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More Ready Than You Realize: Evangelism as Dance in the Postmodern Matrix

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Get ready for something completely different. This is not an evangelistic techniques book. This is not a traditional questions-answers apologetics manual. It's not even a book about how to do "friendship evangelism". It's a book that radically alters what we think evangelism is all about. It's a book that presents an exciting new vision of what spreading Christian faith will look like in this postmodern era. McLaren even avoids using the term evangelism - with all of its connotations of confrontational street preachers, formulaic spiritual laws, or guaranteed soul-winning methodology - preferring the concept of spiritual friendships. In other words, McLaren points out that in today's postmodern world what we need is not more formulas or more hit-and-run evangelists; what we need is more Christians willing to invest the hard work of building authentic relationships with non-Christians, not for the sheer purpose of converting them, but out of genuine love and friendship. Such spiritual friendships should become places where seekers can feel free to ask hard questions of their friends without being given easy answers; where they can share their struggles without fear of condemnation; where they can have questions and doubts without being pressured for a quick decision. McLaren recognizes that coming to faith is a process, a journey, and almost never a one time event.

This book is really more of an extended case study of a real life experience McLaren had with this kind of spiritual frienship. It is not a comprehensive treatise on evangelism or even a thorough study of all the implications of McLaren's approach. I'd recommend this book primarily for small group discussions where you can apply the principles he derived from this case study to your own personal situations. I'd also recommend it to anyone who is discouraged by traditional approaches to evangelism, perhaps thinking that they're really only suitable for ultra-extroverts or neo-Billy Grahams. This book gave me hope that even an introverted intellectual like myself can in fact lead people to faith in Christ.

For many non-Christians, just the thought of encountering a Christian "evangelist" is likely to incite discomfort, if not anger. One reason for this is that the church's attempts to "preach the gospel" have all too often come across as arrogant, overly intrusive, condescending, high pressured, and, well, just plain irrelevant. Indeed, too often our ecclesiastical traditions work against even our best motives, and we end up hindering the progress of the gospel, unnecessarily offending those who most need help.

It seems that in our desire to share the truth, we have somehow forgotten that, among other things, we are to share it "in love," that is, in a way that is personal, easy to hear, and applicable to the particular situation we are addressing. Likewise, we have become overly content with our own brands of ministry, even to the point of being critical of anything that disrupts the status quo.

Unfortunately, much of the church has failed to come to grips with the many societal shifts that have taken place over the past few decades. In short, we've been unable (or unwilling) to approach postmodernism in an evenhanded fashion.

Some of the worst features of "modern" Christianity include the tendency to engage in manipulative techniques, to force-feed Bible verses, and to offer simplistic solutions to life's dilemmas. Many postmoderns have rightly rejected such practices, which is a good thing. Unfortunately, though, many postmodern people have come to equate Christianity with its worst adherents and its most unbiblical routines. As a result, many turn a deaf ear to the Christian gospel, or at least to the modernistic formulation of it.

How, then, should we respond to this situation? In what way can we reach today's world with the gospel of Jesus? While many have opted for "the old time" (but worn out) religion, and though others only recognize the worst elements of postmodernism, surely there must be a better way.

What we need, is a serious (yet careful) rethinking of the biblical data, an honest appraisal of the best (and not just the worst elements) of postmodernism, and a fresh application of ancient truth to our postmodern situation. Rather than defending the status quo, we are in desperate need of believers who are willing to be postmodern trailblazers, people who take seriously both God's word and His world. One of these trailblazers is Brian McLaren, and we ought to thank God for people like him.

Although McLaren clearly recognizes the dangers that abound, his approach to postmodernism is primarily positive. Indeed, he treats postmodernism less like something to be avoided-though some of it obviously should-and more like an opportunity to engage in ministry that is refreshing and new. It just might be that God is providing us with some wonderful opportunities during this postmodern phase of history.

In More Ready Than You Realize, McLaren is not interested in mere theory. Rather, he is concerned to explain and demonstrate how Christians can best spread the unchanging gospel of Jesus Christ within a postmodern matrix. This he accomplishes by recounting a series of email discussions between himself and an inquiring individual named Alice. At one level, Alice is clearly interested in Jesus, but she is simultaneously skeptical and filled with doubts, questions, and the gnawing feeling that the "Christianity" she has heretofore encountered is actually a deterrent to faith.

In these discussions, McLaren allows Alice to follow her postmodern inclinations. Then, instead of debating Alice, he agrees with many of her contentions, acknowledging that there are many flaws in the typical tactics used to reach non-Christians. As McLaren notes, modern evangelism became so enamored with logic and evangelistic slogans that it began to sound like "a commercial on radio or TV or a political slogan in a campaign or a scientific formula in a classroom" (p. 16). In contrast, "good evangelists . . . are people who engage others in conversions about important and profound topics" (14). In other words, a better (and more biblical) way of reaching those outside of the faith is to treat the gospel more like a song, something you move to. In such an approach, the gospel subtly impacts a person who-if he/she truly hears from God-can't help but dance. According to McLaren, our evangelism must recapture this original posture.

Through his conversations with Alice, McLaren accomplishes a number of things. Among these are the following:

* Identifying weaknesses of the modern-version of Christianity and evangelism.

* Making clear the differences between modern and postmodern versions of the faith.

* Pointing out the need for Christians to learn these matters. Christians often need to be "converted" to a more vibrant (more postmodern) form of Christianity.

* Showing that spiritual awakening, especially in postmodern context, is-from our perspective at least-more of a process than an event.

* Demonstrating that we can and should trust that God is at work in the lives of the people we encounter.

* Perhaps most relevant, emphasizing the need to build spiritual friendships with those whom we encounter.

Throughout this excellent little book (188 pages), McLaren utilizes this dialogue with Alice to display a more postmodern friendly version of the faith. This postmodern perspective can be observed both through the specific words McLaren shares with Alice, and even more so in the real-life conversations we are privileged to listen in on.

Here is a fitting follow-up to McLaren's previous works (The Church on the Other Side, Finding Faith, A New Kind of Christian). In More Ready Than You Realize, McLaren shows us that the people we meet, even the most irreligious of them, might be more ready to hear the gospel than we realize. And, maybe too, we might be more ready to lovingly, compassionately, gradually, and humbly, share it with them. Perhaps, we are prepared to dance. And maybe, others-who see us dancing-will join us. Brian McLaren has written More Ready to foster this concern, and to tell us, and even more show us, how to dance.

Carmen C. DiCello
Pastor, New Hope Christian Fellowship
Master of Divinity (Apologetics), Columbia Evangelical Seminary

Brian McLaren, author of "A New Kind of Christian", here presents a new kind of evangelism (a word he hopes falls into disuse) for post-modern society. Rather than the old "Four Spiritual Laws" or mass-evangelistic models, McLaren offers an alternative that may indeed become the wave of the future. The major portion of this book is based on e-mail conversations over a two-year period between Rev. McLaren and a musician he hires for a particular service at his church. As he befriends this person, who has many questions about the Christian faith, he is respectful of her misgivings, does not pressure her when she goes through periods of seemingly moving away from faith rather than toward faith, and indeed he seems to learn as much from her as she learns from him (thereby the "dance" metaphor). This is not to be confused with "friendship evangelism", it is simply a friendship in the context of community where the light of Christ is allowed to shine through rather than being used to beat people into submission. This type of "evangelism" can be done by people who shy away from "evangelism" per se, and may be more effective in the long run than the traditional styles of bearing witness to the gospel. I guess that remains to be seen, but this is an eye-opening book that gives much food for thought.

If you are wondering why your church isn't growing, why you have to do "evangelistic events" because no one is sharing their Christianity with anyone else... if you're wondering if you should become "purpose driven" or "seeker friendly" or perhaps do a marketing campaign. Don't.

Buy this short, inexpensive book for everyone in your church and tell them not to come back until they've read it.

They will be given a view of evangelism that's actually beautiful (a cooperative dance where we learn form each other while giving people a place to belong before they believe) to replace the old, rather intimidating paradigm (argue people into submission, bludgeon them with your logic until they cry "Lord!")

If you and your people will grab hold of the simple concepts for community in this book, I think you'll see a vibrancy and life that you'd always wished for.

Some of the reviews here have missed the point of this book, nitpicking about particulars. This book explains how ineffective it is to view converting people as something to be personally proud of or as something to improve our standing within a church. Instead, this book shows how to actually be a friend to believers and non-believers alike by openning the door to the possibility that we don't know it all, but that we know Christ died for us, and that this is worth learning more about! I thought this was a great book, and I'm sharing it with friends.

still sharing your faith using the four spiritual laws? still trying to "convert" the lost? still sharpening your knowledge of apologetics so that you can "win" arguments? Brian McLaren, in More Ready Than You Realize, proposes that the most effective way to share your faith is become a spiritual friend who asks more questions than providing concrete answers. Get others to tell their stories, and really listen. Tell your own story of finding faith, finding grace, finding love. This book's main proposition is that people will continue to seek and find Christ if we give them space and if we remain "safe" friends to talk to.

So, you wonder what the title of this book is about. At first glance, I thought it was an unusual title. What does dancing have anything to do with evangelism? Why would I want to read a book on evangelism? Does it work? Don't people get freaked out when you start "evangelizing" to them anyway?

This book will change your mind immediately on the whole concept of evangelism. It uses the metaphor of dancing to discuss evanglism. Huh? Well, think of it this way: Sharing the love of God with people is not easy. Neither is teaching someone how to dance. You must take small steps first and lead them slowly.

A lot of what we see in evangelism out there is more like wrestling than dancing. Who wants to wrestle over issues and how would that lead someone to God? Wrestling is not a beautiful thing to watch but a dance between two people is. This book takes you through the beautiful process of evangelism as a dance.

I highly recommend this book to EVERYONE. This is THE effective way of evangelism. Brow beating someone is a waste of energy and does more hurt than healing. (Think about it!) Check out this book. It's an easy read! It truly is. Very Christian-centered but friendly to all Christians at any reading level. Doesn't get overly spiritual or heavy on indoctrination. It is Christ-centered and tells you in simple terms. Why do book authors always feel liek they need to sound more intelligent than they really are? Just say it! This book says it like it is. Like I said. A very easy read. And a great sense of humor too! You won't be bored.

This book says so much that we have needed to hear for so long, and I think it is extremely relevant to christianity today. As Brian points out, when we force someone into a dance against his/her will, it's called assault, yet we are so ready to fire off our views and our dogma when we see an opportunity for "evangelism." If you've found, like me, that your friends are asking different questions than the ones you find in books like Lee Strobel's THE CASE FOR FAITH or THE CASE FOR CHRIST, then this book will help you with those questions and help in your process of learning to dance WITH instead of drag ALONG.

To be perfectly honest, I was prepared to hate McLaren's book. I think that I'm about as modern as a person can be, so much of the postmodern conversation irritates me. In the past, I have written and spoken about my thesis that it is impossible to be both postmodern and a Christ-follower. Given that context, I expected that McLaren would just irk me throughout the book.

Instead, I thought that his approach to evangelism was engaging, winsome, and compelling. Somehow, it just felt more "right" than much evangelism that I've either experienced or heard about. McLaren just seemed to be more authentic, real, natural, and relational and less hokey, contrived, scripted, sterile, and academic than the approaches with which I am most familiar. I found his story of Alice to be utterly fascinating.

Given all of that surprised enthusiasm for his approach, I see the primary disconnect as the reality that it depends on the initiative of a curious, postmodern seeker. Without Alice initiating all of their contact, I don't know what McLaren would suggest. Does he just get lucky that people are so excited to learn more about his understanding of the faithful Christian life? I loved his answers to her questions, and I loved watching her progress through her new understanding of faith. But what about the individual who doesn't ask questions? Are they to be simply ignored or left alone?

With that caveat aside, I expect that I'll probably reread this book. This is some new territory for me, but it just resonated with how I've been processing some things lately. Maybe I've got a hint of postmodern thought in me after all!!!

I've read three books on evangelism this week - two that promote a formulaic hit and run method, and this book.

I expected to not like McLaren's book but I did.

I was a little nervous when I reached the question "Why did Jesus have to die?" But seeing the question in context relieved any concerns. McLaren handled this question well.

Giving it five stars does not mean I agree with everything included in the book. It does reflect the level of recommendation.