Now, Palau has written a book on evangelism with co-author Timothy Robnett in Telling the Story. The book is a primer on understanding both the ministry of evangelism and the role of evangelist. It is geared for those trying to obtain a biblical grasp on the topic for the 21st century. Ultimately, Palau says it needs to start by defining both the interior and exterior calling and moving forward from the local church.

Recently, Palau made some time to answer questions on his motivations for writing the book and how the church can return to its evangelistic roots.

Ministry Today: Your new book, Telling the Story, attempts to redefine evangelism for a new generation. What do you think is the primary misunderstanding about evangelism today?

PALAU: Our definition of evangelism has always been a biblical one. It centers on the person and work of Jesus Christ�He is the good news. It's a message of hope about a relationship that connects people with a saving God who has done for them what they can't do for themselves. A true evangelist preaches Jesus Christ.

It's common today to focus on good deeds�to believe that helping the poor or healing the sick is the gospel, when those deeds are really a result of the gospel. Prayer, though vitally important, is also not evangelism. Paul described the message of the gospel in 1 Corinthians 15: Christ died for our sins, was buried and was raised on the third day. That is the evangelist's singular message.

Ministry Today: You spend significant time defining the interior life of the evangelist, as opposed to other books that specifically focus on the exterior workings. Is there not enough emphasis on that interior life?

PALAU: Absolutely! It's a major reason this book was written. The integrity and holiness of the evangelist is vital to the proclamation of the message. Recent history demonstrates that a believer�even one in a position of leadership and trust�can fall to temptation.

A successful evangelistic ministry begins with our personal lives as evangelists. We must have a transparent conscience with no unresolved conflicts or skeletons in the closet. Truthfulness has to be at the heart of our words and our writings. We must train ourselves to always give all the glory to God.

Ministry Today: How do you see evangelistic methods changing in the next decade or so of ministry?

PALAU: The methods should always be adapted to the culture and the times. We don't know what the future holds, but we believe that biblical evangelists in those times will discover ways of making the good news clear.

Just a few years ago, the concept of our festivals�rock bands, skateboarders, flying motorcycles�would have been too wild for most of us to grasp. Still, when I share the gospel now at these events, it's just me and a microphone and my Bible. The key is always going to be the messengers and the message�not the methods.

Ministry Today: In your book you seek to redefine roles for the evangelist to fit within the 21st-century church or ministry organization. Do you think the church still holds to outdated models?

PALAU: Models and roles will change. Churches at any given point in history are at various stages of growth as well as using various methods of ministry. Evangelists are Christ's gift�typically they are the ones who bring new roles, titles and methods of evangelism to the church.

When we bring a festival to a city, our first step is to reach out to the church community. Two of our festival-driven projects, friendship- evangelism training and counselor training, are designed to bring new information and, hopefully, new enthusiasm for evangelism to congregations of many denominations.

Ministry Today: What are the biggest dangers ahead for the church regarding the work of evangelism?

PALAU: I see three major dangers always facing the church when proclaiming the good news. The first danger is the idea that evangelism is left only to called evangelists. Every member of the body of Christ is called to be an active witness of the good news.

The second danger is that the church will fail to acknowledge the importance of evangelists and evangelism. When that happens, a ministry is created that focuses on methods and programs rather than equipping the congregation to pursue the Great Commission one evangelist at a time.

The third danger is that evangelism will be tied only to certain methodologies that may become outdated. When the methods become outdated, there's the danger that evangelism itself may be perceived in that way.

Ministry Today: So, are churches imbalanced in their approach to evangelism?

PALAU: The issue is not balance but fruitfulness and faithfulness. Some of the most evangelistic churches we encounter around the country are those that might seem imbalanced at first glance, but if the emphasis is on outreach, those churches almost always are flourishing.

Ministry Today: How does the church stay balanced?

PALAU: God has given evangelists to the church to prepare them for the work of evangelism. Congregations and their leaders must empower those people in positions of leadership. The call to join in winning the lost to Christ must come from the pulpit and from the church's lay leaders.

Executive Summary: In our world of computerized communications, weblogs, or blogs, are part of a new revolution. The Blogging Church, by Brian Bailey with Terry Storch, proves a compelling case for capitalizing on that trend and provides clear instructions for venturing into the blogosphere.

The authors thoroughly explain blogs, not only discussing costs and related factors, but also revealing how typical congregations with very little tech know-how can get started.

The fundamentals are adequately covered as the authors help participants evaluate worth, process decision, prepare properly for a true purpose, learn from others and avoid falling for every new trend. They also share how their own congregation (Bailey and Storch serve on the staff of Fellowship Church, Dallas, pastored by Ed Young Jr.) decided to begin blogging only after proving its value as they ran the decision through a filter of three questions: Is it a tool or a toy? What problems are we trying to solve? What is the return on ministry investment?

Blogging allows local churches and their pastors to expand the reach of their pulpit ministry and office counseling. Outreach is available online as principles are explained, Scriptures are quoted, and reactions are solicited. Even mission trips occur in cyberspace, according to the authors. Promoting church events, informing potential visitors and offering testimony time, blogs can do easily what few other efforts are able to achieve.

The Blogging Church suggests that "blogging presents a rare opportunity for churches to be part of this new world instead of watching from a distance. Blogging is simple, inexpensive and powerful. In other words, the impact-to-investment ratio is impossible to ignore." With free software available online and easy-to-follow steps for even the most technologically challenged, blogging is an interactive ministry tool whose time has come.

Quote: "There is no blogging revolution without others. The heart of a blogging church is passionate pursuit of people who matter to God. Blogging is an incredible way to start conversations, reach out to others, develop relationships and build community."

Ideal Reader: Church leaders and followers of Christ who hope to find simple, practical and successful ways to use blogging for promoting a local church and reaching the lost.

Rate the book from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) on these criteria: Practicality (5); Insight (5); Theological Depth (3); Readability (5)

Reviewer: Chris Maxwell

Overcoming Barriers to Growth: Proven Strategies for Taking Your Church to the Next Level
Author: Michael Fletcher
Publisher: Bethany House
File Under: Church Growth

Executive Summary: Author Michael Fletcher is the senior pastor of Manna Church in Fayetteville, N.C., and has led the congregation's growth from 400 to 4,000 active members during his 20 years of pastoring the church. So, it is from personal experience that Fletcher speaks to the issue of church growth as he identifies the major barriers to growth and then outlines methods for breaking through them.

According to Fletcher: "On the road to 'mega' there are three key stages of leadership structures or configurations and two major transition points. If pastors and leaders properly anticipate these transitions and adjust appropriately, stress can be reduced and leadership teams can work together to experience growth instead of working against each other."

Fletcher suggests, and cites supporting research, that the two main barriers pastors face in trying to grow their churches numerically are the 100/200 barrier and the 700/800 barrier, with the former representing the transition from a small church to a medium church and the latter representing the transition from a medium church to a large church.

With his stated goal being to help church leaders change internal structures in order to grow, Fletcher offers readers what he considers to be reproducible methods for achieving church growth success. First and foremost on the list is the need for the senior pastor to find God's vision for the church he leads.

Fletcher describes the importance of what he calls "the threefold law of vision:" the Law of Articulation, the Law of Unification and the Law of Mobilization. Unless the pastor can articulate the vision, unify the people around it and then mobilize them to help carry it out, the vision of growth is doomed for failure.

One point on which Fletcher risks alienating readers is his suggestion that pastors must switch from a Shepherd Model to a Rancher Model in order for their churches to grow, which some may feel contradicts the model of Jesus as Chief Shepherd. With that point aside, wherever pastors are located on the church-growth continuum, Overcoming Barriers to Growth can help them take their church to the next level.

Quote: "To move from small to medium or from medium to large, some very important things will have to change! It is important, then, to understand the dynamics involved in a church at the next level in order to take a congregation to that place."

Ideal reader: Pastors, elders and other church leaders desiring to identify and break through the barriers to numerical growth.

Rate the book from 1 (poor) to 5 (excellent) on these criteria: Practicality (5); Insight (4); Theological Depth (3); Readability (5).

Reviewer: Sean Fowlds

• Irresistible Magazine Writing
• The Elements of an Article Proposal
• Creating Your Own Multi-Media Empire

Free courses:

Bill Mounce: Special features include abbreviated classes (in addition to the full-length offerings) and the ability to “customize” the lectures if you are leading a class.

Regent College, BC: Lectures can be enjoyed 24-hours a day. Regent standard bearers such as Packer, Fee and Eugene Peterson are joined by other well known evangelicals, like N.T. Wright.

Covenant Theological Seminary: MP3 lectures online, as well as, lecture transcripts and study guides in PDF format. Reformed emphasis.

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary: 10-course core curriculum. Attractive and user-friendly website. Testing and resultant certificate are optional.

Courses for purchase:

Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary: 25 courses offered for $45 each. Gary Pratico, co-author of a Hebrew textbook, teaches a two-course Hebrew set.

Regent College, BC: In addition to Packer, Fee, and Peterson there is vintage material available --- including F. F. Bruce and Clark Pinnock. Some courses on DVD.

Westminster Theological Seminary: The full-length courses of note are from Moises Silva: New Testament Introduction and the Gospel of John.

Beeson Divinity School: Allen Ross’ 23-CD series on Hebrew exegesis for $96! Six other full-length courses by Ross, as well.

Founders Study Center: Packer is available at this site, too. Also, Roger Nicole, Timothy George, and--bonus--the late Martyn Lloyd-Jones on preaching.

Fuller Theological Seminary: A concentration of missions courses not available from the others in this list. Courses can be taken for credit or personal enrichment.

Institute for Theological Studies: 21 major seminaries can’t be wrong! They use ITS courses. So should you.

The Teaching Company: Mostly secular courses. The treasures here are the five courses on Christianity by Luke Timothy Johnson. DVD is available.

Wheaton Graduate School: Douglas Moo teaching Romans is desirable. Having to search the Wheaton website is not. Call 1-630-752-5119 and tell the bookstore you want to purchase the BITH 548 DL instructional CDs. The $37.50 cost probably makes it worth your time.

Asbury Online Institute: Only four courses available, and sorry, no Ben Witherington or Victor Hamilton offerings.

- compiled by Jon Rising