Introduction and Summary
Robert Coleman, Ph.D., presents to his readers an examination of the topic of evangelism as observed from the life and times of Jesus Christ, the very one who started the task of evangelism and in whom the evangel is all about. Inside, the author intends to communicate principles of evangelism based on the mission of Christ and his work with his disciples. Rather than communicate methods or programs, he examines the way that Jesus prepared his disciples for a life of evangelism. Thus, the book is aimed at developing the priesthood of all believers in the area of evangelism. In other words, Coleman desires to develop the Church, and his purpose is to provide a principle-centered approach in which the Church can rightly take up the call in which “every member is a missionary. 1This quote does not originate with Coleman, nor is used in his book. However, it is appropriated to describe the audience that Coleman is after. To read a personal evangelism resource that uses this quote as its thesis, see Alvin Reid, Evangelism Handbook: Biblical, Spiritual, Intentional, Missional. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2009.”
The thesis of the book, while not directly stated by the author, can be surmised as this: the principles of evangelism that can be observed from Jesus’ life and ministry also determined his methods and strategy. Therefore, we should adopt and adapt his principles to inform our own methods and strategy of evangelism to carry out the mission that has been given to us as his disciples. 2Robert E. Coleman, The Master Plan of Evangelism, Ebook edition (Grand Rapids, MI: Revell, 2010), 13-14.
The book itself is divided up into eight chapters each of which represents a guiding principle for understanding the Master’s plan and approach to missions and evangelism. The author states that these principles are extracted from “our best, and only inerrant, textbook on Evangelism” which is Holy Scripture, or more specifically, the Gospel accounts of Jesus’ life. 3Coleman, The Master Plan of Evangelism, 16-17. In effect, Coleman is stating that if one wants to learn how to evangelize, look no further than the Gospels because they teach us the method that Jesus himself used. Therefore, Coleman’s book is an exposition of the Gospel accounts that record how Jesus approached his mission. **Coleman, 16.** Thus, the eight principles detailed below provide us a survey of Jesus’ strategy for conquering the world with his good news. The principles cannot be implemented apart from each other, as they represent an overall and most effective strategy for men; however, for our understanding, they are broken down in this way by the author to understand them well enough so that the reader can then piece them back together and move forward with an effective evangelism approach.
The first principle is called ‘selection’ and surveys how Jesus selected a small group of men to follow him. Coleman states that Jesus’ “concern was not with programs to reach the multitudes, but with men whom the multitudes would follow.” 4Coleman, 21. Starting small was the primary method and unveils the proposition that beginning with a concentrated few offers the opportunity for better instructions.
The second principle is called ‘association’ and suggests that Jesus’ primary teaching method was through his disciples following him prior to a more didactic approach (association prior to explanation), thus, “knowledge was gained by association before it was understood by explanation.” 5Coleman, 38. We might call it presence-centered training because the central object lesson for the disciples was being with Jesus and observing him. By extrapolation and extension, the Church carries forward this presence-centered training for evangelism by going beyond classes, sermons, and meetings and investing in constant and vigilant association and closeness with future missional leaders (evangelistic leaders in the church).
The third principle follows and proves out the second, which the author calls ‘consecration.’ In other words, this principle is associated with being set apart through the act of following Christ and its demand is obedient behavior. Jesus would accept no compromises in this area: either you followed him, or you could not be his disciple. The principle applied today looks like self-denial and dedication to the sole mission given to us by him. This principle is a call to action and even Christian discipline for if Christ would not offer concessions to obeying his commandments, neither should his Church body. Therefore, obedience to the commandments of Christ is essential for those who will be disciple-makers.
The fourth principle, called ‘impartation,’ speaks to the gifts and benefits given to those disciples who would follow and be obedient, and are described as loving service to others. The principle in action looks like giving everything for the benefit of others, which Jesus and his cross exemplify to the ultimate degree. To apply this concept today, disciple-makers and discipleship leaders must see that their work is to impart the love of God to others, just as Jesus did for his disciples. Love is the standard, and it is what’s given and what’s to be given away.
The fifth principle is ‘demonstration.’ In his life, Jesus showed the disciples what a spiritual life looks like when they observed him pray, and when they observed him use the Scriptures to teach the things of God. The genius of Jesus’ method is that he did this during everyday life; he did not have to prepare a sermon or a teaching plan. One should note the obvious connection that this principle has with the prior four in that it would be impossible to demonstrate through teachable moments if those principles were not in place. The implications for evangelism are manifold because Jesus “demonstrated [this principle] first in his own life…proving its workability.” 6Coleman, 76. The greatest point we can take away is this: disciple makers and discipleship leaders must also be disciples first so that they can model and demonstrate a life of evangelism to those whom they would influence.
The sixth principle is the art of ‘delegation.’ If the disciples were to truly learn the strategies and methods that Jesus modeled, then they had to put them into practice; and so, Jesus not only demonstrated to them their tasks but delegated similar tasks which are documented in the Gospel accounts. If followed closely, the lesson of this principle shows us that delegation occurred progressively from small evangelistic assignments all that way up to the giving of the Great Commission. Today, people can be started into the task of living out their ‘sent-ness’ through small practical assignments that grow as they mature and accomplish the tasks.
The seventh principle works together with the sixth, and it’s the principle of ‘supervision.’ Coleman suggests that Jesus’ “teaching rotated between instruction and assignment. What time he was with them, he was helping them to understand the reason for some previous action or getting them ready for some new experience.” 7Coleman, 91. This principle in play is for leaders to provide constant and consistent follow-up, continuous review, and application. Again, these principles all tie together as this seventh precept is impossible on a large scale (principle 1) and requires a closeness that normal life does not easily provide (principle 2).
The last but not least principle is referred to as ‘reproduction.’ The Master’s plan was for his mission not to end with his disciples; for the world to be conquered through his mission of love, the message and the messengers must multiply. This was Jesus’ mission and method:
His whole evangelistic strategy—indeed, the fulfillment of his very purpose in coming into the world, dying on the cross, and rising from the grave—depended on the faithfulness of his chosen disciples to this task. It did not matter how small the group was to start with so long as they reproduced and taught their disciples to reproduce. This was the way his church was to win. 8Coleman, 102.
The Great Commandment includes within it the command to teach others obedience to all that Jesus commanded; this necessarily is self-referential and that means that being obedient to Jesus includes following the Great Commandment. Thus, as followers of Jesus work with one or two new disciples, the expectation is that those one or two begin the same task through the principles outlined above and thus Christ’s ministry is reproduced.
Personal Evaluation
The format of the book is simple and straightforward, at just over 100 pages, which can be read in a few short hours. This appears to be done on purpose because it matches the author’s view that Jesus’ plan was simple compared to what the busy person might want when they say that they want to learn how to do evangelism, or for the church leader who wants to know the best method to teach his church members how to evangelize. 9Coleman, 19. But the question remains, do all of these techniques and methods result in real disciples doing the real work of evangelism? Dallas Willard states that there “is an obvious Great Disparity between, on the one hand, the hope for life expressed in Jesus…and, on the other hand, the actual day-to-day behavior, inner life, and social presence of most of those who now profess adherence to him.” 10Dallas Willard The Great Omission loc 85 Kindle. Willard’s point is that there is a great omission in the church’s understanding of the Great Commission, and that is the absence of a discipleship framework. Coleman’s book is strong in this area as it is built upon the framework of disciples making disciples, not surface-level converts.
Accordingly, Coleman presents these principles, which he insists must go together, as the big picture view of what Jesus’ strategy for what evangelism was during his lifetime on earth and is through the life of his Church. In this, he is to be commended because most books on the life of Jesus are spent on glorifying God (a very noble task indeed) and for the edification of believers (not ignoble- but it is this writer’s opinion that much more ink is spilled on this task than is helpful to the church). Coleman’s book stands out by examining the life of Jesus in accordance with the mission of Jesus. This task is appropriate because I believe that a missional hermeneutic for reading Scripture is not only primary and evidenced by Jesus but also the principal way in which we should approach reading the Bible. Bible scholar Christopher Wright concurs, stating, “[m]ission is not just one of a list of things that the Bible happens to talk about, only a bit more urgently than some. Mission is, in that much-abused phrase, ‘what it’s all about. 11Christopher J. H. Wright, The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative, 22. ’” Thus, as mentioned above, if one wants to understand evangelism, then we already have the best available text given to us which is Holy Scripture. Coleman’s book necessarily drives its readers to Scripture if the reader desires to understand the principles within.
Building on this evaluation, I think it is interesting that the book has the word Evangelism in its title, but it is categorically a book about discipleship. And I think this speaks to a certain dichotomy that can exist in the way that the Church approaches evangelism and discipleship. Robby Gallaty states that this dichotomy reduces the Great Commission down to one element contained within it, which is to teach; thus, many read the Commission and understand it to mean that we are merely to teach people about salvation. 12Robby Gallaty, Growing Up: How to Be a Disciple Who Makes Disciples. B&H Books, 2013, 19. However, I think Coleman rightly demonstrates that Christ himself did not see the tasks of the Great Commission as separated tasks but as one and the same commandment; it is evangelism, outreach, obedience, and discipleship. As Coleman points out, the great commission was given to make disciples not converts:
…to “make disciples of every creature” (Matt. 28:19). The word here indicates that the disciples were to go out into the world and win others who would come to be what they themselves were—disciples of Christ. This mission is emphasized even more when the Greek text of the passage is studied, and it is seen that the words go, baptize, and teach are all participles that derive their force from the one controlling verb “make disciples.”
Coleman’s entire thesis is built on the idea that effective evangelism is best built upon the most effective evangelists (Jesus and his disciples). This widens the task of evangelism to include the making of disciples as the Great Commission suggests, and therefore it is our task as well. The strength of Coleman is this: we should look to Christ first and foremost as our model and master teacher to learn how to evangelize, and how to teach evangelism.
Contribution to Ministry Work
The strengths of Coleman’s work far exceed any perceived weaknesses, but it is important to note that Coleman’s work is a survey work and is not the final authority for how one should approach the task of evangelism and the task of teaching evangelism to a church body. But that is precisely why I think it is a work that all Christians should add to their library, especially church leaders. In short, I think it would provide a paradigm shift in how one understands what evangelism is. It is somewhat dated, but there are contemporary works (such as Gallaty’s Growing Up) in which the impact of Coleman can be perceived. That said, the holistic approach suggested by Coleman is still yet to be unleashed in the evangelical church, therefore, it is still very much a helpful and necessary teaching that would change the minds, and I dare say, alter the hearts of those who would desire to follow their Master’s commandments. If pastors, teachers, and leaders would appropriate Coleman by taking up a small group of men and/or women and dedicating a significant amount of their lives to these few, then I suspect the principles outlined by Coleman would, indeed, be proven out. And that’s true because they are built upon the most certain foundation of all: Jesus Christ.
Bibliography
Coleman, Robert E. The Master Plan of Evangelism. Ebook edition. Grand Rapids, MI: Revell, 2010.
Gallaty, Robby. Growing Up: How to Be a Disciple Who Makes Disciples. B&H Books, 2013.
Little, Paul E. How to Give Away Your Faith. Revised edition. Downers Grove, IL: IVP, 2008.
Reid, Alvin. Evangelism Handbook: Biblical, Spiritual, Intentional, Missional. Nashville, TN: B&H Academic, 2009.
Willard, Dallas. The Great Omission: Reclaiming Jesus’s Essential Teachings on Discipleship. HarperOne, 2009.
Wright, Christopher J. H. The Mission of God: Unlocking the Bible’s Grand Narrative. IVP Academic, 2013.
