The Celtic Way of Evangelism: How Christianity Can Reach the West...Again [Paperback]

George G. Hunter III (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 1, 2000

Celtic Christianity the form of Christian faith that flourished among the people of Ireland during the Middle Ages has gained a great deal of attention lately. George G. Hunter III points out that, while the attention paid to the Celtic Christians is well deserved, much of it fails to recognize the true genius of this ancient form of Christianity. What many contemporary Christians do not realize is that Celtic Christianity was one of the most successfully evangelistic branches of the church in history. The Celtic church converted Ireland from paganism to Christianity in a remarkably short period, and then proceeded to send missionaries throughout Europe.


North America is today in the same situation as the environment in which the early Celtic preachers found their mission fields: unfamiliar with the Christian message, yet spiritually seeking and open to a vibrant new faith. If we are to spread the gospel in this culture of secular seekers, we would do well to learn from the Celts. Their ability to work with the beliefs of those they evangelized, to adapt worship and church life to the indigenous patterns they encountered, remains unparalleled in Christian history. If we are to succeed in reaching the West . . . again, then we must begin by learning from these powerful witnesses to the saving love of Jesus Christ.

Editorial Reviews

Review

Do you agree that Christianity is more effective as a movement than as an institution in evangelizing non-believers? This book explains why that always has been true. Are you engaged in designing a church growth strategy? Rather than reinvent the wheel, learn from others. Study this account of an exceptionally coherent and effective strategy that won the west. --Lyle E. Schaller, Author

George Hunter III imaginatively applies what he takes to be the major themes of the Celtic Christianity practiced in the British Isles between the fifth and tenth centuries to the situation facing churches in the secularised western world today. --Ian Bradley, University of St Andrews

Dr. Hunter has written a rare manuscript in that it is both informative and interesting reading. Those of us who take the Great Commission seriously will learn from this scholarly effort why the old methods of evangelizing no longer work. --William H. Hinson, First United Methodist Church, Houston, Texas

About the Author

George G. Hunter III is Distinguished Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. A sought-after speaker and workshop leader, he is one of the country's foremost experts on evangelism and church growth.

Product Details

• Paperback: 144 pages
• Publisher: Abingdon Press (February 1, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0687085853
• ISBN-13: 978-0687085859
• Product Dimensions: 5.8 x 0.4 x 8.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #598,724 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

George G. Hunter III is Distinguished Professor of Church Growth and Evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. A sought-after speaker and workshop leader, he is one of the country's foremost experts on evangelism and church growth. Professor Hunter is the author of To Spread the Power, How to Reach Secular People, Church for the Unchurched, The Celtic Way of Evangelism, Leading and Manging a Growing Church, Radical Outreach, and Christian, Evangelical, and . . . Democrat? all published by Abingdon Press

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

79 of 83 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Pub-based faith April 12, 2002

By M. Jeffries

Format:Paperback

...

In The Celtic Way of Evangelism, George G. Hunter III explores the spiritual landscape which made Patrick's Ireland (and my local pub) a ready recipient of God's grace. Hunter, dean of the E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission at Asbury Theological Seminary, developed his view of relational evangelism in an environment not unlike my own. He learned that "stained-glass jargon" doesn't play well on the sands and surfboards of muscle beach. ...Perhaps that is why Hunter's perspective of Celtic Christianity resonates so strongly.

Hunter's retelling of the story of Patrick the Precedent Postmodern provides an able framework for understanding the possibilities and priority of mission. Patrick's own spiritual quest, including rejection of his father's religion and discovery of truth in the midst of brokenness, is of foremost and foundational importance. A Briton, Patrick was captured as a teenager by pirates and enslaved in Ireland. During his time as a cattle-herder near the turn of the fifth century, Patrick experienced three transformations which would equip him in his calling. First, he experienced the truth of an intimate relationship with Jesus. Second, he learned who the Irish people were, of their customs and culture. Third, he grew to have genuine love for his captor-brothers. These experiences reflect the three conditions for dynamic and convincing communication found in Aristotle's Rhetoric. Patrick's personal conversion gave him ethos, his understanding of the Celtic people provided pathos, and his love for his captors was his logos.

Patrick was freed from his seminary of servitude after six years, but returned as a missionary nearly three decades later still with this passion within. His Irish pagan hosts were receptive to this message because many aspects of their tribal druidic religions could find relative comparisons in true Christianity. An appreciation for paradox, an acceptance of the complexities of deity, an awareness of nature, the power of tale and fable, common virtues and values, a love for the riddling rhetorical triads and even fascination with the number three were all relatable ways Patrick could immediately and extensively explain the Christ-story.

Patrick's Celtic Christianity also provides a model for community. The first of five distinctives in this model is intentional solitude, drawing away from the clan for time alone with the Creator. Second, this community called for each believer to have a companion in the journey, a anamchara (or "soul friend") who would be not a spiritual superior but a friend and peer who could nurture a safe place for transparency, vulnerability, accountability, support and challenge. From the one, to the two, to the three: the third element of this community was a mentor-led small group of fellow believers who would join in study and service. Fourth, the experience expanded to common life: meals, labor, Biblical teaching, prayer and worship. Finally, the impacts of these four aspects combined to compel each member of the community to interact with pre-Christians who had not yet understood the promise of the Gospel. While this fifth aspect of community may seem at first similar to contemporary expressions, an essential difference must be noticed. Modern methods of evangelism begin with a presentation of the Gospel story to those who may be no more than casual contacts. If successful, this effort leads to a decision for conversion. Upon conversion, the new believer is invited to community and fellowship. Hunter contends the Celtic approach is actually and appropriately an inversion of this conversion protocol. In the Celtic approach, the potential believer is first offered fellowship and hospitality, which lead to opportunity for service, ministry and authentic conversation. After this connection and commitment are built and trusted, the prospective Christian may choose belief and conversion based on the reality of relationship, leading to full inclusion in community. Certainly, Jesus' own practice was to call those who would be excluded from most modern Christian communities, never to be given an opportunity to discover His open invitation. (Luke 5:27-32).

Hunter is insistent that readers find within these ancient methods innovative avenues for reaching the "New Barbarians," those whose lifestyles seem unacceptable and unconventional, considered beyond reach by religious institutions tied to structure, tradition and presumed authority

Certainly, this reader agrees with the assessment Hunter discovered within the Australian Jesus Movement: the challenge is to see God's Kingdom "as a party -- where the doors are thrown open like an Irish pub to anyone who would come in." This "pub church" would be one where Patrick could be quite comfortable -- a church "festive, music, participatory."

40 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Good insights on a new/old way of evangelism March 20, 2003

By David T. Wayne VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

This book is part history and part "how-to." There is a lot of good historical information in a very short space on Patrick and some of those he influenced. If, like me, all you knew about Patrick was that he had something to do with the Irish people, wearing green and shamrocks, then this book will introduce you to the real reasons for Patrick's fame - his bold missionary ministry to the Irish.
As far as the how-to's go I think the gist of the book can be summed up in a little summmary table that Hunter gives contrasting what he believes is the Celtic Way vs. the Roman Way. The Roman way said that a person has to believe before they can belong. The Celtic way said that a person must belong in order to believe. Therefore, the Roman process of evangelism was 1 - Preach the Christian messsage, 2 - Call to a decision for Christ, 3 - Invite into the fellowship of the church. In contrast, Hunter says that the Celtic was is to 1 - Invite the unbeliever into the community, 2 - Engage them in ministry and conversation - a kind of conversational evangelism focusing on answering the questions of the unbeliever rather than pushing them along a predetermined path or presentation, and 3) Invitation to commitment to Christ and the ministry of the community. Hunter says that, in the Celtic community, "seekers" often came to Christ in a matter of days or weeks as a result of participating in the life of the Christian community.
Hunter suggests that our evangelistic methodology today looks more like the Roman way and that we would be well advised to adopt the Celtic way. As evidence he cites some of his own research showing that most people who do come to Christ come to Christ along a more "Celtic" path - i.e., being welcomed into a group where they can hear and see the gospel lived out over time, and gradually embracing this gospel. Hunter says the Celtic way affirms that the Christian faith is more caught than taught.
If we were to take Hunter's insights seriously, many churches would have to seriously re-evaluate how they do "evangelism." If Hunter is correct, the standard confrontational approaches of evangelism, where we give the whole gospel presentation at one time and call for a decision right then and there, would need to be modified to allow some time and breathing room for the "seeker" to "catch" the gospel.
If you read this book in conjunction with Richard Peace's book "Conversion in the New Testament," you will find that such a "Celtic" methodology dovetails nicely with the way Jesus evangelized the disciples. Peace demonstrates that the book of Mark is the story of the conversion of the disciples, which took place in the context of a group, over a long period of time. This is what Hunter is advocating as the "Celtic" way of evangelism.
There are a few places I wondered about in this book. In talking about the way the Celts presented the gospel, Hunter takes principles from Aristotle and Kierkegaard and reads them back into the Celtic way of evangelism. This seems a little artificial to me, although there is some food for thought there. Also, especially troubling, and this seemed to be troubling to Hunter to, is that the Celts seemed to portray Christ as one who brings fulfillment rather than the savior of sinners. This is espcially troubling because if there is no sin, there is no need for a savior. The essence of the gospel always has been and always will be that Christ is the savior of sinners. Finally, in their prudent zeal to contextualize the gospel to the Irish and find common ground, the Celts may have bluured the lines between contextualization and accomodation.
Overall, a tremendous book, a few things need to be theologically filtered, but as far as evangelistic methodology goes there is much to learn from here.

49 of 53 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Study On Celtic Christianity April 1, 2000

By Rich Carey

Format:Paperback

In this book, Mr. Hunter has written an excellent thesis on Celtic Christianity. This is not light reading, but neither is it too heady for the average reader to understand.

The basic thesis of this book is an interesting study of the fifth century evangelization of Ireland by Patrick and how his methods may be effective in today's culture. Mr. Hunter does a fine job of educating the reader about the ways Patrick used to reach a barbaric, pagan nation with the Gospel using very non-traditional methods. He theorizes that in today's world, there is a generation of "New Barbarians" - people whose lives have never been influenced by Christianity and have no true Christian experience. As in the days of Patrick, the religious institutions have failed to make the Gospel highly relative to this culture.

He concludes his study by giving examples of specific churches and ministries who have adopted creative new methods of evangelizing this largely unreached generation and have succeeded. He also issues a moving challenge to Church leaders to make the necessary changes to bridge the gap between the Church and the unchurched and bring in this vast harvest of people who are searching for God in all the wrong places.

I found this book very helpful and encouraging. I highly agree with Mr. Hunter's thesis and join with him in issuing this challenge to the Church. As a pastor, I began making these changes in our church years ago, with some success. More recently, we have been introduced to ministry groups who are literally going into the darkest parts of this alienated culture, living among the people and sharing the good news of the Gospel. The fruit of their ministry is tremendous and has challenged us to go even further to make the Church a place where everyone who is seeking God is welcome, regardless of how "uncivilized" they may be.

Those churches who are bold enough to make this change will be rewarded with an army of passionate young warriors of the faith who will go anywhere and do anything to share the love of Jesus Christ in the streets. Buy this book if you are serious about reaching the lost. You won't regret it.