Overview
"Evangelism" is a contested, even conflicted word. But churches are declining in numbers and resources. What if we aren't thinking about evangelism in the right way, culturally or theologically? This book proposes a conversation that contextualizes evangelism in our late modern times and reimagines what the call to outreach means in today's world.
Our sad times are made sadder by the realization that our all-out pursuit of happiness has made us stressed, anxious, lonely, and depressed, says leading practical theologian Andrew Root. The French thinker Michel de Montaigne taught us to focus on making ourselves happy, but Blaise Pascal pointed out that we are creatures of soul as much as self--so happiness does not satisfy. Root offers a vision for how a theology of consolation can shape a hopeful approach to evangelism. We all need consolation, others to care for us in our sadness; if we can find such a minister and lean into our sorrow, we will find the presence of Jesus Christ.
Root uses a fictional church to show rather than tell us how consolation evangelism works. For support he looks to the ministries of Gregory of Nyssa and his sister Macrina, Jean Gerson, Johann von Staupitz, and Martin Luther, who all contend that consolation is central to our transformation into the life of God.
Our sad times are made sadder by the realization that our all-out pursuit of happiness has made us stressed, anxious, lonely, and depressed, says leading practical theologian Andrew Root. The French thinker Michel de Montaigne taught us to focus on making ourselves happy, but Blaise Pascal pointed out that we are creatures of soul as much as self--so happiness does not satisfy. Root offers a vision for how a theology of consolation can shape a hopeful approach to evangelism. We all need consolation, others to care for us in our sadness; if we can find such a minister and lean into our sorrow, we will find the presence of Jesus Christ.
Root uses a fictional church to show rather than tell us how consolation evangelism works. For support he looks to the ministries of Gregory of Nyssa and his sister Macrina, Jean Gerson, Johann von Staupitz, and Martin Luther, who all contend that consolation is central to our transformation into the life of God.
Table of Contents
Read before Using
1. Get 'Em Healthy, Get 'Em Happy
The Surprising Openness to Evangelism
2. Sad Times and a Sad (Pathetic) Church
Is Evangelism's Task to Keep the Church Alive?
3. The Architecture of Our Sad Times
Meeting the Positive Genealogists
4. Why All the Happiness Is Making Us Miserable
Montaigne, Dead French Kings, and Immanent Contentment
5. "Not Okay"--Our Sad Times of Stress
The Forgetting of Soul
6. The Math Savant and the Fire
Pascal and the Promise of Our Sad Souls
7. Sisters as Pastors
Leaning into Sorrow and the Promises of Consolation
8. Goodbyes That Save
Great Sorrow and Consolation Evangelism
9. When Temptation Is Good
And God Is Full of Sorrow
Epilogue
Index
1. Get 'Em Healthy, Get 'Em Happy
The Surprising Openness to Evangelism
2. Sad Times and a Sad (Pathetic) Church
Is Evangelism's Task to Keep the Church Alive?
3. The Architecture of Our Sad Times
Meeting the Positive Genealogists
4. Why All the Happiness Is Making Us Miserable
Montaigne, Dead French Kings, and Immanent Contentment
5. "Not Okay"--Our Sad Times of Stress
The Forgetting of Soul
6. The Math Savant and the Fire
Pascal and the Promise of Our Sad Souls
7. Sisters as Pastors
Leaning into Sorrow and the Promises of Consolation
8. Goodbyes That Save
Great Sorrow and Consolation Evangelism
9. When Temptation Is Good
And God Is Full of Sorrow
Epilogue
Index
Author
Andrew Root
Andrew Root (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary) is Carrie Olson Baalson Professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is the author of more than twenty books, including Faith Formation in a Secular Age, The Pastor in a Secular Age, The Congregation in a Secular Age, Churches and the Crisis of Decline, The Church after Innovation, and The End of Youth Ministry? Root is also the coauthor (with Kenda Creasy Dean) of The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry. He is a frequent speaker and hosts the popular and influential When Church Stops Working podcast.