Evangelism after Christendom

Stone, Bryan. Evangelism After Christendom. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Brazos Press, 2007.

A Review of Evangelism after Christendom: The Theology and Practice of Christian Witness by Bryan Stone

Evangelism after Christendom is a comprehensive treatment of the definitions, histories, contexts, subversions, environments, and virtues that shape, nurture, and challenge evangelistic practice. The book is significant, because of its thorough review of appropriate literature, movement from theology to practice, and emphasis on the “evangelizing community” and the virtues that originate within this community. Throughout this review, through the purview of reflective critique and agreement, I will summarize the basic arguments of the book and apply these arguments to my context of North American church planting.

Initially, Evangelism after Christendom serves as a prophetic call to the church to reclaim its true and intended evangelistic identity. In the book’s introduction, author Bryan Stone states, “The thesis of this book is that the most evangelistic thing the church can do today is to be the church—” (15) Moreover, he provides a specific framework for how this might take shape. Stone continues, “…to be formed imaginatively by the Holy Spirit through core practices such as worship, forgiveness, hospitality, and economic sharing into a distinctive people in the world, a new social option, the body of Christ.” (15) For Stone, this is the nature of evangelism.
Furthermore, these descriptions serve to construct the framework of what Stone, later in the book, frequently refers to as the ecclesia. However, Stone’s attention toward ecclesia begins with a theological foundation of evangelism as practice. Stone uses the work of Alasdair MacIntyre to purport, “A practice is especially important in MacIntyre’s overall argument, for it provides the context in which the identity of a tradition is constituted, the narrative meaning of human life is enacted, and the character, virtues, and skills for journeying toward that meaning are displayed and refined.” (30) However, as he builds the argument, Stone succinctly asks, “Is evangelism a practice? To the extent that it may be so understood, it likewise employs a number of varying skills, arts, techniques, and activities. But if evangelism is a practice, it is never reducible to any of these…” (31) Next, Stone clarifies his reference to MacIntyre by involving James McClendon’s description of a “game.” I found this metaphor to be quite helpful in describing evangelism as practice. Stone unpacks evangelistic practice through the lens of McClendon’s “four necessary elements to a game: (a) an end or goal, (b) the means to that end, (c) the rules by which the game is played, and (d) the proper attitude in playing.” (32) Finally, throughout the rest of the book, Stone structures his assertion of evangelism as practice upon the pillars of narrative, social context, and virtue.

In Evangelism after Christendom, Bryan Stone assembles a case for evangelism taking place in a narrative context. In other words, as Stone articulates, “This story [the story of the people of God], with its various characters, subplots, twists, turns, and surprises, literally ‘makes sense’ out of the Christian life by depicting its beginning, way, and end and thereby orienting us on a journey.” (55) At this point, however, I would take slight exception with Stone’s description. Perhaps, it is not the story of the people of God, but instead, the story of the God of the people. As Gary Holloway and Earl Lavender state in their book, Living God’s Love: An Invitation to Christian Spirituality, “…the main character in my autobiography is not me, but God.” Nevertheless, during this portion of the book, with outstanding thoroughness and meaning, Stone walks the reader through the stories of Israel, Jesus, and the early church. As an underlying form of foreshadowing, through his articulation of “the story of the people of God,” Stone lays the foundations for his later call to ecclesia.

Before Stone arrives at his call to ecclesia, his pilgrimage winds through potential rival narratives of “the story of the people of God.” For the purposes of his book, he tells the story of two main rivals: “The Constantinian Story” and “The Story of Modernity.” For me, this was a meaningful portion of the book, because of the immediate application to my context of North American church planting. I find myself as a resident in a church culture that still bears many marks of Christendom, and a suburban culture that reflects the categories of secularization, religious pluralism, and consumerism as described by Stone. In response to these cultural frameworks, Stone asserts, "Only insofar as the church is itself a visible communion, a material culture, a form of life, an embodied social imagination, a public, a politics and economics in its own right, will it pose a threat to the individualization and subsequent massification of persons inherent in the modern invention of sociality and its institutional offspring." (170) With experience to reflect upon, I concur with Stone’s assessment. Furthermore, for Stone, the church embodies this description by communally subversive means choosing not to opt into a dominate culture of individualism, marketing, and choice. In rebuttal to the dominate culture, Stone writes, “The question we must ask is whether the church is the eschatological sign and living demonstration that the end of time has come or whether it is to be viewed in strictly functional terms…” (168) Throughout this section of the book, Stone remains true to his prophetic calling toward the church to be the church.

Next, as a specific element within Stone’s calling toward the church to be the church, he launches a section of the book in which he unpacks the ecclesia as witness and invitation. First of all, the ecclesia serves as a witness to the reign of God. In support of this point, Stone says, “The new creation to which evangelism witnesses is God’s peaceable reign—a work of prophetic imagination that both demands and makes possible a distinctive reordering of loyalties, priorities, and relationships and of the way power and resources are shared and distributed.” (177) For me, this prophetic call, or maybe better stated, a prophetic community living out this way of life (“God’s peaceable reign”), is much needed in my suburban context. Ironically, for Stone, the second service of ecclesia involves invitation. As Stone reveals, “The practice of evangelism announces and embodies this imaginary even as it seeks to invite and initiate persons into it through a fully material formation into a people, a Spirit-created social option in space and time.” (177) Stone continues to describe witness and invitation in terms of cruciform politics and economics. In other words, his suggestions for evangelism after Christendom find root in the practices of ecclesia instead of the propositional truth and scientific methods of modernity. As a result, conversion must be viewed in terms of process or being continually converted. In a conversation about the measurability of evangelism, Stone concludes, “If evangelism can be ‘measured’ at all, perhaps it can best be measured by how well a community prepares a place at its table for those who are not there yet, for those who have not even heard, much less heeded, its invitation.” (274) In Evangelism after Christendom, the ecclesia embodies and invites people into “God’s peaceable reign.”

Finally, in what, in my opinion, is actually a discussion about spiritual formation, the author digs into the character of the evangelist who would proclaim (or live out) such a life (“God’s peaceable reign”) in ecclesia. Basically, Stone summarizes the “martyrdom and virtue” of the evangelist in the following four characteristics: presence, patience, courage, and humility. I found the “churchwomen,” Oscar Romero, and the Common Cathedral to be prophetic exemplars of Stone’s description of the evangelist, and consequently, stories saturated with conviction. This portion of the book left me introspective as to how I, through the power of the Holy Spirit, might exhibit such virtues in my church planting context. These pages of Evangelism after Christendom and my Tuesday night covenant group’s study through Discipleship Essentials by Greg Ogden simultaneously ushered me into Jesus’ words in Luke 9.23-24: “If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it.” As evangelists who are also participants in ecclesia may we “come after” Jesus with such Spirit-fueled intensity that our evangelistic practice spreads through the virtues of presence, patience, courage, and humility.

Evangelism after Christendom provides an extensive theological framework for discussion concerning evangelism in a post-Christendom context. I would recommend it as a worthy, cost-effective investment for any church leader discerning God’s prophetic call toward the engagement of such a post-Christendom culture with the story of God or desiring a full description of evangelistic practice. Bryan Stone’s treatment of practice, narrative, history, ecclesia, and virtue contribute thorough scholarship, thoughtful critiques, and meaningful applications in the context of any discussion concerning evangelism. Teleologically speaking, Stone set a course to prophetically challenge the church to be the church, and in Evangelism after Christendom, he remains true to this end.

Amazon.com's Product Details
Paperback: 336 pages
Publisher: Brazos Press (March 1, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 1587431947
ISBN-13: 978-1587431944
Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6 x 1 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds

Have you read this book? Are you considering a read of this book? Are you interested in sparking a discussion of the themes, points, critiques, and challenges of this book? Do you have questions or counterpoints of assertions from this book? Post a comment and join the conversation.

Next, I will review Beyond Belief: Finding the Strength to Come Back by Josh Hamilton and Tim Keown.