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Tactics: A Game Plan For Discussing Your Christian Convictions (2009)

by Gregory Koukl(Favorite Author)

4.29 of 5 Votes: 2

ISBN

0310282926 (ISBN13: 9780310282921)

languge

English

genre

Nonfiction

publisher

Zondervan

review 1: "Tactics" should be a must-read for any Christian who wants (or doesn't want) to learn how to defend their faith in natural conversation. Greg Koukl teaches that while spiritual discussion and argument can often be viewed as something to be feared, as Christians we really don't have anything to fear, but rather everything to gain. He establishes that our goal is not to convert someone to Christianity, for that's God's job; our job is to be faithful to "put a stone in somebody's shoe" and to get them thinking about spiritual things. He shows how to point out flaws in their thinking, and demonstrates methods to use in conversations about controversial topics such as abortion, objective truth, the presence of evil in the world, homosexuality, forcing your beliefs on others, ... moreand much more, all with gentleness and respect. I'm excited to put these lessons into action and stay faithful to the mission that God has called us all to.
review 2: Have you ever attempted to share your faith with someone only to find yourself facing objections for which you had no answers? Have you ever tried to engage someone in a discussion about religion and then quickly realized that not only was this individual cynical about your Christian beliefs, but he also was not going to be shy about letting you know how foolish he thought you were for believing them? When it comes to these types of encounters most Christians probably fall into one of two groups. On one hand, the majority of believers are terrified of having to face questions or objections that they are unable to answer and consequently avoid initiating conservations about their faith. Then, on the other hand, there is a minority of believers who have studied apologetics and enjoy initiating a “lively debate” with anyone who will give them the time of day. In Tactics, Gregory Koukl seeks to provide both types of Christians a better option for engaging with unbelievers.Summary Tactics is part personal testimony, part training manual. Koukl seeks to equip all believers with a game plan for initiating diplomatic engagements with unbelievers and illustrates his approach with real conversations that he has had over the last couple of decades. He calls his approach the “Ambassador Model”– a collection of tactics designed to help you navigate and guide conversations with unbelievers, even if you do not know the first thing about apologetics (20). An effective ambassador, Koukl argues, must have three basic skills: “knowledge, an accurately informed mind; wisdom, an artful method; and character, an attractive manner” (25). Tactics primarily focuses on the second skill (diplomatic wisdom) needed to makes our message persuasive. The goal of Koukl’s tactical approach is to find clever ways to exploit someone’s bad thinking for the purpose of guiding her to truth, while remaining gracious and charitable at the same time (28). Throughout the book Koukl goes out of his way to emphasize that our aim in the midst of a conversation should be to “…manage, not manipulate; to control, not coerce; to finesse, not fight” (28). Tactics is divided into two sections. The first section primarily focuses on one tactic that Koukl calls the “Columbo.” Named after the long-running TV detective series, the Columbo tactic is intended to allow you to “…go on the offensive in an inoffensive way by using carefully selected questions to productively advance the conversation” (47). Koukl breaks this tactic down into three progressive steps. The first step is to ask an open-ended question, “What do you mean by that?” This question (or some variation) not only allows you to gain important information, it also puts you in control of the conversation and forces the other person to think more carefully about the claim they have made. The second step in the Columbo tactic is to ask a follow up question along the lines of “How did you come to that conclusion?” Asking this question forces the other person to consider why they believe something and forces them to deal with the burden of proof for the claim they have made. Finally, in the third step of the Columbo tactic involves the use of leading questions to cause the other person to consider the validity of your claim. Koukl argues that anyone can use these three steps to challenge someone’s assumptions and graciously guide them toward the truth. In the second section of the book Koukl provides several more tactics that are based on a combination of basic logic and philosophical argumentation. These tactics range from the simple “Suicide” tactic (recognizing and exploiting views that express contradictory concepts) to the more difficult “Taking the Roof Off” (reducing someone else’s point to its basic premise, giving the idea a test drive, and then pointing out the absurd consequences that would result if you were to consistently apply the logic of their view). Koukl also provides a chapter on how to handle people who attempt to verbally overpower you and then concludes the book by encouraging the reader to practice the tactics and to persevere in using them as a means to lead people to the truth of the gospel.Critical Evaluation One of the things I appreciated most about Tactics was how Koukl presented a moderate, well-balanced approach toward witnessing. He successfully navigated a path between apathetic “friendship evangelism” on one side and fundamentalist “confrontational” evangelism on the other. Koukl’s approach relies on the assumption that everyone is made in the image of God and lives in a world that God has created. This means that, “Anyone who denies this fact lives in tension between the way he says the world is and the way the world actually is” (156). To justify this contradiction people often erect a “roof” of self-deception to protect themselves from the logical implications of their beliefs. Out of compassion for others the Ambassador Approach seeks first to understand someone’s view, gently expose the inconsistencies, then lead them to the truth. I believe this is an approach that finds biblical precedent in the ministry of the Apostle Paul (Acts 17:16-34; 2 Corinthians 5:20; Colossians 4:6). Even though Koukl’s tactics make up a middle-of-the-road approach, he recognizes that some people will still raise objections. For those few who enjoy a lively knock-down drag-out exchange, Koukl offers this general rule: “if anyone in the discussion gets angry, you lose” (30). When people get angry they get defensive, and when someone is defensive they are usually more focused on defending their own turf than considering the validity of their opponents views. But Koukl recognizes that most Christians fall into the other camp–the side that wants to avoid any type of argument altogether. Along these lines Koukl makes a couple of statements that many Christians might initially disagree with. First, he argues that, “our mind, not the Bible, is the very first line of defense God has given us against error” (32). Some readers could interpret this as a form of humanistic rationalism, but Koukl simply explains that even though the Bible is first in terms of authority, our minds must be intact and must be used as God intended if we are to understand the truth of Scripture. To correctly understand the Bible, we must first use our minds to discern the arguments behind various interpretations that have been given to the Bible. Koukl’s second controversial statement seems even more outrageous. Koukl claims that, “You cannot love someone into the kingdom” (36). He makes this statement in response to those who claim we cannot argue anyone into the kingdom and therefore should avoid anything controversial in our conversations with unbelievers. Koukl’s point is simply that without God’s work, nothing else work (36). God is the only one who can open someone’s heart to receive the truth, but at the same time God uses means. Koukl then pushes his point further by drawing on Acts 17:2-4 and citing where Paul explained and gave evidence of Christ’s death and resurrection with the end result that “some of them were persuaded.” Thus, Koukl concludes, “…you can argue someone into the kingdom. It happens all the time” (35). This is a needed correction for those who lean toward an extreme version of “friendship evangelism” that never confronts or challenges the unbelief of another. The difference between Tactics and virtually every other book on apologetics is that Tactics focuses on the art of diplomacy rather than simply providing you with more armor and ammo. Koukl recognizes that knowledge is essential (he lists it as the first of the three marks of an effective ambassador), but Tactics focuses on method rather than meat. He notes that many well-informed, well-read Christians still have an inferiority complex when it comes to engaging unbelievers. Koukl chalks this up to the fact that many do not know how to use the knowledge they possess. Effective engagement of unbelievers requires more than knowledge–you also need skill to present your knowledge in a winsome manner. Tactics provides an effective introduction to basic skills that will allow you to engage in discussion with unbelievers with the goal of leading them to the truth. Conclusion I found Tactics to be an enjoyable and immensely helpful read. It was enjoyable due to all the personal stories Koukl used to illustrate the tactics. Tactics was also helpful in a couple of ways. First, it provoked me to repent of my passivity and fear and to begin to gently challenge the false viewpoints held by those around me. So often I have heard someone make a comment that was contradictory to reality or Scripture, but I said nothing because I was afraid of looking foolish. I feel like Tactics helped me to overcome that fear and gave me confidence to know how to challenge those statements when I hear them. At first I have to admit that I wondered if Koukl was not overpromising on the effectiveness of his tactics. He acknowledged the need to practice using the methods in the book, but I kept wondering just how much practice would be necessary. However, within a couple of days of reading Tactics I found myself already beginning to implement some of the questions Koukl outlined in the “Columbo” tactic and I was surprised at how effectively they worked. Tactics is a book that I will keep close at hand as I seek to grow in engaging those around me with the truth of the gospel. less

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