The Gospel for the Person Who Has Everything

by Will Willimon, Lillian Daniel (Foreword)

Secure, content, competent, reasonably happy and fulfilled, such persons of strength go their own way without any apparent discomfort at having missed the benefits of the Christian faith. . . . What do you say to the person who says, through his or her neglect of the faith, "Thanks, but I don’t need it"? —from the book Bishop William Willimon brings the Gospel of Jesus Christ to life for the person who has everything – happy, fulfilled human beings, who don’t feel the same level of need expressed by the downcast, the outcast, the brokenhearted, and the miserable. Willimon says that the church’s message to the wretched and sad must not exclude the strong and the joyous. In nine concise, inspired chapters, he discusses these • Must one be sad, depressed, wallowing in sin and degradation, immature, and childishly dependent in order truly to hear the Good News? (See chapters 1 and 2.) • “What do we say to the strong?” (See chapters 3 and 4.) • Speaking to the strong and to the people who are weak and want to be a particular kind of evangelistic message. They have their sins, but these sins are not the sins of the weak (chapter 5). • Worship which takes God’s strong love seriously (chapter 6) • Ethics which arise out of our response to that love (chapter 7) • Church as a place of continual growth and widening responsibility (chapters 8 and 9)

119 pages, Kindle Edition

Published November 3, 2020

Reviews

[Kenneth Garrett · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a powerful book, regarding the power and sharing of the gospel in our present culture. Willimon engages in a fascinating discussion regarding a chink in the armor of present-day evangelism efforts: We often feel the need to convince our subjects that they are miserable, without strength, ability, reason, competency, etc., before we can possibly expect them to trust in Christ. The weakness of this tendency is that we fail at it so terribly, and end up sharing a message that seems inauthentic and contrived to those who are emotionally strong, socially competent, and leading fairly successful, satisfying lives. In short, we try to force-feed them the medicine they do not see a need for and convince them they are sick when they feel quite well. Willimon's contention is that the "strong" of our culture certainly need the Cross as much as the least, and perhaps fail to see their need for it in that we do not share it as a challenge and call, but as a belief system, they do not feel they need. Great discussion.
If you've read much Willimon, you'll find many, many arguments and observations written in quotable, powerful form:

"The person who says that he or she dislikes the church because it is full of sinners and hypocrites makes the erroneous assumption that we in the church are embarrassed by our clientele. We are not any more embarrassed over our collection of sinners than a hospital is ashamed of its sick people. Sinners, hypocrites, men of little faith, outcasts, the sick, and hurting people were the ones who clustered around Jesus. This rather seedy cast of characters made Jesus not the least bit uncomfortable. They were precisely the reason why Jesus was in the world. Besides, as someone has suggested, today's hypocrites may not be like that self-righteous Pharisee who paraded into the temple while the humble publican stayed outside and prayed, "Lord, have mercy on me a sinner." The new hypocrites may be those outside the church who pray, "God, I thank thee that I am not like all those sinful and hypocritical people in the church."

Highly recommended as a thought-provoking work for those who desire to extend the gospel of Jesus more fully and extensively.

[Andrew McHenry · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is comprised of content from a series of sermons Willimon preached back in the 1970s. The fact that it's been reissued is a testimony to its ongoing validity. He critiques the popular motif of becoming a Christian that's paraphrased "I was miserable, then I found Jesus" -- not for being innately bad but for being made into a norm for all Christian experience. He offers an alternative focused on gratitude and stewardship: You don't have to be miserable to come to Jesus, but you should be faithful and thankful for what God's given you. This newer edition of the book is made particularly apt by the Foreword written by Lillian Daniel, and the way she relates it to her popular book on the SBNR ("Spiritual But Not Religious") crowd -- which is another category of people who are inclined to think of the church, "Thanks, but I don't need it; I'm happy as I am." I especially appreciated Willimon's insights on how the older paradigm isn't conducive towards selflessness: If you come to Jesus just to stop being miserable, then it's all about yourself and your own moods. And Jesus calls us ultimately into service for others, not just for ourselves.

[Matt · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a remarkable book that will admittedly challenge in equal measure those in the pulpit and those in the pews. It flips what we think we know about how to preach and how to be Christians on its head, directing preachers to consider in new ways how the message of the Good News should be presented (spoiler: lead with it; don't save it for the end!) and challenging congregants to struggle with the fact that Christianity calls us to community and leads us to go into the world as a community. Willimon presents an incredibly relevant message and great material that should be read, marked, learned and inwardly digested. As you read, I invite you to consider how the Church's work in the world might look dramatically different if we listen deeply to what he is saying.

[Matthew · Rating 4 out of 5]

With a theology of the Cross, not of Glory, must every Christian be wretched and miserable? Is the gospel not also for people who are living perfectly happy lives, or must we convince people they're not really happy but miserable inside despite their own experience? Willimon offers insight into the shape of worship, prayers, and preaching based on his own experience as pastor, preacher, and teacher. I recommend this book. It's not a prosperity gospel book, rather the opposite it invites worship to challenge us all to use our strengths/giftedness that are gifts from God not for our own purposes but to bring light and life to the world.

[Natalie Carroll · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has significantly shifted my view of both preaching style and the Christian life for the middle-class North American believer. Highly recommend!!