| Book Review - Letters to a Young Evangelical |
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By Tony Campolo
Website: www.tonycampolo.org
Review by Tom Gilbert
Purchase book here
 Christians
consider an evangelist to be someone who carries the gospel
message of Jesus Christ to others. That is the basic definition,
however the over the years the term has accumulated much baggage.
Evangelicals are thought of by many as a distinct type of
Christian and many associate evangelicals with Christian fundamentalists
and those closely aligned with the Religious Right and the
Republican party of the United States. Such is the influence
of the media and the attempts by many to define Christianity
in a certain way.
Thankfully, Tony Campolo, named by Christianity Today as one
of the twenty-five most influential preachers of the last fifty years and
a best-selling author, has spent much of his writing and preaching attempting
to clarify what an evangelical is. His honest and sincere attempts to focus
the evangelist’s message on the true meaning of the teachings of Jesus
Christ and the message of salvation are a light in the darkness for many
believers, both young and old.
Campolo’s latest book, Letters to a Young Evangelical, is written
in a style reminiscent of the Apostle Paul. He writes each chapter as a
letter to two young Christians known as Julia and Timothy. These two disciples
are meant to represent any interested young evangelist in today’s
society. The letters are written with clarity, insight, honesty and wit
and the author does not shy away from hot-button topics that are currently
dividing believers in America and around the world. Some of these topics
include abortion, gay rights, war (especially the current Iraq conflict),
feminism, Islam, the secular workplace and the environment.
These topics have often created debate, misunderstanding and
divisiveness. When one stops to consider the call by Jesus that the “body
of Christ” be united in love and care for each other, especially those
less fortunate, we must give pause as believers and consider how our evangelistic
efforts are compromised. The very people we strive to carry the message
of a loving God and a redemptive savior surely can become disillusioned
when they don’t see this message applied by those who profess it.
I like this book and recommend it. Diversity and debate are
healthy, but we also must be willing to open our hearts to the radical message
of the Christ. Tony Campolo still considers himself to be an Evangelical,
but he has adopted the term “Red Letter Christians” to demonstrate
the commitment to the teachings of Jesus (some Bibles have the words of
Jesus printed in red).
Campolo reminds us in his “letters” that we can be kind, gentle
while still being strong and opinionated. Prayer, support groups (church)
and love-in-action are very much a part of an evangelist’s vocation.
His book is valuable mentoring, not just for young evangelicals, but for
the faithful of any age who find the Savior’s challenging call to
social activism, loving service and heartfelt prayer and reliance on the
Holy Spirit to be part of the path of a Christian.
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1 JOHN 2:10
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"Whoever loves his brother
lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him
stumble"
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(NIV)
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