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Gospel Fluency: Speaking the Truths of Jesus into the Everyday Stuff of Life Hardcover – February 28, 2017
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flu·en·cy / noun
:the ability to speak a language easily and effectively
Even if they want to, many Christians find it hard to talk to others about Jesus. Is it possible this difficulty is because we're trying to speak a language we haven't actually spent time practicing?
To become fluent in a new language, you must immerse yourself in it until you actually start to think about life through it. Becoming fluent in the gospel happens the same way―after believing it, we have to intentionally rehearse it (to ourselves and to others) and immerse ourselves in its truths. Only then will we start to see how everything in our lives, from the mundane to the magnificent, is transformed by the hope of the gospel.
- Print length224 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- PublisherCrossway
- Publication dateFebruary 28, 2017
- Dimensions5.25 x 0.81 x 8.25 inches
- ISBN-101433546035
- ISBN-13978-1433546037
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Editorial Reviews
Review
“It’s easy to forget how good the good news of the gospel is. This practical book will help you to see that good news, and to share it with others.”
―Russell Moore, Editor in Chief, Christianity Today; author, Losing Our Religion: An Altar Call for Evangelical America
“I've been wanting to have a resource from Jeff on this topic for a very long time. It is so, so, so needed. As I’ve worked with different Christians from several churches around the city of Chicago, I’ve witnessed the lack of gospel understanding that has permeated many ‘solid’ churches. I will personally hand out copies of this book like gospel tracts.”
―Jackie Hill Perry, author; Bible teacher; hip-hop artist
“When Christians speak about the gospel, it should sound like our native tongue. Gospel Fluency helps us articulate and live the gospel we love. Our ‘fluency’ in the gospel is necessary for us to be ambassadors for our gospel-giving King. We need books like Gospel Fluency to both ground us in our practice of the gospel and raise us out of living our daily lives in the cultural drift.”
―Daniel Montgomery, Lead Pastor, Sojourn Community Church, Louisville, Kentucky; Founder, Sojourn Network; author, Faithmapping, PROOF, and Leadership Mosaic
“I love this book because its title delivers. To be able to explain what the gospel is, how it works in our own lives, and how it's shared is a unique and powerful combination I’ve never seen before. Jeff has written a book that will be around a long time because it reforms evangelism in a fresh way.”
―Bob Roberts, Senior Pastor, Northwood Church; author, Bold as Love and Lessons from the East
“Even the title of this book, Gospel Fluency, gets at a right understanding of the gospel: the message from God that must be spoken. Our communication of the gospel is more than a data dump; it’s a message that we must share without accent, as native speakers who have immersed themselves in knowing and speaking the living gospel. Jeff’s clear call, through compelling stories and biblical foundations, is to connect the gospel to all areas of life, and then speak it fluently to believers and nonbelievers alike.”
―J. Mack Stiles, Director, Messenger Ministries Inc.
“Jeff calls us back to the gospel, not as a trite phrase to throw around in Christian circles but as a life-changing language in which we grow more fluent as we use it in community. The analogy to learning a foreign language helps us envision how to become fluent in the gospel, working, eating, and even dreaming while immersed in the good news of Jesus and how that changes everything. This is an extremely practical and helpful book!”
―Wendy Alsup, teacher; blogger; author, Is the Bible Good for Women? and Practical Theology for Women
“Jeff Vanderstelt has a gift for clarifying and simplifying what is often complex and puzzling. Gospel Fluency is no exception. In this book, Jeff invites believers, unbelievers, pastors, and church leaders to think about their faith with fresh eyes and fresh language. He invites us not to a system, a catchphrase, or a fad, but to a refreshing vision of Christ our Savior and the life he offers.”
―Mike Cosper, Founder and Director, Harbor Institute for Faith and Culture
About the Author
Jeff Vanderstelt is a pastor, speaker, author, and founder and visionary leader of Saturate and the Soma Family of Churches. He serves as a teaching pastor and director of missional communities at Doxa Church in Bellevue, Washington. Additionally, Jeff supports church planting globally through training and as a member of the advisory board of C2C Network. He and his wife, Jayne, have three children. You can connect with Jeff at his website, JeffVanderstelt.com, or on Twitter (@JeffVanderstelt).
Jackie Hill Perry is an author, Bible teacher, and hip-hop artist. She uses her speaking and teaching gifts to share the light of the gospel of God. Jackie is the author of Gay Girl, Good God: The Story of Who I Was and Who God Has Always Been and Holier Than Thou. She and her husband, Preston, have four children.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Gospel Fluency
Speaking the Truths of Jesus into the Everyday Stuff of Life
By Jeff VandersteltGood News Publishers
Copyright © 2017 Jeff VandersteltAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-4335-4603-7
Contents
Foreword by Jackie Hill Perry,Acknowledgments,
Part 1: Gospel Fluency,
1 Everyone Is an Unbeliever,
2 Give Them Jesus,
3 Fluency,
Part 2: The Gospel,
4 The True Story,
5 Power for Salvation,
6 What's Faith Got to Do with It?,
Part 3: The Gospel in Me,
7 Good News to Me,
8 The War of the Mind,
9 Fruit to Root,
Part 4: The Gospel with Us,
10 Eating to Remember,
11 He's the Better ...,
12 The Hero of Our Story,
Part 5: The Gospel to Others,
13 Listen and Learn,
14 Show and Tell,
15 Grow in Love and Wisdom,
Conclusion,
General Index,
Scripture Index,
CHAPTER 1
Everyone Is an Unbeliever
I'm an unbeliever. So are you.
"Wait," you're thinking. "What are you doing writing a book about the gospel of Jesus Christ if you're an unbeliever? And what do you know about me? Who do you think I am?"
I grew up believing that people fall into two categories: you are either a believer or an unbeliever; you either believe in Jesus Christ and what he has done for us or you don't. Now, after more than twenty-five years as a pastor, I see that every one of us is an unbeliever, including me — at least in some areas of our lives.
Don't misunderstand me. I do believe there are some who are regenerate children of God and others who are not yet. There are those who have been given new life through faith in Jesus. They have become new creations and have been given fresh starts because of their faith in Jesus Christ and what he has done for them. And I believe there are others who are still dead in their sins and not yet truly alive in Christ (see John 1:12–13; 2 Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:1–10).
When I say we are all unbelievers, I mean we still have places in our lives where we don't believe God. There are spaces where we don't trust his word and don't believe that what he accomplished in Jesus Christ is enough to deal with our past or what we are facing in this moment or the next.
We don't believe his word is true or his work is sufficient.
We don't believe. We are unbelievers.
I struggle with unbelief on a daily basis. I have a conversation with my wife, and when she points out something I've yet to get better at, I hear the word failure in my head.
I try to lead a good conversation about the Bible at the dinner table with my children, but instead of eager beavers on the edges of their seats, I get slouched bodies and rolling eyes. Bad father.
I teach on being a good neighbor, one who knows the stories of the people who live on your street, but since I moved into my current neighborhood a few months ago, I know only the story of failed attempts to meet people. Hypocrite.
Unbelief.
I slip in and out of believing God's word about me and trusting in his work for me. Jesus gave his life to make me a new creation. He died to forgive me of my sins and change my identity from sinner to saint, from failure to faithful, and from bad to good and even righteous and holy. But I forget what he has said about me. I forget what he has done for me. And sometimes it isn't forgetfulness. Sometimes it's just plain unbelief. I know these things. I just don't believe them.
I am an unbeliever. Not every moment, of course. But I have those moments.
So do you. I'm certain of it.
We all struggle with unbelief in God because the message of who he is and what he has done for us can sound unbelievable at times. We all slip in and out of confidence that what he has done for us in Jesus is sufficient for us today.
It's very possible that even though you are familiar with Jesus, you have yet to believe in him for yourself, for your life. Or maybe you have come to faith in Jesus, but it hasn't really changed what you do daily or how you engage in the everyday stuff of life.
The apostle Paul said to the believers in Jesus in Galatia, "The life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God [Jesus], who loved me and gave himself for me" (Gal. 2:20). They had started with faith in Jesus, but they were putting their faith and hope in something else to make them right instead of Jesus. Paul called them back to an awareness that the good news about Jesus — the gospel — is for all of life: everything.
A life of true living is a life of faith in Jesus, a life of believing in Jesus in the everyday stuff of life.
I'm still learning how to live like that. I'm still an unbeliever in many ways. And yet, I don't want to stay that way. I want all of my life to be marked by faith in Jesus.
God is intent on making everything about Jesus because it is through him that all things came into existence and it is in him that they are sustained (Eph. 1:22–23; Col. 1:15–20).
God also wants to rescue you from unbelief and sanctify you to become like Jesus. Sanctification is just a big word for becoming more and more like Jesus through faith in Jesus. You become like what you believe in. So becoming like Jesus requires believing in him more and more in every part of your life. Sanctification is moving from unbelief in Jesus to belief in him in the everyday stuff of life.
You're not there yet, are you? Neither am I. We're still unbelievers who need Jesus more — in more ways and more places.
As I wrote this book, I came to see once again how badly I need Jesus. Sometimes I believed my writing could change a life. But when a writing day went poorly, I was crushed under the weight of this responsibility. I needed to believe again that God changes lives, not me.
Sure, he works through us to do it, but he isn't dependent on how well we do it. God can speak through anyone and anything. He actually spoke through a donkey once (in the older versions of the Bible, a different word was used in place of donkey.) So I guess he can speak through me.
Remembering this, I went from unbelief to belief. "Jeff," I said to myself (or others said to me when I forgot), "trust in God's work, not yours. Believe in his words spoken over your life through Jesus, not yours." Then I could rest again while I wrote.
So I kept writing as the fruit of my faith in Jesus.
This doesn't just happen for me when I write. I find myself needing to do this when I have to get up early to work out; consider how we are going to pay the bills; or sit in the Interstate 405 parking lot that we call a highway, but which so often isn't moving when I need to be someplace sooner than everyone else on the road!
I need to remember because I forget. I need to believe because I don't.
Thankfully, I don't do this alone. I have a community of people around me who are also professing unbelievers. They believe in Jesus, but not all the time for everything. Not yet, at least.
We are journeying together, moving from unbelief to belief in Jesus more each day — and sometimes less the next day.
That is why I am writing this book. I know that I need this book, and so do you.
We all face daily struggles and battles, sometimes from enemies we can't even see. We hear lies and accusations. We struggle with temptations and we are often deceived. We hear words that were spoken over us when we were younger, echoing in our hearts in ways that don't breed life to our souls. We look at our present situations and wish they were better. And many of us face uncertain futures that, without God, cause us to lead lives of anxiety, worry, and fear.
We all need help because we can come up with plenty of reasons not to believe, not to hope, and not to trust in God's word and work for us.
We need the gospel and we need to become gospel-fluent people. We need to know how to believe and speak the truths of the gospel — the good news of God — in and into the everyday stuff of life. In other words, we need to know how to address the struggles of life and the everyday activities we engage in with what is true of Jesus: the truths of what he accomplished through his life, death, and resurrection, and, as a result, what is true of us as we put our faith in him. The gospel has the power to affect everything in our lives.
I wrote this book because I love unbelievers and I know God does too. He loves you and wants to save you from your unbelief.
I believe the only hope for all of us is the gospel of Jesus Christ and communities that live life together while proclaiming this gospel into one another's lives daily — gospel-fluent communities.
Jesus said we are to make disciples who can make disciples (see Matt. 28:18–20), and a disciple of Jesus should know, believe, and be able to speak the gospel. He or she also should be capable of leading others to know, believe, and speak the gospel.
My hope is that this book, first of all, will bring about hope and healing for you as you come to believe and apply the truths of the gospel to your life. I also hope that you and others around you will become fluent in the gospel, so that together you will be able to lead others to find hope and help in Jesus in every part of their lives.
I am more certain than ever that apart from belief in the gospel, sinners will suffer everlasting punishment and saints will fail to live lives that bring glory and honor to Jesus Christ.
So it is my hope that more sinners will be saved from condemnation and more saints will be set free to overcome sin, fear, and insecurity in their everyday existence.
I hope that this book moves you from unbelief to more belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ and equips you to help others do the same.
CHAPTER 2Give Them Jesus
"He's such a jerk! He's doing it again," Alisa said.
"What's he doing?" one of the members in our group asked.
"He's doing what he always does — canceling at the last minute when it's his turn to pick up the kids for the weekend. And then, when I talk to him about it, he intimidates and tries to threaten me. He scares me. And now I'm constantly thinking about how we're going to make it financially if he doesn't help us. Half the time, I don't want the kids to be with him, but I know they need to see their father. I don't want to see him or even talk to him. He's so intimidating! I just can't keep doing this. I'm constantly worrying and can hardly sleep."
Alisa's husband had cheated on her with her best friend. Subsequently, the marriage had ended in a divorce. Neither of them was a believer in Jesus. Additionally, shortly after the affair, Alisa's house had been destroyed in a fire, and she had lost everything.
Alisa was introduced to our community when Clay and Kristie, new Christians and members of our missional community, asked if we'd be willing to help her. They knew Alisa through a mutual friend, and our kids all attended the same elementary school. Without a husband or a home, it was clear Alisa needed the help of God's family.
So we pitched in together to buy groceries and to provide money for her to purchase clothes and other necessary items. For a season, she and her two daughters lived with Clay and Kristie and their two children, Emma and Keagan. Eventually, Alisa started to hang out with our missional community and started learning about Jesus with us.
"Don't worry," one of the men in our group spoke up. "We'll take care of him! We're not going to let him treat you like this."
Someone else chimed in: "Alisa, you can't put up with this! You've got to stand up to him. And if you won't, we will. We won't just stand by and watch this happen to you."
The conversation continued like this for some time until I realized what was going on.
"Wait a minute, everyone!" I said. "This isn't what Alisa needs right now. She doesn't need us to make this about her husband any more than it already is."
I knew much of her problem had to do with the fact that she had already allowed her husband to have too much influence over her. He had taken center stage in her life to the point where she was emotionally controlled by his every behavior. In a sense, he had become her god.
I went on to say: "All we're doing is affirming him as the problem. We're making the focus all about getting him to change. Sure, what he's doing is wrong. But we can't make this all about him. What if he never changes? Then Alisa will continue to be a slave to his brokenness. We can't change him. Alisa can't either. Only God can do that."
Alisa needed us to direct her to God for help. She needed something much better at the center of her life and attention — someone who could truly set her free and change her from the inside out. So I said: "We need to give Alisa Jesus, not our efforts to change her ex-husband. I'm not saying that we shouldn't have a conversation with him at some point, or that we shouldn't step in to protect her. However, let's start with Jesus first."
I turned to Alisa, saying: "You need Jesus to help you overcome your fear. You need Jesus to be your source of security and love. In fact, you also need Jesus to enable you to forgive and love your ex-husband."
I've seen this pattern play out many times over the years. I've been guilty of it myself. People share their struggles and, with every good intention, others give good advice or try to step in to be the solution themselves. People do need answers. They are in need of help. But we fail to truly help them if we don't give them Jesus. He is the best answer and the most powerful help they can receive.
Speak the Truth
The apostle Paul, in his letter to the church in Ephesus, states: "And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ" (Eph. 4:11–15).
It is God's intent that every person who comes into a relationship with him through Jesus Christ eventually will grow up into maturity. And maturity looks like Jesus. He is the perfect human, providing an example of what we are meant to be. A mature Christian is one who resembles Jesus Christ in thought, attitude, emotion, and behavior. And one of the most significant ways by which we grow up into maturity is by speaking the truth in love to one another.
Many wrongly believe that speaking the truth in love is actually just speaking hard words to one another with loving hearts: "You have bad breath, but since I love you, I've got to speak the truth to you." "We want you in our group, but you aren't very kind to others, and as a result, people don't want to be around you! I'm just speaking the truth in love." But that is not what Paul is talking about here. Sure, we do need to speak truthfully to one another and do it with love, but Paul has something more in mind.
We need to read just a few verses further to discover what Paul means. He clarifies the truth that we are to speak to one another in verse 21. He states, "The truth is in Jesus." "Speaking the truth in love," for Paul, is shorthand for "speaking what is true about Jesus" to one another — that is, speaking the gospel to one another. Paul knows that if people are going to grow up into Christ in every way, they need to hear the truths of Jesus (the gospel) and learn to speak them into everything.
As my friends Steve Timmis and Tim Chester like to say: "What's the question? Jesus is the answer. What's the problem? Jesus is the solution."
Too often, when giving people answers to their questions or solutions to their problems, we give them something other than Jesus. If they are struggling with their finances, we give them the best budgeting plans we know of. If they are working through relational discord, we teach them communication techniques. If they are struggling with doubt, we challenge them to just believe, promising that all will get better if they do.
But we fail if we don't give them Jesus.
In some cases, we encourage them to read their Bibles or pray, which, of course, are wonderful things. However, if we don't teach them to meet and know Jesus through their Bible reading and prayer, we are dangerously close to leading them away from Jesus through very good things. This is the heart of idolatry — taking a good thing and making it a "god thing." We take something God gave us to direct us to him and love it or depend on it more than him. As a result, we fail to come to him through it.
Missing Jesus
The religious leaders in Jesus's day were the greatest Bible scholars and the most religious pray-ers. Yet they completely missed Jesus! At one point, Jesus said to them, "You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life" (John 5:39–40). They loved the Scriptures that point to Jesus, but didn't love and depend on Jesus. They missed the entire point!
I have met too many people who love their Bibles yet have no genuine relationship with Jesus Christ. They don't really know him. They don't really love him. They don't really worship him. Instead, they worship their Bibles. They are not growing up into maturity because they are not growing up into Christ.
(Continues...)Excerpted from Gospel Fluency by Jeff Vanderstelt. Copyright © 2017 Jeff Vanderstelt. Excerpted by permission of Good News Publishers.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.
Product details
- Publisher : Crossway (February 28, 2017)
- Language : English
- Hardcover : 224 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1433546035
- ISBN-13 : 978-1433546037
- Item Weight : 12.8 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.25 x 0.81 x 8.25 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #21,075 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #130 in Christian Discipleship (Books)
- #795 in Christian Spiritual Growth (Books)
- Customer Reviews:
About the author
As the visionary leader of the Soma Family of Churches and Saturate and the lead teaching pastor at Doxa Church in Bellevue, WA, Jeff Vanderstelt gets to spend his days doing what he loves – training disciples of Jesus to make more disciples of Jesus and equipping the Church in the gospel and missional living. Jeff is the author of "Saturate," "Saturate Field Guide," and "Gospel Fluency" (2017). He and Jayne, his wife of twenty-three years, have three children; Haylee, Caleb, and Maggie. Connect with Jeff at his website www.jeffvanderstelt.com or on twitter @JeffVanderstelt.
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Customers find this book helpful for understanding the gospel and how to present it. They find it easy to read and encouraging, with practical examples. The writing is accessible and thought-provoking, making it a great guide to living a life that consistently reflects the gospel.
AI-generated from the text of customer reviews
Customers find the book helpful for understanding the gospel and how to present it. It helps them learn gospel fluency and immerse themselves in the Word of God. Many consider it a guide to living a life that consistently reflects the gospel message. The book is important for young believers and long-time Christians alike, helping them practice what it teaches and increase their ability to speak the gospel.
"...Gospel Fluency' is more than just a book; it's a guide to living a life that consistently reflects and communicates the transformative power of Jesus..." Read more
"...of Jesus Christ (birth, death, burial, and resurrection) was explained in detail. And how those details apply to my everyday life...." Read more
"...It is very clear and practical about how to become “Gospel fluent.”..." Read more
"...The author, Vanderstelt, shows ways to apply gospel into areas of life. He encourages to live out the faith, the gospel, genuinely in our daily life...." Read more
Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They say it's practical and helpful for new believers. The first few pages are excellent, but the rest of the book gets repetitive. Overall, readers appreciate the good summary at the end of the book.
"...His writing is both accessible and deeply thought-provoking, encouraging readers to not only understand the gospel more fully but also to articulate..." Read more
"...This book is an amazing read, especially if one needs help in explaining the atonement and propitiation of Jesus Christ." Read more
"This book is really encouraging. The author, Vanderstelt, shows ways to apply gospel into areas of life...." Read more
"...this, he makes the book not only informative, but easy and highly enjoyable to read." Read more
Customers find the book practical and encouraging. They appreciate the good examples and how it applies the gospel in everyday life. The concept is empowering and refreshing, offering readers a new lens to view their daily lives.
"...into the Everyday Stuff of Life' is a truly enlightening and empowering book that brilliantly bridges the gap between the gospel and everyday life...." Read more
"...And how those details apply to my everyday life. Knowing the true Gospel aids in recognizing a false Gospel...." Read more
"...He encourages to live out the faith, the gospel, genuinely in our daily life...." Read more
"...of salvation through Jesus Christ, in such a simple, powerful and useful way. Useful? Yes, useful...." Read more
Customers find the book challenging and simple.
"...It is refreshing, challenging, hopeful, helpful, encouraging and soul-stirring...." Read more
"...(reading the book with two different groups) and it's consistently led to a lot of challenge and great discussion...." Read more
"...words — just a down to earth life changing book that teaches and challenges. Everyone needs to read this book." Read more
"...Pracitical, encouraging, and challenging. I'm not a re-read person, this is one I'll re-read more than once, just because it's so encouraging...." Read more
Customers find the book easy to read and engaging. They say the writing is accessible and thought-provoking. The book provides clear instructions for becoming Bible fluent.
"...His writing is both accessible and deeply thought-provoking, encouraging readers to not only understand the gospel more fully but also to articulate..." Read more
"...Fluency in any language requires full immersion, practice, and thinking in that language...." Read more
"...It is an easy read with a lot of good information. I would highly recommend this book and order it on Amazon to my friends!!" Read more
"...This book is easy to read — no dragging yourself through heavy theological words — just a down to earth life changing book that teaches and..." Read more
Customers appreciate the book's simplicity. They find it straightforward and praise its connection to the gospel.
"...the Gospel, the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ, in such a simple, powerful and useful way. Useful? Yes, useful...." Read more
"...By doing this, he makes the book not only informative, but easy and highly enjoyable to read." Read more
"Gospel Fluency was a light and enjoyable read. I appreciated the simple yet impactful approach of attempting to simply bring Jesus and the Gospel..." Read more
"...I loved the simplicity of it. Any Christian can benefit from it. I loved the many examples illustrating the truths put forth in these pages...." Read more
Top reviews from the United States
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- Reviewed in the United States on December 13, 2023Jeff Vanderstelt's 'Gospel Fluency: Speaking the Truths of Jesus into the Everyday Stuff of Life' is a truly enlightening and empowering book that brilliantly bridges the gap between the gospel and everyday life. Vanderstelt's approach is refreshingly practical, offering readers a new lens to view their daily experiences through the truths of the gospel. His writing is both accessible and deeply thought-provoking, encouraging readers to not only understand the gospel more fully but also to articulate it effectively in their everyday interactions. This book is a valuable resource for anyone looking to deepen their understanding of the gospel and its application in all aspects of life. Vanderstelt's use of real-life examples and straightforward language makes complex theological concepts approachable and relevant. 'Gospel Fluency' is more than just a book; it's a guide to living a life that consistently reflects and communicates the transformative power of Jesus' message.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 9, 2023This book challenged me on my knowledge of the Gospel. I had to stop and really ponder whether or not I could give the “good news” of Jesus Christ to others, and why I wasn’t spreading the Gospel more often. I loved how every area of the Gospel of Jesus Christ (birth, death, burial, and resurrection) was explained in detail. And how those details apply to my everyday life. Knowing the true Gospel aids in recognizing a false Gospel. When there are themes of the Gospel spilled by false teachers, knowing the true Gospel highlights those false themes. This book is an amazing read, especially if one needs help in explaining the atonement and propitiation of Jesus Christ.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 4, 2023Gospel fluency is a phenomenal contribution to evangelism in the Church today! It is very clear and practical about how to become “Gospel fluent.” Vanderstelt makes real life connections with this idea by demonstrating through stories of his journey with his Jesus community how they have grown to live this out together. I like the analogy of learning to speak a language. Fluency in any language requires full immersion, practice, and thinking in that language. The connection with Gospel fluency that Vanderstelt made is profound! His point about the fact that our sins are all rooted in unbelief helps us deal with the illness of the real issue, rather than dealing only with the symptoms of bad behavior. Pinpointing how my behavior reveals unbelief or lies that I have believed about God, and then turning away from this and aligning with the truth of the Gospel, leads to a more faithful life that will attract others to Jesus! In community, we live this out by reminding one another of the truth of the Gospel, encouraging one another to grow in faithfulness and sharing Jesus with those around us. I am inspired to start living this way in my Jesus community, learning to practice and live out Gospel fluency in a way that will attract the people around me to Jesus!
- Reviewed in the United States on December 11, 2024This book is really encouraging. The author, Vanderstelt, shows ways to apply gospel into areas of life. He encourages to live out the faith, the gospel, genuinely in our daily life. I think this would be helpful for staff members at church who just started serving.
- Reviewed in the United States on March 11, 2017I quite literally stumbled upon Jeff Vanderstelt's "Gospel Fluency" after reading a pastor's brief review on Twitter. 140 characters were enough to convince me to order the book, and I couldn't be happier that I did. This book spells out the Gospel, the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ, in such a simple, powerful and useful way.
Useful? Yes, useful. I know from experience that Christians often struggle with taking the truth they believe in their heads into their hearts and then into their lives in a way that not only impacts their own lives, but also the lives of those around them. This book will be a blessing to anyone seeking to go from believing the Gospel to living out the Gospel.
It is a book for the long-time Christian (I am a pastor and have been a follower of Jesus for 21 years), the new believer who is just beginning to walk with Jesus, but also the non-believer who is seeking to investigate the claims of Christ. Seriously. It is a book that does what Jesus did: meets people where they are and ministers to them.
I have heard the Gospel throughout my entire life, but it never gets old. And Jeff's book filled my heart with a desire to grow more "Gospel fluent", to become more versed in how the Gospel impacts all of life, to truly experience how Jesus is better in every way. It is refreshing, challenging, hopeful, helpful, encouraging and soul-stirring.
If you desire to know Jesus more deeply, and to live that love out in your life, this book is for you. I'm already planning on re-reading it.
- Reviewed in the United States on December 14, 2023In this book, Vanderstelt helps readers not only connect the gospel to their daily lives, but he also helps them speak the gospel into their daily lives and into the lives of those they come into contact with. In order to do this, he weaves the truths of the gospel into real life situations and illustrates many personal stories of how he and others have effectively spoken the gospel into the lives of others. By doing this, he makes the book not only informative, but easy and highly enjoyable to read.
Top reviews from other countries
- LindsayReviewed in Canada on August 22, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars Great uplifting read!
This book helped me to rethink the way I talked about the Good News of Jesus and gives practical application to enrich our vocabulary of the Story as well as ideas of how to enhance discussion within community.
- Terra6954Reviewed in Canada on August 14, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars A Must Read For Everyone!
A must read for everyone! One of the best and most important books I have read in a very long time. Has definitely changed my life for the better reading this book. Definitely worth every penny and more purchasing this book.
- K StefReviewed in Canada on December 4, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended!
A well written and practical book on communicating the gospel to our culture. Highly recommended!
- Amazon CustomerReviewed in Canada on July 18, 2017
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Awesome book. Practical advice on how to share the gospel in everyday life.
- Deven MacDonaldReviewed in Canada on March 29, 2018
5.0 out of 5 stars Works great.
As described. Works great.