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The Brokenhearted Evangelist
With a “gutless orthodoxy,” Christians today quickly affirm biblical truth regarding evangelism and mission, but, author Jeremy Walker reminds us, “we cannot pretend that we know and believe the truth about men, souls, heaven, hell, and salvation unless it is making a difference in the way we think, feel, pray, speak, and act.” How do Christians develop this sense of urgency to see lost sinners saved? What motivates our evangelism? We must have the character of the brokenhearted evangelist, the David of Psalm 51, who recognizes the greatness of his own sin, looks to God for forgiveness, then recognizes his undeniable obligation to teach transgressors God’s ways.
In an engaging style and with pastoral warmth, Walker urges Christians to exercise their obligation and privilege to teach transgressors God’s ways, providing both spiritual truth and practical guidance for carrying out this necessary gospel duty.
Table of
Am I Willing? Our Undeniable Obligation
Am I Effective? Our Necessary Equipment
Am I Committed? Our Appointed Means
Am I Focused? Our Declared Aim
Am I Fruitful? Our Great Expectation
Endorsements
“In recent years providence has brought a number of people into my life and ministry who are passionate about evangelism. Some of them are especially keen to win friends, fellow-workers, and family to Christ; others are engaged in various kinds of open-air evangelism, bringing the gospel to people they have never met before. I thank God for all of them and the passion that drives them. This excellent book by Jeremy Walker explains the biblical principles that underlie and provoke such passion, reminding us that time is short, the need is urgent, the laborers are few, and the fields are white unto harvest.” — John MacArthur
“It is a pleasant surprise, coming as it does from a part of our world where Christianity has largely entered a ‘garrison’ (bunker) mode. The book, based on Psalm 51:13, is not meant simply to teach us about evangelism; it demands a verdict. He enlists the help of the great soul winners in history to reinforce his appeals. Even before I finished reading the book, I was already asking myself whether my heart was truly broken about the lost around me—and if it is, what am I doing about it?” — Conrad Mbewe, Pastor, Kabwata Baptist Church, Lusaka, Zambia
“'The Broken Hearted Evangelist' will refresh, strengthen, and equip the most timid saint for the work of soul winning. Jeremy Walker’s consideration of evangelism from the perspective of Psalm 51 is like fresh water drawn from a new well. He does not merely exhort us to greater faithfulness in evangelism and then leave us bewildered and guilty. Instead, he takes us to the very fountain from which all true motivation and strength for evangelism springs forth—the gospel and its glorious impact upon our own lives.” — Paul Washer
In an engaging style and with pastoral warmth, Walker urges Christians to exercise their obligation and privilege to teach transgressors God’s ways, providing both spiritual truth and practical guidance for carrying out this necessary gospel duty.
Table of
Am I Willing? Our Undeniable Obligation
Am I Effective? Our Necessary Equipment
Am I Committed? Our Appointed Means
Am I Focused? Our Declared Aim
Am I Fruitful? Our Great Expectation
Endorsements
“In recent years providence has brought a number of people into my life and ministry who are passionate about evangelism. Some of them are especially keen to win friends, fellow-workers, and family to Christ; others are engaged in various kinds of open-air evangelism, bringing the gospel to people they have never met before. I thank God for all of them and the passion that drives them. This excellent book by Jeremy Walker explains the biblical principles that underlie and provoke such passion, reminding us that time is short, the need is urgent, the laborers are few, and the fields are white unto harvest.” — John MacArthur
“It is a pleasant surprise, coming as it does from a part of our world where Christianity has largely entered a ‘garrison’ (bunker) mode. The book, based on Psalm 51:13, is not meant simply to teach us about evangelism; it demands a verdict. He enlists the help of the great soul winners in history to reinforce his appeals. Even before I finished reading the book, I was already asking myself whether my heart was truly broken about the lost around me—and if it is, what am I doing about it?” — Conrad Mbewe, Pastor, Kabwata Baptist Church, Lusaka, Zambia
“'The Broken Hearted Evangelist' will refresh, strengthen, and equip the most timid saint for the work of soul winning. Jeremy Walker’s consideration of evangelism from the perspective of Psalm 51 is like fresh water drawn from a new well. He does not merely exhort us to greater faithfulness in evangelism and then leave us bewildered and guilty. Instead, he takes us to the very fountain from which all true motivation and strength for evangelism springs forth—the gospel and its glorious impact upon our own lives.” — Paul Washer
- GenresEvangelismChristian
161 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 30, 2011
29 people are currently reading
107 people want to read
About the author
Jeremy Walker
8 books6 followersLibrarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name.
Jeremy Walker is a pastor of Maidenbower Baptist Church in Crawley, England, author of Life in Christ and The Brokenhearted Evangelist, coauthor of A Portrait of Paul: Identifying a True Minister of Christ.
Jeremy Walker is a pastor of Maidenbower Baptist Church in Crawley, England, author of Life in Christ and The Brokenhearted Evangelist, coauthor of A Portrait of Paul: Identifying a True Minister of Christ.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
October 12, 2021
Since I pray that the Lord will give me His heart for the lost, I have wanted to read Jeremy Walker's book The Brokenhearted Evangelist for several years. As an exposition and application of Psalm 51 on evangelism from the life of King David, I found Walker's book both challenging and profitable. May I share David's heart as expressed in v. 13: "Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners shall be converted to You."
Let me share a few reasons why I appreciated Walker's book. First, I am grateful for his penetrating unfolding of Psalm 51, especially vv. 12-13. I found in David an example of repentant zeal for the spread of the gospel and the salvation of souls. Second, the author includes many insightful and inspiring quotes from the Reformed and Puritan tradition. Additionally, his illustrations were often helpful. Walker is certainly a gifted writer! Third, I am thankful for the personal and pointed application through these chapters. His book is not merely to inform us of our need to evangelize, but its goal is to put into use what we've learned and intentionally evangelize the lost.
At the same time, I would have liked to see more of a gospel focus. I know that this sounds strange in a book devoted to proclaiming the gospel! But I am concerned that the reader may move from conviction over sin and a lack of evangelistic effort to being crushed by his or her failure to live as a brokenhearted evangelist. I could see one coming away from this book under guilt for their unfaithfulness in evangelism rather than filled with gratitude for Christ's gospel and His promise to be with us in our evangelism. In other words, I think Walker's treatment would be helped by showing that Christ is not only our message of evangelism, but He is also our example in evangelism and empowerer for evangelism. Don't get me wrong, these ideas aren't completely absent from his book. And Psalm 51 does show us the importance of repentance as we strive to be faithful evangelists. But I found my heart yearning for the gospel fuel of Christ and His grace as I was confronted with my sin in evangelism.
However, I hope that this criticism does not prevent believers from benefitting from Walker's book. We all need to follow David--and ultimately Christ!--in teaching transgressors God's ways through the gospel so that sinners will be converted to Him!
Let me share a few reasons why I appreciated Walker's book. First, I am grateful for his penetrating unfolding of Psalm 51, especially vv. 12-13. I found in David an example of repentant zeal for the spread of the gospel and the salvation of souls. Second, the author includes many insightful and inspiring quotes from the Reformed and Puritan tradition. Additionally, his illustrations were often helpful. Walker is certainly a gifted writer! Third, I am thankful for the personal and pointed application through these chapters. His book is not merely to inform us of our need to evangelize, but its goal is to put into use what we've learned and intentionally evangelize the lost.
At the same time, I would have liked to see more of a gospel focus. I know that this sounds strange in a book devoted to proclaiming the gospel! But I am concerned that the reader may move from conviction over sin and a lack of evangelistic effort to being crushed by his or her failure to live as a brokenhearted evangelist. I could see one coming away from this book under guilt for their unfaithfulness in evangelism rather than filled with gratitude for Christ's gospel and His promise to be with us in our evangelism. In other words, I think Walker's treatment would be helped by showing that Christ is not only our message of evangelism, but He is also our example in evangelism and empowerer for evangelism. Don't get me wrong, these ideas aren't completely absent from his book. And Psalm 51 does show us the importance of repentance as we strive to be faithful evangelists. But I found my heart yearning for the gospel fuel of Christ and His grace as I was confronted with my sin in evangelism.
However, I hope that this criticism does not prevent believers from benefitting from Walker's book. We all need to follow David--and ultimately Christ!--in teaching transgressors God's ways through the gospel so that sinners will be converted to Him!
October 29, 2019
In this book, Jeremy Walker implores his readers to be more active and focused about evangelism. He goes through Psalm 51 and illustrates how we should be brokenhearted evangelists like David, not arrogantly or half-heartedly, but with a humble knowledge of our own sin and a personal experience with God's saving power.
In some churches, leaders try to make church more relevant to the lost by watering down the truth, making themselves irrelevant. In churches that focus more heavily on studying theology and doctrine, a different problem can surface: you can have people who end up spending all their time talking to and debating other Christians about theology and not even talk to those outside the church. Walker spends ample time addressing this crowd.
Each of the chapters focus on a question for the reader to ask him/herself. The first is "Am I Willing?" in which Walker guides the reader to examine whether or not s/he is determined and feels the weight and importance of sharing the gospel. Christians can feel overwhelmed by the responsibility of evangelism.
"Am I Effective?" explains what is needed, as well as what is not needed in evangelism. It is an encouraging chapter that tells readers it is not high intellect, a special calling, or an outgoing personality that is needed, but the joy of God's salvation accompanied by the godly fruit of it.
Chapter 3, "Am I Committed" focuses on how one actually goes about pursuing salvation of sinners, first by looking at the people with whom we deal, that is, transgressors. Even the nicest, most polite person is a transgressor of God. "Is your church a light to the world?" Walker asks. "It is no good if the light just shines inward." Then he has us look at the mode and substance of our dealing. We must teach truth, not emotionally-driven froth, but he warns that we may not be in a position to criticize what others are doing imperfectly what we are not doing at all. Are you actually DOING anything, other than debating and discussing theology amongst yourselves?
"How should we be focused in order to accomplish our ends?" Walker asks in Chapter 4, "Am I Focused?" He uses the analogy of a bow and arrow. The bow is holiness, the arrows are God's Word, and the targets are sinners. This analogy almost seemed impersonal and unkind to me at first, but Walker's passion to see sinners saved makes it evident that he is truly caring toward individuals and their souls and wants us to be too, and this analogy is his way to illustrate how to focus on sharing the gospel, and it is effective. He makes a point that we should not treat every individual the same, but recognize where they are coming from and what their needs are. We do not change the gospel, but we bring up different scriptures to different people, and we will not address the person wearied of sin as the one who is defiantly proud of it. Walker uses the illustration of a dart board to represent how we can miss the mark in our evangelism and think we have had success, when in actuality we have failed by making it about ourselves, reigning in public sinful behavior without a converted soul, or brought in church members without true conversion.
Finally, "Am I Fruitful?" focuses on the results of evangelism. Walker again challenges us to be serious about sinners' souls. When we see people still in their sin rejecting Jesus, we should not be satisfied and should be distressed, he says, yet we should not be downcast. We may at times be discouraged by what we don't see, but the outcome is God's. We may never know how many people's lives were converted, how long it will take for the gospel to take effect, but we can be encouraged knowing that God is in control.
This book definitely invites introspection and has brought to my own mind how much I need to grow in the area of evangelism. I don't feel good at talking to people, I am not very good at it, and the thought of evangelism feels scary. This book has brought this to my attention and has made rubbish of my excuses and made me realize that I am often very complacent. Do I care about my comfort so much and for people's souls so little? If this is the case, what is the state of my own soul? Heavy thoughts indeed, thanks to the Holy Spirit and this little book.
In some churches, leaders try to make church more relevant to the lost by watering down the truth, making themselves irrelevant. In churches that focus more heavily on studying theology and doctrine, a different problem can surface: you can have people who end up spending all their time talking to and debating other Christians about theology and not even talk to those outside the church. Walker spends ample time addressing this crowd.
Each of the chapters focus on a question for the reader to ask him/herself. The first is "Am I Willing?" in which Walker guides the reader to examine whether or not s/he is determined and feels the weight and importance of sharing the gospel. Christians can feel overwhelmed by the responsibility of evangelism.
"Am I Effective?" explains what is needed, as well as what is not needed in evangelism. It is an encouraging chapter that tells readers it is not high intellect, a special calling, or an outgoing personality that is needed, but the joy of God's salvation accompanied by the godly fruit of it.
Chapter 3, "Am I Committed" focuses on how one actually goes about pursuing salvation of sinners, first by looking at the people with whom we deal, that is, transgressors. Even the nicest, most polite person is a transgressor of God. "Is your church a light to the world?" Walker asks. "It is no good if the light just shines inward." Then he has us look at the mode and substance of our dealing. We must teach truth, not emotionally-driven froth, but he warns that we may not be in a position to criticize what others are doing imperfectly what we are not doing at all. Are you actually DOING anything, other than debating and discussing theology amongst yourselves?
"How should we be focused in order to accomplish our ends?" Walker asks in Chapter 4, "Am I Focused?" He uses the analogy of a bow and arrow. The bow is holiness, the arrows are God's Word, and the targets are sinners. This analogy almost seemed impersonal and unkind to me at first, but Walker's passion to see sinners saved makes it evident that he is truly caring toward individuals and their souls and wants us to be too, and this analogy is his way to illustrate how to focus on sharing the gospel, and it is effective. He makes a point that we should not treat every individual the same, but recognize where they are coming from and what their needs are. We do not change the gospel, but we bring up different scriptures to different people, and we will not address the person wearied of sin as the one who is defiantly proud of it. Walker uses the illustration of a dart board to represent how we can miss the mark in our evangelism and think we have had success, when in actuality we have failed by making it about ourselves, reigning in public sinful behavior without a converted soul, or brought in church members without true conversion.
Finally, "Am I Fruitful?" focuses on the results of evangelism. Walker again challenges us to be serious about sinners' souls. When we see people still in their sin rejecting Jesus, we should not be satisfied and should be distressed, he says, yet we should not be downcast. We may at times be discouraged by what we don't see, but the outcome is God's. We may never know how many people's lives were converted, how long it will take for the gospel to take effect, but we can be encouraged knowing that God is in control.
This book definitely invites introspection and has brought to my own mind how much I need to grow in the area of evangelism. I don't feel good at talking to people, I am not very good at it, and the thought of evangelism feels scary. This book has brought this to my attention and has made rubbish of my excuses and made me realize that I am often very complacent. Do I care about my comfort so much and for people's souls so little? If this is the case, what is the state of my own soul? Heavy thoughts indeed, thanks to the Holy Spirit and this little book.
August 3, 2017
This is one of my favorite modern study books. The author introduces many valuable references from the works of various missionaries and evangelists, which gave me a good deal more reading to pursue on the topic. While he explores each point of interest deeply, there is never any beating around the bush in the way that each point is presented. Books of this kind are familiar to me, but nothing here was written that I felt was merely being repeated from the same similar sources over and over again. The Scripture references are consistent and pertinent, and the entire book travels smoothly from one point to another, reaching the verdict of winning souls to Christ.
December 28, 2022
Fuel and guidance for the flaming heart of a young evangelist.
Not only does Mr Walker equip the reader with tools and strategies but he gets to the heart of the matter, the real drive behind any true christian sharing their faith — to see dead men brought to life by the power of Jesus Christ and his redeeming work upon the cross.
Not only does Mr Walker equip the reader with tools and strategies but he gets to the heart of the matter, the real drive behind any true christian sharing their faith — to see dead men brought to life by the power of Jesus Christ and his redeeming work upon the cross.
October 31, 2014
this is a book worthy to be read over and over again. it is full of encouragement, not just for the evangelist, but for all disciples of christ. it draws you into a deeper relationship with the spirit of GOD it takes you through each step of the problems we have as christs chosen people, and helps us to understand GODS character. it is teaching me, that when we find challenges in trying to change the hardest hearts, that there is still hope. for when we are weak, then we are strong!!the author speaks candidly about the struggles we constantly face, the trials we will face and how we must not give up, but give in to GOD.
there are many things in this book we can go away and think about, it encourages prayer sessions, teaching, and it provides us with the spiritual equipment and resources to live for christ, move people for christ, it will encourage pastors, teachers, youthworkers and all christians,who are saved by grace, to know that GOD never leaves us to go it alone. it sets out scenarios that we can learn from in our daily lives so that we can learn from GOD and be bold to put on the full armour that he has provided for us. it helps and challenges us to be a people of God and be like Samuel, who said " Here I am Lord, send me!" it encourages you that whoever you are and however insignificant you feel as Gods chosen people, this is Gods vision for you!!
there are many things in this book we can go away and think about, it encourages prayer sessions, teaching, and it provides us with the spiritual equipment and resources to live for christ, move people for christ, it will encourage pastors, teachers, youthworkers and all christians,who are saved by grace, to know that GOD never leaves us to go it alone. it sets out scenarios that we can learn from in our daily lives so that we can learn from GOD and be bold to put on the full armour that he has provided for us. it helps and challenges us to be a people of God and be like Samuel, who said " Here I am Lord, send me!" it encourages you that whoever you are and however insignificant you feel as Gods chosen people, this is Gods vision for you!!
August 1, 2012
This is an excellent book. I highly recommend it. It was very challenging and convicting. At times it reminded me of Jonathan Edwards' "Sinners in the hands of an angry God," because it was very direct and forceful. Such forcefulness is very necessary at times, especially now when many people are content sitting in their pews with their own isolated "personal relationship" with Jesus, but they never get their hands dirty in obedience to the Lord (myself included).
I would have given it 5 stars, but something he kept saying was missing something very important. He emphasized the need for Christians to approach evangelism as "sinners saved by grace." I wholeheartedly concur! This is important. However, I also believe it is important to recognize our position as saints of Jesus.
I would have given it 5 stars, but something he kept saying was missing something very important. He emphasized the need for Christians to approach evangelism as "sinners saved by grace." I wholeheartedly concur! This is important. However, I also believe it is important to recognize our position as saints of Jesus.
February 21, 2015
A useful book addressing the necessity of evangelism for believers addressing the topic from some neglected aspects such as the role of vocation in evangelism, and many more well known aspects such as the importance of prayer and God’s sovereignty in evangelism. This book encouraged and challenged me to have a broken heart for the lost as I evangelize and to be careful to not fall into the trap of viewing unbelievers as arguments to win, but rather to have a genuine love and burden for the lost, which is necessary for biblically balanced evangelism.
January 30, 2016
Great reminder of the great commision
I would have given this book 5 star, one less star because the author is unclear in explaining that great commission is not an option, it's a command....and our fruit is not to see someone converted because of our effort (although the another did say that it is not our work that convert unbeliever, but he makes it as if our fruit is also a conversion of men), but the fruit of the spirit Gal 5:22...
Over all is still a very good book, I would recommend this book to others
I would have given this book 5 star, one less star because the author is unclear in explaining that great commission is not an option, it's a command....and our fruit is not to see someone converted because of our effort (although the another did say that it is not our work that convert unbeliever, but he makes it as if our fruit is also a conversion of men), but the fruit of the spirit Gal 5:22...
Over all is still a very good book, I would recommend this book to others
February 14, 2013
A stirring book on evangelism. Would be a great choice to take a small group through.
July 12, 2013
I think this may be my new giveaway book on evangelism.
May 30, 2018
Good book. Great insights into the life of David with practical application for the Evangelist today.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews