Evangelism in an Age of Despair

Author Andrew Root
Publisher Baker Academic £22.99
Format pbk
ISBN 978154096875

Andrew Root is based at Luther Seminary, USA. This book is an attempt to re-think evangelism, contextualising it in our late modern times where ‘anxious, stressed, angry people’ live ‘sad’ lives, over-committed to striving for happiness instead of seeking a consolation that feeds soul rather than self, rooted in the theology of the cross. There are two distinct strands to the book: firstly, the moving story of a fictional church that shows us how an evangelism of consolation might work in practice. Secondly, extensive discussion of philosophical and theological thought through past ages, centred around figures such as Montaigne, Pascal, Gregory of Nyssa, Jean Gerson, Johann von Staupitz and Martin Luther. This is a complex book and is most suitable for academics and theologians, yet its central argument is something I can endorse from my own journey – that people often connect (and evangelise) best through sharing and owning times of loss and struggle, ultimately finding meaning and hope in a God who suffers with and for us.

Reviewed by APRIL McINTYRE

Evangelism