Featured Good Books on Evangelism

Why do you prefer these books? Please tell us something about them.

 

Now here's an interesting one for you. I have the 1975 Basic Training Manual for Campus Crusade for Christ, by Bill Bright (I assume; doesn't say for sure). I won't try to do more than describe the contents, but it's quite interesting.

It's all about winning folks to Christ, and has detailed instructions for using the "Four Spiritual Laws" and Bright's children's tract, "Good News Glove." (I assume there's a "Wordless Book" type of glove that goes with the tract.) An interesting thing about the children's tract is that it does delineate sin somewhat in the line of Ray Comfort's method, though it doesn't say that these sins break the Ten Commandments.

There are instructions for training someone to win souls, do a religious survey, etc. There is also a fairly good follow-up program in the book.

There is a good article specifically by Bill Bright on the fullness of the Spirit for evangelism. He says, "I am now convinced that the luke-warm, carnal Christian can be changed into a dynamic, witnessing Christian if he will surrender his will to Christ and be filled with the Spirit" (p. 158).

Now, this method is what Ray Comfort rails most at. He is right in one criticism, that Hell is not mentioned in Bright's tract. On the other hand, Comfort's books leave out teaching on the power of the fullness of the Holy Spirit and the Gospel itself.

 

Actually, I'm on p. 187 of TWOTM, so I think I know what it's about. Furthermore, you have misunderstood what I wrote. Please read more carefully. I did not write that the Christian life is all about winning souls to Christ, but that the book I was reviewing was. I agree that the primary duty of a Christian is to bring glory to God.

And as for your thought that I need to "get a clear focus on the task of evangelism," I've been evangelizing for 59 years, so I hope I understand it by now.

As far as you ordering the book I mentioned, that's great. I think you will be blessed. However, I'm on the 2nd of Ray Comfort's books recommended by you, so I'm ahead in that game.

 

Yeah, well, if you want to go that route, I may have read more books on evangelism by Calvinists than you. I've mentioned on this thread three you apparently haven't read: Spurgeon, Kennedy, and Packer.

But that is actually irrelevant to the thread, which is simply about good books on evangelism, not those from any particular theological perspective.

 

I highly recommend The Wondrous Joy of Soul Winning, by R. A. Torrey. My copy of this little gem of 90 pages has no date on it, and is a reprint, but I suppose it was first published around 1900. The contents are still relevant and inspiring to every believer who wants to sin souls to Christ.

As always and in contrast to Ray Comfort and other modern writers, Torrey emphasized the absolute necessity of the power of the Holy Spirit in evangelism. Here is a somewhat long, but wonderful quote:

"Undoubtedly when one is filled with the Holy Spirit he will have a deeper joy than he ever had before, for beyond a question the secret of obtaining victory over sin is being filled with the Holy Spirit, but, if one seeks the Holy Spirit merely for these purposes, he will not receive Him. Unless we are willing to be used in bringing others definitely to Christ, no amount of reading devotional books, or going to conventions, or wrestling in prayer will bring us the blessing that we seek. If we are to be filled with the Holy Spirit, we must seek that fulness along the line of God's will and plan.... No Christian can enjoy the fulness of the Holy Spirit's power and presence, and the joy and victory that go with that fulness, until he definitely puts himself into God's hands to be used of Him in winning others to Christ" (pp. 11-12).

 

I can't listen to them myself. I have to read the book.

 

Spurgeon's is one of the best ever. Other than that I have to go with John R. Rice--who was actually strongly influenced by Spurgeon.

 

Yes, he was.

 

No, he was not a Calvinist--even wrote against the five points. But he appreciated godly men empowered by the Holy Spirit, no matter what their theology.

He used so many of Spurgeon's sermons in his newspaper that Bob Ross, who prints Spurgeon's stuff under Pilgrim Publ., sent him the entire set of Spurgeon's sermons, which he once proudly showed me. (Until then he only had the partial set from another publisher, which I recall had yellow covers.) Once when I was down in Texas I visited the PP store and talked to Bob Ross' son, who gave me one of the complete set which had an intro by JRR.

 

That is very cool. Would it be possible for you to get a scan of that to me? (I have to head out now--I'll come back here tomorrow.)