9.12.2012

Longtime Missionary/Pastor/Professor Offers Practical Guide to Sharing Christ with People of Other Religious Backgrounds


Talking about religious beliefs can be intimidating. It’s even considered to be one of the topics you never broach with friends and family if you want to keep the peace—right along with politics. Yet Dr. Jeff Brawner says sharing Christ with those of other beliefs doesn’t have to be scary or confrontational. In fact conversations about faith should be done in love.
 
To help alleviate Christians’ fears about talking with friends who have a different belief system, Brawner has written a new book, How to Share Christ with Your Friends of a Different Faith. Not another theological publication that is read and then sits on the shelf, Brawner’s book is a practical guide designed to move believers from talking about sharing their faith to actually initiating spiritual conversations that respectfully express their relationship with Christ.

In his book Brawner begins by explaining why Christians should share their faith and then offers tips for expanding one’s circle of friends to include those of other faiths. The next eight chapters discuss different religious beliefs—Roman Catholic, Protestant, Animistic, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu, Mormon, and Atheist/Humanist/Agnostic—and include a brief background on and overview of the religion, a detailed example of a plan for talking with others about Christ, and questions people might ask about Christianity. Brawner has written each chapter as a self-sustaining guide so that the reader can quickly open to the chapter that corresponds to the religion in question and find all of the information needed.

Brawner’s easy-to-use guide breaks down each religion and offers specific step-by-step plans for how to share one’s faith. His format not only relates to the religions mentioned in the book but easily can be applied to any other belief system.

In the book’s foreword, Dr. Robin Hadaway, interim president and professor of missions at Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO, writes, “Profound, penetrating, and practical are words that spring to mind when describing this extremely original book on evangelizing all peoples. Jeff Brawner combines a scholar’s grasp of theology with a missionary’s heart for the lost to produce one of the finest works in years on evangelism.”

Dr. Jeff Brawner is chairman of the Department of Missions at Mid-America Baptist Theological Seminary, Cordova, TN. In his ministry he has experience as an overseas missionary, pastor, and youth minister. He and his wife, Christy, have two daughters—Anna and Elizabeth.


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