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Upsetting the World: Following Paul's Example of Frontline Evangelism
A fresh and insightful analysis, and somewhat provocative application of the Apostle Paul's ministry in Greece as recorded in Acts 17.
96 pages, Paperback
First published February 10, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
August 5, 2012
This short book is an examination of Paul's methods of evangelism when he went into a new city, particularly the cities of Thessalonica, Berea, and Athens. He gives the following outline for Paul's strategy of evangelism:
1. Find the synagogue (go to where the people are)
2. Reason from the Scriptures about Christ
3. Identify the converts
4. Face the opposition (there will be opposition)
5. Move on to the next place
The last two chapters summarizes Paul's message to the Athenians from Acts 17:
1. God made and rules everything
2. God upholds the universe
3. God is the Lord of the nations
4. God is the Father of humanity
5. God will Judge the World
I highly recommend this little book from Kress.
1. Find the synagogue (go to where the people are)
2. Reason from the Scriptures about Christ
3. Identify the converts
4. Face the opposition (there will be opposition)
5. Move on to the next place
The last two chapters summarizes Paul's message to the Athenians from Acts 17:
1. God made and rules everything
2. God upholds the universe
3. God is the Lord of the nations
4. God is the Father of humanity
5. God will Judge the World
I highly recommend this little book from Kress.
August 31, 2015
Helpful insights on Paul's plan of evangelism in Acts 17. O short and valuable read.
June 14, 2014
All in all, if taken at face value, for the most part I agree with John MacArthur's blurb on the front cover of this book: "Fresh, insightful analysis of Paul's ministry in Greece."
The book however seems to indicate that Paul's ministry in Greece should be the ministry duty of every individual in the church. John Crotts doesn't state that explicitly, but it seems to be the general premise assumed at the outset in his writing.
On the positive side, I really enjoyed his very good practical examples of how to evangelize to lost people in certain modern day settings.
For example, I thought his suggestions in the below ways were very helpful for those who are gifted in such areas:
Evangelizing to the Religious World
-Engage attendees of major religious events outside the event stadium before or after the event
-Engage attendees at "religious" concerts, special days at theme parks, etc.
-Find out where "religious" people get their coffee, eat after church on Sundays and start conversations with them there
-Volunteer at a local Christian school
Evangelizing the Inquiring World
-Attend a Sunday School class of a liberal church (with the support and backing of your own local church's leadership)
-Strike up a conversation with people in the religious section of bookstores, or even in "Christian bookstores"
-Get involved in social media networks that provide a forum for discussing religious ideas
Evangelizing the Intellectual World
-Hang around the Philosophy sections (or -ology sections) of bookstores, with engaging questions ready
-Attend book discussions sponsored by libraries or bookstores and be ready to bring your faith into the discussion
-Start a blog seeking to link peoples' questions about God to the answers He provides in Scripture
-Enroll in a class at your local non-Christian college to engage students in that forum
On the negative side, I was not a fan with the way Crotts handled the Scriptures at times.
In general, I'm usually turned off by giant sweeping declarations about the Christian faith that don't take into account other statements in Scripture. For instance, the very first paragraph of the book says:
"Christianity wasn't intended to be a quiet religion. Faithful Christians aren't supposed to slink around in the shadows, just trying to keep to themselves."
I understand what he's trying to do here, and half agree with him. But if you compare that statement to what Paul says in one of his epistles, it just seems to not take into account the whole of Scripture. Compare:
"But we urge you, brothers...aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs..." (1 Thess. 4:10, 11).
Christianity isn't intended to be a quiet religion / "aspire to live quietly"
Christians aren't supposed to try to keep to themselves / "mind your own affairs"
Again, I get what he's trying to do; but he could have done it in a way that takes into account all that the Scriptures teach and not overstate something for which the Scriptures don't allow.
At times his exegesis is very heavily dependent on his own assumptions about the text and its implications. In one section there is so much use of the words "seems, if, think, may have..." etc. (pp. 18-22), that you get the impression most of the exegesis being done is reading between the lines rather than reading the actual lines of Scripture.
While I understand the pedagogy involved in his three main sections (the religious world, the inquiring world, and the intellectual world), it's hard for me to get past the theological imprecision of his handling Scripture in order to make things "fit" into those categories.
For instance, to make the point about the "religious" world he cites that Paul would seek out the synagogue first. Well, the reason he did that was not because he was seeking the "religious" world (after all, even the non-Jews Paul perceived as being "very religious" - Acts 17:22), but because the gospel was to go to the Jews first (Rom. 1:16 cf. Acts 28:23-28).
[Side note: I'm truly baffled at his statement that "Perhaps liberal churches provide a contemporary parallel to the synagogues with whom Paul interacted." Wouldn't a more appropriate analogy be that perhaps contemporary synagogues provide a contemporary parallel to the synagogues with whom Paul interacted?]
But deep down, I just don't share the conviction that all in the church are called to be missionary-evangelists. I have yet to see a compelling argument from Scripture to that affect (on account of which I've written at least here and here). That's not to say I don't think everyone should be able to proclaim the good news when asked. I think the Scriptures are clear in that regard (Col. 4:5-6; 1 Pet. 3:15-16). But I can't get on board with the assumption that everyone is to go out and do street (or otherwise overt forms of) evangelism.
But that seems to be the conviction (and assumption) of the author.
I truly enjoyed his passionate calls to stir the hearts of believers:
"It is one thing to mouth the words in prayer, 'Hallowed be your name,' but it is another matter entirely to burn within when God's name is not being honored" (p. 44).
"Have you looked around your city lately? No doubt there is much to provoke you. God's glory is despised all around us everyday. Do you mind? Has your heart grown accustomed to these affronts? You will not rise to action until your heart begins to burn" (p. 48).
Amen.
But for my part, I think in Scripture we see that rising to action is different for each believer and dependent in part on what gift or gifts they're given by the sovereign work of the Spirit.
The book however seems to indicate that Paul's ministry in Greece should be the ministry duty of every individual in the church. John Crotts doesn't state that explicitly, but it seems to be the general premise assumed at the outset in his writing.
On the positive side, I really enjoyed his very good practical examples of how to evangelize to lost people in certain modern day settings.
For example, I thought his suggestions in the below ways were very helpful for those who are gifted in such areas:
Evangelizing to the Religious World
-Engage attendees of major religious events outside the event stadium before or after the event
-Engage attendees at "religious" concerts, special days at theme parks, etc.
-Find out where "religious" people get their coffee, eat after church on Sundays and start conversations with them there
-Volunteer at a local Christian school
Evangelizing the Inquiring World
-Attend a Sunday School class of a liberal church (with the support and backing of your own local church's leadership)
-Strike up a conversation with people in the religious section of bookstores, or even in "Christian bookstores"
-Get involved in social media networks that provide a forum for discussing religious ideas
Evangelizing the Intellectual World
-Hang around the Philosophy sections (or -ology sections) of bookstores, with engaging questions ready
-Attend book discussions sponsored by libraries or bookstores and be ready to bring your faith into the discussion
-Start a blog seeking to link peoples' questions about God to the answers He provides in Scripture
-Enroll in a class at your local non-Christian college to engage students in that forum
On the negative side, I was not a fan with the way Crotts handled the Scriptures at times.
In general, I'm usually turned off by giant sweeping declarations about the Christian faith that don't take into account other statements in Scripture. For instance, the very first paragraph of the book says:
"Christianity wasn't intended to be a quiet religion. Faithful Christians aren't supposed to slink around in the shadows, just trying to keep to themselves."
I understand what he's trying to do here, and half agree with him. But if you compare that statement to what Paul says in one of his epistles, it just seems to not take into account the whole of Scripture. Compare:
"But we urge you, brothers...aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs..." (1 Thess. 4:10, 11).
Christianity isn't intended to be a quiet religion / "aspire to live quietly"
Christians aren't supposed to try to keep to themselves / "mind your own affairs"
Again, I get what he's trying to do; but he could have done it in a way that takes into account all that the Scriptures teach and not overstate something for which the Scriptures don't allow.
At times his exegesis is very heavily dependent on his own assumptions about the text and its implications. In one section there is so much use of the words "seems, if, think, may have..." etc. (pp. 18-22), that you get the impression most of the exegesis being done is reading between the lines rather than reading the actual lines of Scripture.
While I understand the pedagogy involved in his three main sections (the religious world, the inquiring world, and the intellectual world), it's hard for me to get past the theological imprecision of his handling Scripture in order to make things "fit" into those categories.
For instance, to make the point about the "religious" world he cites that Paul would seek out the synagogue first. Well, the reason he did that was not because he was seeking the "religious" world (after all, even the non-Jews Paul perceived as being "very religious" - Acts 17:22), but because the gospel was to go to the Jews first (Rom. 1:16 cf. Acts 28:23-28).
[Side note: I'm truly baffled at his statement that "Perhaps liberal churches provide a contemporary parallel to the synagogues with whom Paul interacted." Wouldn't a more appropriate analogy be that perhaps contemporary synagogues provide a contemporary parallel to the synagogues with whom Paul interacted?]
But deep down, I just don't share the conviction that all in the church are called to be missionary-evangelists. I have yet to see a compelling argument from Scripture to that affect (on account of which I've written at least here and here). That's not to say I don't think everyone should be able to proclaim the good news when asked. I think the Scriptures are clear in that regard (Col. 4:5-6; 1 Pet. 3:15-16). But I can't get on board with the assumption that everyone is to go out and do street (or otherwise overt forms of) evangelism.
But that seems to be the conviction (and assumption) of the author.
I truly enjoyed his passionate calls to stir the hearts of believers:
"It is one thing to mouth the words in prayer, 'Hallowed be your name,' but it is another matter entirely to burn within when God's name is not being honored" (p. 44).
"Have you looked around your city lately? No doubt there is much to provoke you. God's glory is despised all around us everyday. Do you mind? Has your heart grown accustomed to these affronts? You will not rise to action until your heart begins to burn" (p. 48).
Amen.
But for my part, I think in Scripture we see that rising to action is different for each believer and dependent in part on what gift or gifts they're given by the sovereign work of the Spirit.
July 28, 2025
Practical, biblical, concise. 👍🏽
Want to Read
April 19, 2026A simple primer about how to evangelize today, following Paul's method of the first century.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews