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Reviewed by Kenneth H. Carter, Jr., senior pastor of Providence United Methodist Church in Charlotte, NC. The Story of Evangelism: A History of The Witness To The Gospel by Robert G. Tuttle, Jr. Robert G. (Bob) Tuttle, Jr. is a teacher and practitioner of evangelism. He has broad experience in renewal movements and as a seminary professor, most recently at Asbury Seminary in Florida. In The Story of Evangelism, Tuttle responds to our need for a comprehensive work that situates the subject of evangelism within broader historical and global perspectives. This is helpful, for the contemporary church (in North America) is tempted toward amnesia (forgetting who we are) and practicality (focusing only on what is efficient and effective). In The Story of Evangelism, Bob Tuttle sees history through the lens of the expansion of the good news. Histories can be social, cultural, institutional or intellectual, and each has merit. This work records the witness to the gospel across time and space, beginning with Abraham and concluding with Mother Teresa. The author is honest in his presuppositions and straightforward in his method; while there is comparative analysis of religious faiths and movements in particular historical contexts, Tuttle is writing “to influence” the reader in the Christian faith. Toward this end each section includes a contextual analysis that is both historical and global; a voice that bears witness to the gospel in this setting; and the impact of this witness on subsequent history, concluding with its relevance for today. I appreciated the inclusive and confessional character of Tuttle’s writing. He is aware that God uses men and women in the offering of grace, and thus we hear the voices of Hannah, Monica, Teresa of Avila and Amanda Berry Smith. He is appreciative of a gospel that transcends the assumptions of western culture, breaking forth in the lives of Kagawa of Japan and Mother Teresa of Calcutta; such an appreciation is especially important given the currents at work in global Christianity today. In addition, Tuttle writes as one who has experienced the good news and senses an ongoing call to proclaim it. Occasional glimpses into his own spirituality exhibit the fruit of evangelism at its best: a posture of humility, the need for community, the discipline of study, the integration of word and act, and an enthusiasm for the inbreaking of divine presence. Many will glance at this book and construct reasons for not reading it. Some will regard it as too lengthy, more appropriate perhaps for scholars or theological students. Others have written off evangelism itself, aware of historical and contemporary abuses, mistakenly confusing authentic witness to the gospel with church growth. And some other readers will opt instead for material that seems more immediately applicable to the task at hand. I would encourage Christian ministers and leaders who care about the integrity of the church and its mission to consider spending time in these pages, listening to the voices, absorbing the contexts. We have much to learn from those who have articulated the faith with clarity and often at great risk. We ignore the cause of evangelism at our peril, for indeed the command to share the gospel (or spread scriptural holiness, in the language of Wesley) is our reason for being. The Story of Evangelism, according to Bob Tuttle is “the story of a loving God in pursuit of all creation.” Tuttle tells this story with scholarly comprehension, with pastoral and cultural sensitivity, and with evangelical urgency. It is our story, broad and deep, as rich and inclusive as the love of God for the creation that awaits redemption.
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