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Liberty Theological Seminary

Book Critique

of

Share Jesus Without Fear

A Paper

Submitted to Dr. Philip McFarland

In Partial Fulfillment

Of the Requirements for the Course

Contemporary Evangelism

EVAN 565

By

R. Clay Hardwick

21 November 2010
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William ³Bill´ Fay is a well-recognized evangelist because of his popular selling book,

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. His passion is to see others come to Christ just as he did. In the back

of the book is a more detailed explanation of his testimony. His past is uncommon and varied

but there is much in it that people can relate to.

Bill Fay was raised in a wealthy family and he became very ambitious as he got older. At

the age of sixteen, he became sexually involved and got a girl pregnant. He married the girl but

it did not last. He became very interested in gambling in his college years and this led him into

involvement with organized crime. His good luck in gambling brought him into a craving for

³power and money´ which led him to more ambitious goals and greed. He soon became a CEO

of a multinational corporation in Denver, Colorado. He wasn¶t off to a bad start when the police

investigated his Fantasy Island enterprise in Lakewood, Colorado. This led to his arrest for

running a house of prostitution. He lost his job as CEO, went to jail, and was soon out on

probation.

As Bill went on to pursue success again at whatever cost, God placed people in his path.

He heard a Pastor, Bob Foster, preach a convicting sermon on Easter Sunday while he was on

vacation at a Colorado ranch. The words of his message really left an imprint on him about

³inner peace´. Influence from his friends, Paul and Kathy Grant were also causing him to pause

and think about his place in the world. A major turning point occurred when he was arrested for

a prostitution charge that ended up with a more severe conviction because of a probation

violation. With the pressure of a lengthy prison term, Bill became very depressed and suicidal.

He was looking to find answers and peace for all his troubles. With nowhere else to go, he went

to see a Pastor at the request of his wife and on March 4, 1981 he found a new relationship with

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Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. After accepting Christ, Fay became effective in

communicating the gospel to others. He later graduated from Denver Seminary and he now

currently serves as a chaplain with the Federal Drug Enforcement Agency.

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The table of contents provides a good structure for the overall content of the book, as you

would expect, but after reading 




, one can better identify what the

author was most concerned for his readers to learn. Fay starts out with an emphasis on the

concept of obedience. One soon realizes that it is important for Christians to be obedient to the

great commission. Next, he moves onto to a very big point, ³Don¶t be silent about your faith´.

If Christians remain silent about their faith, it is a sin. People are uncomfortable about making

conversation about their faith and they choose to be silent but this is not what the Lord intended.

Much of the time, this silence is because they don¶t know what questions are appropriate to ask.

Fay outlines the ³Share Jesus´ questions. These questions are meant to help a person ask the

critical questions that move a person toward a presentation of the gospel. With any type of

dialogue, questions run in two directions. A non-believer is generally ignorant of spiritual

matters as they relate to the bible, therefore objections are highly likely. Fay gives plenty of

attention to these objections while also stressing the importance of prayer. He caps off the book

with strong encouragement to follow the call of evangelical ministry and share the gospel,

making disciples of all men.

What are the main take away points from Fays Book? In the first few chapters, Fay

makes the point that anyone who shares their faith with others has succeeded in being obedient to

the Christian call placed on their life. Fay doesn¶t want people to miss the fact that a

conversation with a focus on the gospel is never a failure. Often, the results may seem

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dependent on the skill of the Christian but as Fay makes clear, the result of any conversion is

dependent on the Holy Spirit. In chapter two, a key point is made about the ³sin of silence´. 1 It

is described in a way that should get the reader to take notice of how they are not living in God¶s

will when they consciously choose to not share their faith and remain silent. Six common

reasons (i.e., I don¶t know how, I¶m afraid of being rejected, etc.) of why a person doesn¶t share

their faith are explained and then refuted. In Chapter 4, the central point is to get a conversation

focused on spiritual matters and then the gospel. Fay discusses the five ³share Jesus questions´,

which he uses as a funnel to lead into a discussion about Christ.2 This gives way to a discussion

of the power of Scripture, and seven verses specifically chosen for the non-Christian to read and

respond to, requiring little action on the part of the person sharing other than simply to lead the

conversation down a predetermined path. In Chapter 8, the point is to make Christians think

about how non-believers process information related to spiritual matters, the bible, and Jesus.

Fay lists 36 different objections and deals with each one individually. Following that is a chapter

on how to develop and keep non-Christian friends, what Fay calls ³lifestyle evangelism´. 3 The

importance of prayer is discussed, including praying before sharing, and keeping a list of all of

those who the Christian is praying for. In Chapter 11, the point is to encourage all Christians to

share their faith built on the training they have received from reading the book. The call to

evangelize is a serious call and Christians are responsible to make disciples as God guides them.

All of these points are covered with plenty of explanation that most readers can be clear about

how to communicate the gospel effectively when the situation arises.

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cWilliam Fay, 
 


(Nashville, Tennessee: Broadman &
Holman Publishers, 1999), 6.c

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cIbid, 33.c
3
Ibid, 126.

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What really jumps out and sticks with the reader audience of Fay¶s book is the title itself,

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One has to admit that the title hits to the core of what many

contemporary Christians struggle with---the fear of rejection. Obviously, Fay understands that

people are fearful of being rejected when they share their testimony or probe others about their

thoughts about Christian faith and Jesus. It is the main goal of Fay¶s book to help people learn

how to overcome the fear of rejection and failure and to put more faith in the witness of the Holy

Spirit to the unsaved.

Does the author accomplish his goal to help others see how to overcome their fear of

rejection or failure in sharing their faith? Yes, he does accomplish his goal. He provides good

descriptions of how to initiate a spiritual conversation, how to handle common objections, how

to present the gospel clearly, how to pray, and how to trust in the Holy Spirit. The language is

written on a ninth-grade level where the reader can follow along easily and there is sufficient

content on the key points (how to ask question, present the gospel, etc.) that one should feel more

equipped and prepared than they did before they started reading the book.

The book was published in 1999 which means some years have passed and culture has

changed a little since then. The structure or conversation flow that Fay discusses is still relevant

today but the ³Share Jesus Questions´ are in need of updating. Fay was obviously having a good

effect with his five questions when he wrote the book but if you were to ask him today what

questions he is using, there is some likelihood that he would say they have changed some.

Atheists and agnostics are still in the minority in most countries but there has been a rise in the

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numbers of atheists in certain regions around the United States.4 It is wise to assume in a

spiritual conversation that a person may be agnostic. At the time of the writing of this book, it

was probably more common for people to have responded to the 1st of the five ³Share Jesus´

questions with an answer of ³yes, I believe in higher power or I am a [insert religion]´ but in the

last 10 years, postmodernism has become more common and people look less to religion for

answers and therefore they don¶t identify with it as much. A direct question about a person¶s

belief in a deity seems necessary but it shouldn¶t be asked right up front as this could be

offensive. A good bridge question that might be considered is ³Do you think it really matters

what we believe?´ and then it may not be too hard to assess if they hold a belief in God, but if it

is hard to assess the evangelist should ask a clarifying question about their spiritual beliefs.

Asking good questions and listening are stressed throughout Fay¶s book but in many

places there could be more commentary discussing the importance of ³authenticity´. There are

very good explanations in the chapters of how to transition from one step to the next in

conversation but as a person reads through the steps (for questions or listening), they may get

focused too much on a technique at the expense of being authentic. No one wants to come

across as a slick salesperson when they are presenting the gospel but if one reads Fay¶s book

rapidly or incompletely, they are likely only to see a ³method´ and not the manner of approach.

Fay did not write his book in such a way that the reader is totally confused about being authentic,

honest, and loving in an evangelistic conversation but some of his chapters could have allowed

more room for discussion of how ³authenticity´ in personal communication is critical.

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cAmerican Religious Identification Survey 2008, ³ARIS 2008 Report: Part IA ± Belonging,´
http://b27.cc.trincoll.edu/weblogs/AmericanReligionSurvey-ARIS/reports/p1a_belong.html.

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 As good as it was to include many of the popular objections that are put against the

Christian faith, the answers that Fay provides are not always sufficient and practical for all

readers to apply in their own circumstances. The content of chapter 8 was necessary but it could

have included a statement about how the answers were not universal or comprehensive for all

persons in all circumstances. Also, the chapter could have been condensed to include only the

most popular objections and the rest could have been placed in an appendix. Scholarly citations

are not common to book of this type but in regards to some of the objections, citations would be

most appropriate (e.g. ³Objection: there are many religions in the world´ could have used a

reference to a popular Christian apologetics author like Ravi Zacharias). Citations or references

are very resourceful to intellectual objections. They are not so critical to objections of a

relational or emotional type.

Even though there are some shortcomings with Fay¶s book, it still remains a very good

resource and practical book for any Christian to own. The content is easy to read, there is a good

foundational framework to work from, the author writes from personal experience, and the

conversation methods described are easy to comprehend and apply. This book should remain a

recommendation for any Christian who struggles with nervousness or fear to share their faith.

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Fay, William, and Linda E. Shepherd. 




. Nashville, TN: Broadman &
Holman Publishers, 1999.

American Religious Identification Survey 2008. ³ARIS 2008 Report: Part IA ± Belonging.´
http://b27.cc.trincoll.edu/weblogs/AmericanReligionSurvey-
ARIS/reports/p1a_belong.html.

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