More Ready Than You Realize: The Power of Everyday Conversations

by Brian D. McLaren

This is not just another book on evangelism. It's a simple idea of evangelism through friendship first, and the opportunities to share your faith that follow. It will bring friendships you already have to a new levels, and create opportunities for new, authentic friendships with those you will eventually meet. Evangelism as sales pitch, as conquest, as warfare, as ultimatum, as threat, as proof, as argument, as entertainment, as show, as monologue, as something you have to do. Disciple-making as conversation, as friendship, as influence, as invitation, as companionship, as challenge, as opportunity, as conversation, as dance, as something you get to do. You're more ready for this than you realize, and so are your friends!

Genres: Evangelism, Christian, Theology, Christianity, Religion, Nonfiction, Spirituality

188 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2002

About the author

Brian D. McLaren is an internationally known speaker and the author of over ten highly acclaimed books on contemporary Christianity, including A New Kind of Christian, A Generous Orthodoxy, and The Secret Message of Jesus.

Reviews

[Phyllis Fredericksen · Rating 4 out of 5]

McLaren’s books are always filled with wisdom. This is no exception. He talks about evangelism, but in such a way that we all can relate to that call. Simple friendship, love of God and love of people. Simple actions, yet often difficult to practice.

[Payton · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved reading this! It has challenged me to grow as a Christian and has also answered a lot of my own questions regarding our responsibilities in reaching the modern generation for Christ!

[Arianna Parker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book, it’s honest, had to read for bible.

[Clark Goble · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have a love-hate relationship working with author/pastor Brian McClaren. I believe much of what he says needs to be heard by The Church. McClaren’s books are focused on making Christians rethink the way they “do” church and religion. He is determined to make Christianity relevent in our post-modern culture. Unfortunately, he often seems to throw the baby out with the bathwater. McClaren often turns his back on centuries of what I consider good and essential theology. Still, I often find myself reading his books because they challenge my thinking and expand my beliefs. Oddly, I tend to find myself agreeing with him more lately than I used to and More Ready Than You Realize is a good of example of that.

More Ready Than You Realize is a book about evangelism. McLaren shares several emails and stories that occurred between himself and a young college student that track her evolution from skeptic to faith. McLaren points out the mistakes the modern church makes when it comes to evangelism. I agree with his assertion that the modern church seems more concerned with their “numbers” of conversions rather than entering into relationship with people. I can remember very well the moment I was “saved” when I was in high school. I had attended a local church with a friend and experienced my first alter call. The pressure was immense. I did my best to ignore the call, but before I knew it my legs were involuntarily dragging me forward. The power of the moment is hard to describe in words. My friend joined me at the alter and led me in “the prayer.” I’m sure the pastor went home that night, patted himself on the back, and added my conversion to the number of souls he had rescued from the burning flames. That church failed me though. After my conversion, not one leader of the church approached me and gave me guidance in my new found faith. Not one experienced Christian stepped forward to help me understand scripture or what it meant to be a disciple. For a fifteen year old boy, my conversion left me with more questions than answers and eventually left me with a bad taste in my mouth. Left on my own, I soon drifted away from the church and God. It took years for me to begin to explore a relationship with Christ again. Thankfully, God put people in my life the second time around that were willing to teach and nurture my faith.

McLaren points out the failures of conversions like mine to explain why we need a new paradigm when it comes to evangelism. No longer can the church be concerned with numbers and conversion experiences. In the real world, these moments just don’t work. Like my experience, they leave people with more questions than answers. McClaren points out the value of entering into “spiritual friendships” with faith seekers. Not in an undercover Bible thumping kind of way, but in a genuine, caring, and authentic manner. McLaren even suggests that Christians may need to take time away from their church circles to spend more time in relationship with nonbelievers. I especially liked McLaren’s point that churches should be open to, and welcome, nonbelievers. It’s only through these kinds of relationships that Christians can fulfill the Great Commission and make genuine disciples.

I highly recommend this book for any Christian that has a desire to enter into relationship with nonbelievers. Especially those that feel the “alter call” is an essential part of their church.

[Donna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book looks at evangelism from a more modern, disciple-making perspective, rather than an aggressive, more traditional evangelical approach. Since I don't come from that world, this book felt less relevant to me. Also I didn't get much from the repeated references to emails with a questioner intertwined through. But, with Brian McLaren, you cannot help but get something fun from what he writes. I loved the bible study on discipleship at the end and also this part of the text. I stumped a few people with this question in my lifetime as well, and liked the "answers" given here. I also liked the humility. No one has all the answers, and sometimes it is the people you don't expect that have the greatest insight.

“What about Jesus doesn’t make sense?” I asked.
[George] “It’s not his teachings. I find them powerful and beautiful and challenging. It’s the part about him having to die on the cross. I guess if there’s one question I’d have for you, it would be this: Why did Jesus have to die?”
...
What he was asking, I guessed (and then confirmed by asking him for clarification), was this: If God was going to forgive us, why didn’t he just forgive us? Why did Jesus have to die so that we could be forgiven? Having an innocent person die for guilty people did not seem to solve the ‘injustice’ of forgiveness—it only seemed to add to the injustice. So why did Jesus have to die?”
...
I continued to pray, think, reflect, and study over the next two weeks, trying to answer George’s question, but the deadline was looming and I really had nothing new to offer. A day or two before our appointment, I was relaxing in my parents’ swimming pool with my brother, Peter. Now Peter is a mechanical engineer. He is a bright, sincere, and committed Christian, but not an obvious candidate to help me with my theological mystery. I asked him how the engineering business was going, and he reciprocated: “How’s the ministry world going?”
“Okay,” I said, “except that a couple weeks ago I realized that I don’t know why Jesus had to die.”
Then Peter, without skipping a beat, without even a moment’s hesitation, said, “Well neither did Jesus.”
“What?” I said, making a kind of strange face.
Then Peter said, “Remember the story about Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane? He was praying that if there was any other way for him to accomplish his mission, he hoped God would spare him from dying. But then he said ‘Not my will, but your will be done.’ So it sounds to me like Jesus didn’t really understand why it had to be that way either. But the point wasn’t understanding it; the point was doing what needed to be done.”
...
[George’s later response to that story] “Hmmm. Hmmm. Wow. You know... for some reason...that doesn’t answer my question, but somehow, that’s better than an answer. It kind of makes the question not really matter so much.”

[Rachael]

I picked up this book for the title - because I don’t feel ready for life right now lol. So I need a book to I still some confidence in me and tell me I’m more ready than I realize.

But I wasn’t initially that interested in being more ready than I realize to evangelize, because it’s Not really where I’m at in my religious beliefs right now, maybe. I’m somewhere between the characters of Brian and Alice, where I used to be more comfortable with evangelism but now I don’t exactly know where I stand and even feel more like I’m the one with skepticism questions.

The book is now outdated! We are past the postmodern time into something way else, which feels a lot more complex to me. What would the author say about the time we’re in now, I wonder?

However I found more encouragement in this book than I expected to.

[Molly Caylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was fascinating, and it was food for thought! It made me want more. While I do not agree with many of the author's points, I think that is what makes it great - it got me thinking and wanting to know more about those topics! He felt like the opposite of CS Lewis as far as Christian scholars. It did offer me another perspective on more "progressive Christianity" that I had never realized why some Christians believe the way they do. Just more food for thought a reason to understand why someone believes the way they do before you disagree or try to push your belief onto someone else. I especially liked the way he described evangelism to be too stiff and pushy sometimes, and how we should stick to more relational and question-oriented evangelism. I think that will be very beneficial with my generation especially.

[Tim Genry · Rating 4 out of 5]

I liked it. I didn’t love it. I would probably give it a 3.5, instead of 4 if that were an option. This book is for those who feel like evangelism is knocking on doors, confrontation, and distance. It teaches a more relational, discipling approach. There wasn’t a lot of depth in the book but I don’t think he was trying to get deep, as much as he was trying to get a simple point across. I do think as Christians we have to share our lives and our time with our coworkers, neighbors and friends and live like Jesus. When we lift up Jesus, He will draw all men unto Him. So overall, shift your thinking on how to reach people - that will lead to freedom to invite people to “come and see” - not much beyond that in this book.

[Rachel Shearon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I assumed this book was going to be trash because it has such a pretentious title. I mean, “Evangelism as dance in the postmodern matrix???” Chill out, dude. HOWEVER, I actually really enjoyed some of the concepts. I definitely did not agree with everything McLaren proposed, but a lot of what he says makes sense. Would definitely recommend to anyone who questions what evangelism should be like in our postmodern generation! 3/5 stars

[Abigail Kopp · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made me tear up as the book came to a close as the conclusion came around. The book did it’s duty of making me understand that I AM more ready than I realized for evangelism.

This book covers the importance of “conversations over conversions” and the need of planting seeds. It’s a growing process and this helped me not be guilty about only having conversations and not witnessing many conversions. Paul planted, Apollos watered, and God gives the increase. Point, blank, period.

[Gideon Yutzy · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of McLaren's first books. He mostly tells about interactions he had with a young lady on her path to Christ. He takes parts of her emails to him and expands on them, weaving in themes of evangelism such as not being pushy and building on what God is already doing in a person even if they don't have churchy language for it.

[Andy Gore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Reading this book reminded me of why I so much reading McLaren as his perspective is so thought provoking. But yet there are hints here why I stopped reading him too but perhaps because I’m limiting the number of his books I’m reading I may be able to stay in the positive frame of mind.

[Ricardo Cid · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for everyone who’s asking themselves how to share their faith with other people.

Easy to understand and very enriched by the main story you follow throughout the book.

Must read!

[Scott Holstad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I usually like McLaren's books and I wanted to like this one, but in the end, I didn't finish it because I just couldn't buy the primary premise. It's a book about how the Christian church needs to revitalize its efforts at evangelism to a postmodern world by changing guilt inducing preaching to a series of conversations. Fine. I'm OK with that. However, McLaren constructs the book with the skeleton of a series of emails, allegedly legitimate, from a woman he calls "Alice" in order to protect her identity. Alice is a college student who, for reasons that are never clearly explained, WANTS to become a Christian very badly but is turned off by the intolerance, judgmental attitudes, etc., etc., of contemporary evangelical Christianity. Why she's so desperate to become a Christian eludes me. Anyway, they meet at a book signing of his and he helps her pack some stuff while during which time she admits to having glanced at his book and found it interesting. So she starts emailing him. He claims to include the emails in their entirety, misspelling and all, for authenticity purposes. OK, this girl might be a smart college student for all I know, but the emails are absolutely insipid! Just trite ramblings. And then McLaren gleans somehow "meaningful" elements from them, stretching to in some occasions it seems to me, and he apparently responds to her emails so as to answer the various religious/theological/spiritual questions she has. But while he's apparently saved ALL of her emails to him, he saved NONE of his to her (ever heard of checking your Sent Mail outbox Brian?), so we can only go on his word that he made a brief comment or two addressing her concerns. I found this profoundly disturbing. I mean, it feels like he's trying to hide something! What's going on here? And as this woman draws closer and closer to God and Christianity, he continues to encourage her through these email "conversations" all the while printing her emails in their entirety and none of his. What teachings is he sharing with her so that she grows? We're never told. I made it to page 95 before giving up in disgust. I think it's largely a useless book, which perhaps had some promise in its premise, but is ultimately insipid. Pity.

[Beau Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Few books on 'evangelism' have met me and actually meant something to me like this one has. It came for me at a time when I was really questioning how and when I could share what I believe without being "that guy."

This book was written in 2002 and is, as the time was, still fascinated with educating people about being postmodern. Maybe this is still happening, but that buzz word in church seems to have died off. Instead of lecturing us about how our current practices are out of date or irrelevant, McLaren takes us into his conversation with a friend (via email). He takes away the thought that we have to memorize a formula, know every answer, or "defend" our faith as if we were a lawyer on trial.

A favorite quote, p. 145:

"Modern Christianity has (inadvertently, I think) tended to reduce God to being containable by human concepts of propositions or logic. It has too often acted as though it had God bottle,d labeled, and hermetically sealed, a commodity we own and distribute at will, logically proven, and theologically defined."

Another favorite quote by McLaren (from a talk he gave):

"Rather than being concerned about our comfort, we should be concerned about God's reputation."

[Joyce Ferguson · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this for a church project on evangelism for mainline churches and fell in love with what he has to say about allowing God to work through our lives to reach other people. Many parts of the book spoke to me but this I just love:
"And so we dance. We dance in service, in gratitude, in hard work well done, in prayer, in game, in tilling the soil and crafting the poem, in hiking and sailing and flying, in hanging out, in sharing a drink of coffee or beer or wine or old water, in joy, in sorrow, in hope, in disappointment. We dance. Sometimes we dance with our eyes closed, dizzy, spinning, with tears streaming down our faces. Sometimes we dance with such joy that we feel like our hearts are going to explode!
And when we open our eyes, we see that we do not dance alone, but that others have joined us, and the dance we share is beautiful, because the music that moves us resounds with the holiest mystery of all. So shall we dance?"

[Jack Kooyman · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was my introduction to Brian McLaren's writing and perspectives. I recall thinking that here was someone who was able to articulate ideas and thoughts that resonated with where I was at in my Christian journey. More specifically, he helped me develop a new--and I believe more accurate and authentic--understanding of evangelism.

While i appreciated the rather informal format of a dialogue with a "seeker" via emails, there were times when I thought it might have worked better to depart from it and provide more of a narrative and perhaps expanding a bit on what he shared in an email.

All in all, it was this book that whetted my appetite for more of McLaren.

[Kyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

A quick and easy read. It's a great resource for those wishing to read up on evangelism but are turned off by programs and easy step. I appreciated McLaren's insistance that people aren't projects but must be seen as people who by virtue of their humanity are prone to doubt, wonder, and question and to embrace the questions of faith have.



However I do believe McLaren underestimates the power of orthodoxy or at least downplays it too much. Because McLaren spent so much time affirming "believing over belonging" it had the net affect of making the content of the gospel irrelevant.

[Taylor Flowe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jesus was short on sermons, long on conversations; short on answers, long on questions; short on abstractions, long on stories; short on telling you what to think, long on challenging you to think for yourself.

Be a spiritual friend, not a spiritual salesman.
Be safe to talk to.
Be worth talking to.
Earn the right to be heard.

Sometimes I think there is more prayer outside the church than in the church.

The search for God requires solitude, but it also requires community.

Sometimes belonging must precede believing.

They are more ready than you realize.
You are more ready than you realize.

[Doug Mason · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some very good portions (see chapters 3,10,17,18- with some concern about the beginning, and 19). A valuable way to look at and relate to individuals and a great reminder to be out in community and treating every encounter as an opportunity to share Christ's love in friendships with others. That said, tends to downplay the reality/existence of truth, which is contrary to what Christ did. I will only recommend those portions that I listed above to those who I already know to be well grounded in the truth of God's word.

[Scottk · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a timely read for me. I read it when I was feeling disillusioned by the traditional models of church and theology. As I constructed a post-evangelical faith, Mclaren became an important voice in my life. Mclaren's conversational/relational approach to evangelism isn't revolutionary, but it is refreshing. Mclaren posits that our stories, both individually and collectively, are the foundation of evangelism.

[Bill G · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh man when I first read this book I was blown away. I had never heard of evangelising the way he had presented it.
Truth be told this book is the way I base my evangelism efforts now. Very soft cell, very patient.
Little did I know that Brian would later betray me and his fellow readers by stepping too outside the box on his stance of hell. But this book still stands as a great one of how to evangelise in this modern era

[Sandra McLeod · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don’t agree with all McLaren’s tenets, but I do like his relational approach to evangelism and his perception of faith as a journey--a process-and seldom a “punctiliar” conversion. This is a good book to get people thinking and talking about the various aspects and dimensions of evangelism. I like his nonjudgmental approach to evangelism and, in his words, we are all “stories in progress surrounded by stories in progress.”

[Seph · Rating 1 out of 5]

There are good elements to this book, but they are outweighed by a postmodern view of the atonement. McLaren repeatedly asserts that pushing people to a certain "theory" of the atonement is old school (pre-modnern and bad). That certainly sits well with the postmodern view of Truth, but it means that you really have nothing to say to the lost man and nothing to believe as a Christian.

Not a good read.

[Rob · Rating 4 out of 5]

Our small group read this one with powerful results. I wasn't expecting much from this smaller and older work from McLaren. What it did was help to move folks with a more typical resonance with a modern evangelical paradigm into a more helpful and healthy post modern approach (which happens to be in my opinion a much more fully biblically orbed approach) which helps folks not to see their neighbors as convert projects, but people to live life as "spiritual dance partners."

[Jonathan · Rating 3 out of 5]

An encouraging and helpful book that will help you accept that you are "more ready than you realize" to engage in spiritual friendship (as McLaren calls what is traditionally known as evangelism). Very helpful to me since the majority of my non-Christian friends live in the post-modern western world. Some chapters were absolutely fantastic and others were just okay.

[Aaron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Catering to my logical engineering mind, Brian McLaren walks us through an ongoing encounter with a young woman who is making spiritual progress. The practical example(s) of "how it was done" is a nice break from more "theoretical" discussions.

[Renee · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great book to hand to a side-walk evangelist. Otherwise, I'd like to think it's pretty useless. The summary is that to evangelize, Christians have to be friends with non-Christians. I guess sometimes the obvious needs to be stated. If this is necessary, McLaren does a decent job.

[Liz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as background reading for a module on conversion/evangelism/discipleship and wished I'd read it years ago. It has so many insights into the value of 'spiritual friendships" over programmes and courses. And the conversational style made it easy to engage with.

[Billy Jack Blankenship · Rating 4 out of 5]

Evangelism remixed!