MAKING FAITH MAGNETIC

How to talk about Jesus in a way that connects with modern culture. As followers of Jesus, we know that the good news is deeply attractive. But we often fear that to those on the outside, it comes across as irrelevant or even repellent. Sometimes the Christian worldview feels so out of step with everything else going on that we don’t know how to share our faith.

However, author Daniel Strange wants to show you that the connections are there—in fact, the longings that our culture cannot help but express are the very ones that Jesus fulfils.

Building on the work of theologian J.H. Bavinck, Dan reveals five recurring themes that our culture can’t stop talking about, or, as he puts it, the 'five permanent ‘itches’ that in our work, rest, and play, we have to vigorously scratch.' From TV to books to social media, these are the questions we can’t stop asking and the tensions we can’t stop wrestling with—and Jesus speaks powerfully into each one.

This book will help you to spot these connections in our culture, excite you about how Jesus makes sense of humankind’s deepest questions and longings, and equip you to speak of him to others in a way that is truly magnetic.

About the Author
Daniel Strange is College Director at Oakhill Theological College in London where he lectures on Culture, Religion and Public Theology. Dan is married to Elly and they have seven children. He is an elder at East Finchley Baptist Church, and loves jazz music and West Ham football club.

Publisher : The Good Book Company (1 Oct. 2021)
Paperback : 160 pages

Stephen's review

Making Faith Magnetic is by Daniel Strange, formerly of Oak Hill College and now of Crosslands Forum. In this book Strange picks up on 5 themes which he says are of significant importance in our culture. They are 1. Totality: a way to connect 2. Norm: a way to live 3. Deliverance: a way out 4. Destiny: a way to control and 5. Higher power: a way beyond. He openly states that he leans heavily on the work of one of his heroes, Dutch missionary JH Bavink who also articulated these five points in a previous generation, and that Strange himself has now re-expressed them in more contemporary language.

Typical of so much of his writings, Strange demonstrates a familiarity with contemporary culture as well as a keen theological mind. His big idea in this book is that these cultural longings can all find their fulfilment in the person of Jesus. If we learn to share Christ in this way we will be presenting a magnetic faith that scratches where culture itches. This book is very readable, and it strikes me that the subject matter would be excellent for a Family Service series or evangelistic discussion groups.