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I have a recurring argument with a friend who is a musician. In a songwriting class that he teaches, he tells students that songs should be less like sermons and more like prayers. As a preacher of sermons, I am always slightly offended, even if I understand what he means.
The lesson is “show, don’t tell.” When it comes to art, struggling with questions is more compelling than telling someone the answers. It is not for nothing that contemporary Christian music is often criticized for its rush to resolve things prematurely.
My rejoinder is that there are some truths that claim us, answers that offer stable ground on which to stand. Christian faith compels us to show and to tell, not least because the gospel of Jesus is a message to be proclaimed.
My friend usually grants my point. But he also reminds me that living the truth is a complicated project and that people who proclaim truth are often not as sure as they seem.
The tension between the sure answer of the gospel and the sometimes-questionable character of its proclamation returned to my mind as I read Evangelism: Learning from the Past by the late Michael Green (1930–2019), who wrote prolifically on the subject of sharing the Good News. Published posthumously from a draft manuscript, the volume is emblematic of Green’s lifelong passion.
Green’s legacy is evident from the first page: “My purpose in life has been to pass on, as best I can, good news. It is the best news anyone could ever hear: that there is a living God, who cares enough about us to become one of us, who dealt at great personal cost with the evil in the world, who is alive to make us into a renewed community, and who invites us to share his home after death.”
“The best news anyone could ever hear” has been entrusted to every follower of Jesus, and Green tells stories of evangelism throughout the history of the church. He notes early on that he is telling a selective story, focused on “the ...