latin American countries. From 1986 to 2000 he served as a vice president on the International Executive Team of The Navigators. In those years he coached ministry teams in the Middle East Europe Asia Africa as well as in Latin America. Through living and ministering in many cultures Jim has acquired a wealth of experience in reaching and discipling people who are normally outside the Christian context. He shares what he has learned in his books Living Proof Church Without Walls Lifestyle Discipleship The Insider and Mor e Than Me. (all Navpress). Jim and his wife Marge have raised four children and live in Colorado Springs.

Product Details

• Paperback: 240 pages
• Publisher: NavPress (April 2, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1576833380
• ISBN-13: 978-1576833384
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #411,891 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Shift how you approach evangelism!, March 25, 2004

By A Customer

This review is from: The Insider: Bringing the Kingdom of God into Your Everyday World (Paperback)

My first exposure to evangelism was being dropped off a beach in So. Cal. and told to tell people about Jesus. It must have been strange sight to see me walking up to a girl in a bikini and trying to tell her that God had a wonderful plan for her life. Since that day I've struggled the Great Commission. I don't want to be a salesman, because I don't believe that Jesus is a product. On the other hand, I don't want to simply float through life hoping that Jesus pops into the conversation.

The authors take the strain between rapport and boldness and built a book around it. They contend that the call followers of Jesus is to make disciples. This command is so much more than simply a sales pitch. People need an ongoing exposure to Jesus if they are going to follow him.

The book is broken down into two parts. The first lays the theological foundation of the book. The second half of the book lists effective behaviors that Jim Peterson has seen in those who have been "bearing fruit" in the area of evangelism. Some areas (i.e., prayer) are intuitive, other areas are not.

One practical suggestion Jim had was to introduce nonbeleivers to Jesus by reading through a book of the Bible. When I read it a few months ago I thought he was crazy. As my husband and I prayed over it, we found ourselves asking others if they would like to read and discuss the book of John. They said yes. Now we have a Bible study of the unchurched and formally churched.

Might I suggest to you, READ THIS BOOK!

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars great stuff, August 12, 2007

By 

stark pennington "quill" (south bay, ca) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Insider: Bringing the Kingdom of God into Your Everyday World (Paperback)

i thought this book was great. there was really good insight for sharing your faith in a way that isn't hokey or weird. it makes evangelism practical and doable, the way it ought to be.

5.0 out of 5 stars Practical and insightful!, June 15, 2011

By 

Adam Smith (Prairieville, LA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Insider: Bringing the Kingdom of God into Your Everyday World (Paperback)

In this accessible book on evangelism, authors Jim Petersen and Mike Shamy remove the mystique of evangelism and bring it into our everyday world. The main idea of the book is that each of us has a circle of family, co-workers, friends and acquaintances with whom we have fairly frequent contact. They describe the goal of the book as follows: "We want to help people like Jack understand their calling to participate in what God is doing today. We want people to see that this calling is to be worked out within their existing relational networks where they are already positioned as insiders."

If our goal is to help fulfill the great commission, how can we take advantage of the relationships we do have so that we present a positive witness to our circle?

In this book, they shatter stereotypes of how evangelism has been taught in the modern day church. They cover four main areas:

1) The theology of being an insider: What is the biblical basis for evangelism?
2) Obstacles to bearing fruit as an insider: What is holding us back from having more of an impact?
3) Seven Life Patterns of a fruitful insider: How do we need to adjust our lives?
4) The cost: What sacrifices must we be willing to make?

There are some things I really like about this book. It is balanced and it contains a lot of practical advice (these are just a few examples):

* Avoid canned presentations of the gospel
* Follow up with new believers: help them to grow spiritually
* Don't hype up the gospel and promise that their problems will all be solved

And some thought-provoking questions (again, just a few examples):

* What is life all about?
* How is God at work around me?
* What is my identity in Christ?

They say that we are to "live out this new life within the realities" of our context. In other words, we can have an impact right where we are. We don't need to necessarily serve as a missionary or as a full-time pastor.

Our priorities as an insider ought to be focused on reaching out to others, not only merely going to church to congregate. We need to have a kingdom mindset as disciples of Christ. What needs exist in people all around us? We may be bold because of the sovereignty of God. God is always in control no matter what.

I could go on, but hopefully you get the gist of it. If you have ever had struggles with God's calling in your life and especially how your life can help grow the church, then this book will be a blessing to you. I highly recommend it.