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Book review and Kindle sale: Outreach and the Artist, by Con Campbell

I recently had the chance to read Outreach and the Artist: Sharing the Gospel with the Arts, by Con Campbell. This nonfiction book was released April 23, 2013 by Zondervan.

About this book (from the back cover):

Whether you are an artist whose talents are an untapped source of energy for your church or a ministry leader wanting to involve artists and the creative arts in your outreach efforts, Outreach and the Artist will renew your vision. Musician and biblical scholar Con Campbell offers encouragement, wisdom, and practical tips for evangelism with, through, and to the arts: Evangelism with the Arts. While the abilities of Christian artists may serve the church internally, artists within the church usually have enormous untapped potential for outreach. Evangelism through the Arts. People’s natural love for various artistic mediums provides a connection-point to exploring life’s big questions with unbelievers in non-threatening and engaging ways. Evangelism to the Arts. Christian artists are uniquely positioned to make an impact in artistic networks, which often have no Christian witness or presence and tend to be shut off from conventional methods of outreach. Spreading the gospel is a task worth every God-given resource we have, and artists and their creative gifts are no exception.

My Verdict:

The topic of this book appealed to me, because while I am not an artist, I have loved the arts all my life and even attended a performing arts school for a few years. I would fall into Campbell’s category of the Christian with an interest in the arts. Campbell, who is both a professional jazz musician and a professor with a Ph.D. in theology, is uniquely situated to provide both practical advice on how to set up successful artistic/evangelistic events in churches as well as interesting insight into the nature of God as creator and artist, and how the arts should be valued in Christian communities. I was especially interested in his classification of artists as unreached people groups with their own languages and cultures. The interesting topic matter, the helpful, detailed advice, and the fact that this book is such a quick read (116 pages) make it one that I would highly recommend to any Christian with an interest in either evangelism, the arts, or both.

If you’d like to check out Outreach and the Artist it is currently on sale for $8.89 for the Kindle version right now, which is 48% off. (Regularly $16.99.) If you prefer a physical copy the paperback  version is currently on sale for $11.15. Remember, Amazon’s prices can change at any time.

Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through the BookSneeze® book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Add comment June 18, 2013