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How to talk about Jesus in a way that connects with modern culture.
As followers of Jesus, we know that the good news is deeply attractive. But we often fear that to those on the outside, it comes across as irrelevant or even repellent. Sometimes the Christian worldview feels so out of step with everything else going on that we don't know how to share our faith.
However, author Daniel Strange wants to show you that the connections are there—in fact, the longings that our culture cannot help but express are the very ones that Jesus fulfils.
Building on the work of theologian J.H. Bavinck, Dan reveals five recurring themes that our culture can’t stop talking about, or, as he puts it, the “five permanent ‘itches’ that in our work, rest, and play, we have to vigorously scratch.” From TV to books to social media, these are the questions we can't stop asking and the tensions we can't stop wrestling with—and Jesus speaks powerfully into each one.
This book will help you to spot these connections in our culture, excite you about how Jesus makes sense of humankind’s deepest questions and longings, apply them to your own life first and then equip you to speak of him to others in a way that is truly magnetic.
"Dan Strange has written another terrific, down-to-earth book to help believers engage in fruitful conversations with friends about faith." Dr. Timothy Keller, who has also written the foreword to this book.
1. The Way Ahead
2. The Cosmic Game of Hide and Seek
3. Totality: A Way to Connect?
4. Norm: A Way to Live?
5. Deliverance: A Way Out?
6. Destiny: A Way We Control?
7. Higher Power: A Way Beyond?
8. Joining Up the Points
9. Jesus: The Way We Connect
10. Jesus: The Way We Live
11. Jesus: The Way Out
12. Jesus: The Way of Control
13. Jesus: The Way Beyond
14. The Magnetic People
Conlusion: The Way from Here
| Contributors | Daniel Strange, Timothy Keller |
|---|---|
| ISBN | 9781784986513 |
| Format | eBook |
| First published | October 2021 |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | The Good Book Company |
Dan Strange has written another terrific, down-to-earth book to help believers engage in fruitful conversations with friends about faith.
Building on the success of his first book, Dr Daniel Strange provides us not only with a model for evangelism and engagement but shows how Jesus—the way, the truth and the life—answers the fundamental questions, or magnetic points, that all human beings ask. In so doing, this book empowers Christians to engage with people and culture.
Dan Strange is ‘convinced that the church has the opportunity to fill a massive gap in our secular and fragmented market’. Which is why he has given us this perceptive and somewhat unusual book. Using Bavinck, Scripture and an excellent knowledge of contemporary culture, he shows us how we can fill that gap by being magnets for the gospel. The more I read, the more I was drawn to this idea. We have someone wonderful to communicate—but sometimes we struggle to join the dots and make the connections with those around us. If that’s you, then you will find this wee book a stimulating and refreshing guide.
It's great. It's readable, engaging and actually spiritually powerful.
It takes you round the back of the human soul, to see some of the wiring.
The magnetic points are those "itches" that we all return to scratching, the things we most deeply long for.
As Dan unpacks each one, it for me, was like being led by the hand back to God, realising afresh that God is the higher power. It loosened the grip of slavish adherence to my personal rituals as it explained our desire for a norm. It equipped me for those moments when conversations get a bit deep with an unsaved friend. For that I have given it 5 stars!
Throughout this book, Daniel Strange builds on work by the twentieth century Dutch pastor and missionary J. H. Bavinck, who studied anthropology and psychology. Bavinck offered insight into the core, universal elements of human experience that everyone grapples with, regardless of their cultural traditions or personal belief background, and Strange updates Bavinck's concepts and language for our current secular age. Overall, this book is very readable and accessible despite its philosophical depth, and it addresses core themes about humans' need for transcendent connection, moral norms, deliverance, destiny, and a sense of a higher power.
Christians who enjoy apologetics will appreciate this book's unique angle and insights, and those who are less likely to think philosophically about faith can still engage with this book because of its accessible writing style and vivid, real-world examples. "Making Faith Magnetic" addresses lots of current global issues and controversies and ways that people try to create meaning in their lives through their beliefs and communities. Strange shares interesting and perceptive interpretations of our current cultural moment, and during the second half of the book, he focuses on how Jesus fulfills all of the core needs that humans have and try to meet through other means.
I found "Making Faith Magnetic" engaging and insightful, and would recommend it to other Christians who enjoy thinking deeply about their faith and how to share it with others. However, even though Strange writes this to an audience of fellow believers, I would also recommend it to people who are not Christians but are curious about Christian beliefs. Even though these readers are not Strange's primary audience, the book is so insightful and even-handed that it can appeal to people who do not share his fundamental presuppositions.
Disclaimer: I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.
I've never heard of Daniel Strange before, but the concept of his book intrigued me and of course I was more than curious to discover the five fundamentals that all humans are looking for.
Strange structures the book with two parts that include a total of fourteen chapters. He also includes a conclusion and an appendix.
- Part One: The Magnetic Points
- Part Two: The Magnetic Person
The first part discusses the five ideas that he believes every human seeks. He dives into each one specifically and in great detail. Without giving away the five ideas, each one speaks to finding a way to do something that betters one's life or brings one's life purpose. I would agree that all five concepts are valid and very much needed to be understood and discovered for one's life.
Strange utilizes the second part to show how we as believers can take each of these concepts and connect them to Christ, essentially creating a unique way to share the Gospel with those around us. The chapters within part two use Jesus as the ultimate connection to the five concepts discussed in part one. He then takes time to describe the habits and personality of magnetic people, along with providing very practical ideas to becoming such a person.
I was intrigued with the entire concept of his book. It's not an easy task to accomplish but it is possible. There are obvious obstacles and we have to be aware and address them accordingly before having the ability to connect one's magnetic points back to Jesus. If we can discover this within ourselves, it makes discovering it in others easier.
I received a copy of this book from The Good Book Company in exchange for an honest review.
