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God Space: Where Spiritual Conversations Happen Naturally (2009)

by Doug Pollock(Favorite Author)

3.9 of 5 Votes: 3

ISBN

0764438719 (ISBN13: 9780764438714)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

LifeTree

review 1: Reviewing books on evangelism is always fun. People seem to either adore them or they start turning their thermostats up to 451 F. I want to briefly explain what God Space is about, give some positive aspects and then close with some concerns. God Space is about trying to start a spiritual conversation with family, friends, or co-workers without turning them off (pg. 10). It’s about “naturally” creating room for spiritual conversations to occur in our everyday lives (pg. 20). Pollock defines God Space as where:“…God is felt and encountered in tangible ways that address the longings and cryings of the heart.…we come to the end of our own finite resources and experience the infinite resource of God.…the natural gives way to the supernatural.…seeds of faith ar... moree planted, watered, and nurtured.…gentleness and respect are present, judgment is absent, and divine dialogue flows naturally because trust has been established.…the invisible principles of God’s kingdom are made visible in ways people can see, touch, and feel.…friends of sinners – in other words, our friends – dwell.…the topic of God can be explored freely without agendas, biases, and personal convictions getting in the way.…cynics, skeptics, scoffers, and spiritually curious people alike can raise their questions, share their doubts, voice their concerns, and even vent their anger toward God and the church.…the “unworthy” feel safe enough to bring their real selves out into the light, and to journey, one step at a time, toward the magnetic pull they sense deep in their souls.…spiritual curiosity is aroused, and the message of Christianity becomes plausible.” (pp. 20-21)There is definitely a postmodern flavor to this definition (it's wordy and I'm not exactly sure what was said...) but there you have it. The rest of the book (chapters 2-10) is intended to show us how to create this “God space.” The chapters are practical. They include a chapter on conversation-killers (chapter 2), chapters on noticing, serving, listening and wondering your way into spiritual conversations (chapters 3-6), keeping these in balance (chapter 7), how to use short personal stories to stimulate spiritual thirst (chapter 8), bringing the Bible into these conversations (chapter 9) and finally how to repair burned evangelistic bridges (chapter 10). Chapter 11 is a call to action. In all of these chapters Pollock draws on his experience with Athletes in Action and his travels to 36 countries where he has had opportunities to build relationships and share the gospel.There were several things that I found helpful in this book. Throughout Pollock gives great advice on the little things (that actually are some big things) like taking time to listen to people and building real friendships with them, not shallow relationships that are a means to an end. If you are like me and find yourself wondering how to engage people in conversation about the Lord without it coming across as fake or forced then there is lots of good counsel throughout the book. One aspect I found refreshing was the constant talk about bars (pp. 12-14). I know that might sound bad but in mentioning bars and clubs Pollock is advocating getting out and going where the lost are. We haven't done this. We have become very comfortable and put our stamp of approval on it by calling it holiness. He says the church has become a club where we exist to keep other club members happy (pg. 15). Instead we need to leave our “club” and go to their club and seek to be used by the Lord at their club.One other helpful and practical point of the book was the list of questions at the end (pp. 108-114). He calls these “wondering questions” and they are questions to ask people as you listen to them and try to discern where they are at with the Lord. Overall this book has a lot of practical advice on listening and building friendships without being a selfish jerk. After all we should be quick to listen and slow to speak (James 1:19) and when we do speak it should be very helpful (Ephesians 4:29). As Christians we definitely need work on this.I did have some concerns with the book. The book has what I would call an overly optimistic view of humanity. Those who are not believers are referred to as “not-yet Christians” throughout the book (e.g. pg. 32, 63). The Bible gives us optimism about the gospel advancing but not to the extent that we can term people as “Christians” and “not-yet Christians.” Even Jesus wasn’t that generous with the labels.Another concern I had was with where we locate the problem(s). Pollock does a good job of pointing out the major problems within evangelicalism that produce stumbling blocks to the lost. A lot of what might come across as church “bashing” to some is unfortunately true. But is that the only problem or the major problem hindering people from coming to Jesus? I do not think so. Is it a problem? Yes. It is an elephant in the room that needs to be addressed. But there is another elephant walking around with a swagger. And that is humanity’s sinfulness and rebellion against God (Gen. 3 – Rev. 20). People love darkness (John 3:19) and they love suppressing the truth about God (Rom. 1:18-23). Getting past offensive Christians isn’t the only problem. The Bible portrays “non-Christians” as having a sin problem themselves and not wanting the truth. I am not talking about being a hard-nosed, finger in your face evangelist either. I am saying that as sinners it doesn’t matter how “nice” we are to people there is still a desire to hide from the light. That brings me to the last concern. At the end of the day if we are going to be faithful sharing the gospel (probably after building trust and a relationship) there has to be some serious conversation about sin, God’s wrath, Jesus’ death on the cross, and our need for repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus. And that will be offensive to some no matter how cordial we have been.
review 2: This book was a worthwhile read for anyone who just wants some advice on being a good human being when it comes to having a conversation, especially a conversation about faith. This book is not deep in theology, it is 100% practical, but it accomplishes well what the author set out to do. This book can be read very quickly, but none of the pages seem to waste your time.The reason for only giving this book 3 stars is that it had a number of statements that just make me cringe. Like telling us to 'be the gospel for someone'. The author does however surprisingly critique St. Francis of Assisi's quote "preach the gospel if necessary use words". The whole book is about verbally sharing the Gospel, or at least creating space where the Gospel could possibly be talked about. The author used the language 'be the gospel' once, yet that is not at all what the book teaches, thankfully.The book's layout was a little cheesy also with annoying block quotes filling space and little pointer arrows all over the place, but again the content was good. There were a few other one liners and endorsements that disturbed me, but the overall message of the book was excellent. The book affirmed the priesthood of all believers, and sharing faith in our daily vocation. The other thing that was nice was the book's antagonistic stance to methods like Four Spiritual Laws and Romans Road.I cautiously recommend this book to anyone who needs more confidence in sharing faith, and just looking for more enjoyment in conversation with believers and unbelievers alike. less

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