Power Evangelism
Author: John Wimber, Kevin N. Springer
List Price: $10.00
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ISBN: 0060695420
Publisher: HarperCollins (paper) (January, 1993)
Sales Rank: 453,635
Average Customer Rating: 4.6 out of 5
Customer Reviews
Rating: 5 out of 5
Should be required reading in every seminary
Wow! What a book. Love Wimber or hate him, you got to read this book. It is a life-changing book written with a scholars insight into the philosophical and biblical underpinnings of our faith. There are four premises that Wimber argues: First the Kingdom of God and the Kingdom of Satan are in conflict and Christians have been drafted into Christs army to do battle against Satan. The church does not exist to minister to the saints, nor does it exist to provides programs, it exists to set the captives free. Every Christian is a solider. Second, evangelism is meant to go forward in the power of the Holy Spirit. Wimber argues that in the West, we have intellectualize the gospel to such an extent that we tend to rely solely on reason to persuade people to come to Christ. The Bible, however, tells another story. We are to go out into the world with the power of the Holy Spirit. Third, our worldviews affect how we understand Scripture, including passages about signs and wonders- most evangelicals tend relegate to New Testament days anything that cannot be arrived at empirically or proved by reason. If you are a fan of R.C. Sproul, you will appreciate Wimbers analysis of the Western World view. He argues that most westerners are incapable of attaching cultural significance to spiritual ideas and events. It is not that they are hostile to spiritual things, but it is as if they have a filter that removes religion form the public consciousness. They just cannot see how religion can have an impact on economics or politics. Wimber calls this the excluded middle. Because of the secular western worldview, even most Christians have difficulty believing in the ability of God to intervene in the physical universe. Case in point- Healing. Most evangelical Christians will acknowledge that God can heal disease, but in their heart of hearts they find it difficult if not impossible to accept either spiritual causation or healing of diseases.
Wimber also points out how our Western World view affects Christian discipleship. We have abandoned the apprenticeship model used by Jesus for the classroom model of modern education. Evangelical discipleship concentrates on what one knows.. We are taught church doctrine (the authority of Scripture, the deity of Christ, etc.) and very little time is spent molding a life. The New Testament model of discipleship emphasized who one is, rather than what one knows. It focused on building a life, rather than gaining knowledge.
I would make this required reading in every seminary and Bible College. It is that good. You may not agree with everything Wimber taught, but if you do not read this book, you will be missing truth that will transform your life.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Worth finding--one of the best
What I was looking for was a book I could use to teach a class on relationship evangelism. Furthermore, my ideal is a book that addresses post-modern people (especially Gen-Xers and Gen-Yers) with their common aversion to embracing any exclusive or absolute truth. How can you show, and not just tell, the good news?In my view, such a book needs to combine both scriptural foundations and practical models. If the book hits this target, the reader will gain a few memorable approaches and build lifelong habits.
This book, unlike most on the subject, includes:
1. Discussion or review questions at the end of each chapter
2. Application exercise(s) at the end of each chapter
Net: If you want more results, this book remains in my mind one of the best ever written. It is well worth the effort spent trying to find it.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Biblical Evangelical Evangelism
Just to clarify: John Wimber nor the Vineyard adopted "Charismatic" or "Pentecostal" theology. You MUST read also Rich Nathan's "Empowered Evangelicals" along with this book (Rich is a leading Vineyard pastor). "Power Evangelism" will really give anyone open to EFFECTIVE evangelism something to chew on and will compliment any other evangelism models you may already pracice - and give you a flavor for who this "John Wimber guy really is". After graduating seminary I concluded that this is the most overall Biblical (doctrinally and in practice/philosophy of ministry) book on evangelsim. For a great learning exercise (personal or maybe in a home group or Sunday class) compare it with "Lifestyle Evangelism" by Joe Aldrich and these with "Tell It Often Tell It Well", by Mark McCloskey. (This book is currently only published in Canada as a reprint of the HarperCollins issue). Email me if you'd like to dialog or like more info!
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