Conversational Evangelism: Connecting with People to Share Jesus

David Geisler and Norman Geisler, a father and son team, are authors of the apologetic book Conversational Evangelism: Connecting with People to Share Jesus. David Geisler has a Doctor of Ministry in apologetics from Southern Evangelical Seminary and has been involved in ministry for over 25 years. He is also the founder and president of Meekness and Truth Ministries. Norman Geisler, David’s father, has a doctorate of philosophy from Loyola University. Having written over 80 books and hundreds of articles, Norman Geisler is a highly qualified expert. Given these incredible credentials, Conversational Evangelism is a book that I came into with high expectations. I have read a few works from Norman Geisler and have generally enjoyed his apologetic approach. His book I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist was a powerful and well-researched book that helped grow my faith in the evidences for Christianity. I had significant impact in a time when I was still new to the faith and was easily stumbled by “scientific” argument from atheists.The book, Conversational Evangelism’s main trust is that we live In a world where people have moved on from evidence and facts. The Geislers tries to present a way for Christians to plant seeds. The book states that Christians need to “pre-evangelize,” or “till the ground” for further evangelistic work. In a society in which the postmodern, relativistic mindset seems to dominate, David and Norman Geisler seek to help Christians navigate the types of conversations that can happen. To that end, the Geislers suggest a model of evangelism that focuses on removing barriers so that the Holy Spirit can move people closer and closer to faith in Christ. They use the analogy of musician, artist, archaeologist and builder to picture for Christians the various roles in which Christians must play in conversation with the non-believer. According to the Geislers, if Christians are to play these various roles well, it would do three things. First, it would surface uncertainties and doubt about the nonbeliever’s perspective and worldview. Second, it would minimize their defensiveness, and thus, third, create in them a curiosity or desire to know more about what Christ has to offer. The Geislers also address various questions that nonbelievers and Christians may have and give insight into various belief systems. They also develop and enumerate an apologetic outline. They recommend that Christians memorize this outline to present as a way to remove barriers for nonbelievers.I understand that heart of the book, and absolutely agree with David and Norman Geisler that our world require a different approach to evangelism. Christians today have a difficult time finding common ground to even begin to have discussions with unbelievers. This is due – as the Geislers point out – post-modern, post-Enlightenment, and relativistic worldview that now permeates society. Christians operate from a completely different set of presuppositions, and the Geislers offer a way in which to “build the bridge” between the Christian worldview, and that of the rest of the world.The Geislers try to pack a lot into the small book. While setting up the four “jobs” or roles that Christians must play, the Geislers also attempt to teach and discuss various other religions and cults that are predominant. Which it is commendable that they seek to educate and encourage other Christians in their conversations with people of other faiths, the Geislers often times dismiss these other beliefs with a few sentences, showing a supposed “illogicalness” behind them. With a few words, they seek to chop down Buddhism, Hinduism, and so on. The problem with trying to pack too much in is that the Geislers end up attacking straw men versions of these various religions. While I have no doubt that the Geislers have interacted with, and know very well, the faiths they discuss in the book, the fact that it is outside the scope of their book causes much of their arguments to fall short. This is through no fault of the Geislers’ knowledge or heart – but rather that they were attempting too much in too short a space.The Geislers spend some time in the book giving an overview of salvation and justification. They argue that “faith” is not a blind leap but a step based on evidence. And that this step of faith is a belief “in” not a belief “that.” This is a great distinction, as differentiates “head” knowledge from true faith (pistis) which connotes much more than simply “belief.” This distinction is very important in a world that believes in amalgamation of religions. The world states that Christians can “believe” what they believe and have our “blind faith” in God all we want, as long as it is not being acted out in a way that affects them. However, to have true pistis, the Greek word the translates to “faith” or “faithfulness,” it is much more than what we believe. It has to do with who we pledge our allegiance to. However, while it may be a little outside the scope of the book, I believe that the Geislers could have written “salvation” in a way that was less “me and Jesus” personalized salvation. The way that it came off was that Jesus died so that I (or whoever it is we are witnessing to) can have a way to go to heaven. The story they present – the Gospel they enumerate – seem heavily about personal salvation. But the whole tenor of the Scriptures, and specifically of Jesus’ ministry, is a holistic salvation of the entire cosmos. The Geislers does well in reminding readers not to forget that the point of “pre-evangelism” is to set the stage for the gospel to be preached. It would have been beneficial to the overall book to present a less personalized view of Jesus’ work.The writing style of the book is easy to read and comprehend. The Geislers took pains to avoid using too much technical words, and focus more on being clear and precise with what they state. However, there were times in the book that it felt as if large portions were merely copy and pasted from previous chapters, causing an overall feeling that the book could have been written in half the length. This may have been the author’s intent, however. To that end, I can only state that the repetitive style is not my preference. However, many other readers may find that this helps them clarify and understand the material better through repetition of previous information.There were some things that I found applicable in this book. One is the authors’ emphasis on tilling the ground before planting the seed. Often times we need to make sure that the people we are talking with can understand what we are actually saying. Without first setting the stage, we may very well be simply hitting our head against a brick wall. I once spoke with a man about the gospel. I talked to him about the reasons for Christianity, going from the historicity of Jesus, to discussing physics, biology, astronomy, and so on. After finishing the man looked at me and said, “This might sound ignorant – but is Jesus God?” I obviously did not do a good job of “tilling the ground.”The second thing that was a takeaway from the book was its distinction between what apologetics does and what the Holy Spirit does. As the Geislers put it, apologetics removes barriers and may even cause a “belief that.” That is to say, it can help someone see that Jesus is the promised Messiah who redeemed the world. Or that God exists. But only the Holy Spirit can cause the heart to change to have belief “in” the risen Christ and to pledge allegiance to Him and to live life for God.Thirdly, another takeaway from this book is that each person one encounters has a different understanding of their religion. The Geislers point out that we should not make assumptions about someone’s belief simply because they state that they are of a specific religion. We know this all too well as Christians. When someone state that he or she is a Christian, we generally ask questions to seek their understanding of the gospel and other theological matters. The same is true with people who claim to be Buddhist or any other religion.One must get to know what the specific non-believer’s views before one can proceed. Asking questions is the best way to do this.In the end, this small book is beneficial as a starting point for many Christians. While at times redundant and repetitive, it offers great insights to get Christians to start thinking about evangelism and the power of Christianity as a worldview. This book alone, however, will not help Christians to be able to have deep theological conversations. Navigating conversations with those who are not Christians is difficult. This book can serve well as a starting point for Christians who are seeking ways to have “pre-evangelism conversations” to ask questions. Further reading and research may be required, with this book acting as “high level” outline or guide for those conversations.

This is the perfect resource for Christian leaders to help their organizations face the daunting challenge of the postmodern rejection of truth. The book challenges believe verse two activate questions, illustrations and stories in a deliberate effort to do pre-evangelism in order to prepare the head and the heart of those who are antagonistic toward Christ. Even though many unbelievers don’t understand the underlying reason(s) why they themselves may be rejecting the truth, this thoughtful approach provides tools for the believer to navigate A path to bring them to the saving truth of Jesus Christ. The book shows the absolute necessity and practical application of Apologetics in post modern personal evangelism.

One of the best books on pre-evangelism and method that I have encountered. Don’t miss out on this dynamic and interesting way to think about talking to others about Jesus. Highly recommended. It is a central book in the evangelism class that I teach. Not to be missed.

I believe that this is by far one of the best books on the market, when it comes to practical advice on how to be more effective in sharing the faith and defending God's Word. If you want a book that will explain the importance of why we need to share the Christian faith and walk you through just how to get that done, this is your book. It covers such important areas as listening skills, the importance of using questions, helping the unbeliever overcome why they do not believe, clarifying and qualifying what the listener actually believes, and so much more. I would be remiss and am being somewhat shameful in mentioning my book of the same title, but a different subtitle. I believe the two of these books compliment each other. Both of these tools are indispensable in preevangelism. If you can only afford one, start with Dr. Geislers and try mind later. God bless and take care.Edward D. Andrews, CEO and President, Christian Publishing House Conversational Evangelism: Defending the Faith, Reasoning from the Scriptures, Explaining and Proving, Instructing in Sound Doctrine, and Overturning False Reasoning

I saw/heard Dr. Geisler at our church in February 2016, where he gave a presentation on the theory behind this book. I was impressed, so bought it. It's very good, especially if one hasn't tried to witness to people much before. Back 40 years ago,it was the thing to do to just present the facts about the Gospel and ask people if they wanted to pray to receive Christ. Well, we live in a different culture now, and we have to be more subtle. We have to genuinely befriend people and gain their trust before they will want to hear about our faith. Dr. Geisler offers suggestions of how to ask questions to get people to see for themselves the truth of the Gospel rather than confronting them directly. My problem is that I'm not as clever at asking questions as he is! I'll just keep on being friends with my unbelieving friends and depending on the Holy Spirit to lead any conversations we have. I do recommend the book.

Many times the thought of Evangelism is daunting. Breaking that process down into an introductory process makes "pre-evangelism" an easier process to start. Great book of information, real-world examples, and sample Q&A makes this a wonderful book for building courage.

This is a great book for those of us who want to share our faith with friends and family in a loving and intriguing way.

If you want to learn evangelism in a way that is NON-confrontational, which is really the Way of the Master, then you MUST read this. David takes all the theology and apologetics of his father and has crafted more of a Socratic method that helps the person realize the truth for themselves. In today's era of relativism and postmodernism, CE will add MUCH to the discussion of how to reach the lost for the King's glory.

Very good.