Let me begin with some self-disclosure. I don’t like books on evangelism. I find most of them to be profoundly unhelpful. Some of them are simply bad books. Some are little more than a series of anecdotes strung together. Worse, some of them, while heavy on methodology, (astonishingly!) get the Gospel wrong. Still others heap an enormous amount of guilt upon the unsuspecting reader.
There are some notable exceptions of course. The outstanding Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God by J.I. Packer opened my eyes to the relationship between the providence of God and the witness of his people. Bruce Metzger’s Tell the Truth drove a stake through the heart of my previously man-centered notions of evangelism. Both of these books ought to be on every Christian’s shelf.
I am pleased to say that there is another volume to add to that short list. Marks of the Messenger by J. Mack Stiles just may become my new “go-to” book for evangelism. It may be that this book is helpful precisely because its author has for years integrated his profession with a strong sense of responsibility to advance the Gospel. Currently, Stiles lives in the United Arab Emirates where he serves as CEO of Gulf Digital Solutions and is general secretary for the Fellowship of Christian UAE students (FOCUS).
The goal of Marks of the Messenger is to make the reader a better evangelist. I suppose that is the target toward which all books on evangelism aim. But through biblical fidelity and shear simplicity I think Stiles’ book may actually accomplish this for many. Nowhere does one get the idea that Stiles is some sort of superhuman witnessing machine. This is helpful for those of us who are quite sure we do not possess a “gift” for evangelism but nevertheless desire to be better witnesses.
A native of Houston, Texas, Todd served as youth pastor in churches in Arkansas, Missouri, Kansas, and Oklahoma.
Todd was called as the first pastor of Metro East Baptist Church in September of 1999. In November 2008 Todd became the Teaching Pastor of Church of the Saviour in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
Following a call to the Presbyterian Church in America (PCA), Todd became the Lead Pastor of Covenant Presbyterian Church in Harrisonburg, VA in August of 2013.
He is a graduate of Southwest Baptist University and Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Todd and his wife, Karen, have been married since 1990 and have three children: Kate, Ryan, and Matthew.
"Therefore the Christ who is grasped by faith and who lives in the heart is the true Christian righteousness, on account of which God counts us righteous and grants us eternal life."
Martin Luther
"The Gospel is sheer good tidings, not demand but promise, not duty but gift."
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