Evangelism in an Age of Despair: Hope beyond the Failed Promise of Happiness

by Andrew Root

Publisher:

Baker Academic

, 2025

Overview

“Evangelism” is a contested, even conflicted word. But churches are declining in numbers and resources. What if we aren’t thinking about evangelism in the right way, culturally or theologically? This book proposes a conversation that contextualizes evangelism in our late modern times and reimagines what the call to outreach means in today’s world.

Our sad times are made sadder by the realization that our all-out pursuit of happiness has made us stressed, anxious, lonely, and depressed, says leading practical theologian Andrew Root. The French thinker Michel de Montaigne taught us to focus on making ourselves happy, but Blaise Pascal pointed out that we are creatures of soul as much as self—so happiness does not satisfy. Root offers a vision for how a theology of consolation can shape a hopeful approach to evangelism. We all need consolation, others to care for us in our sadness; if we can find such a minister and lean into our sorrow, we will find the presence of Jesus Christ.

Root uses a fictional church to show rather than tell us how consolation evangelism works. For support he looks to the ministries of Gregory of Nyssa and his sister Macrina, Jean Gerson, Johann von Staupitz, and Martin Luther, who all contend that consolation is central to our transformation into the life of God.

Key Features

• Offers a vision for how a theology of consolation can shape a hopeful approach to evangelism
• Looks to the ministries of Gregory of Nyssa and his sister Macrina, Jean Gerson, Johann von Staupitz, and Martin Luther

Product Details

• Title: Evangelism in an Age of Despair: Hope beyond the Failed Promise of Happiness
• Author: Andrew Root
• Publisher: Baker Academic
• Print Publication Date: 2025
• Pages: 320
• Language: English
• Resources: 1
• Format: Digital › Logos Reader Edition
• Resource ID: LLS:VNGLSMNPRHPPNSS
• Resource Type: Monograph
• Metadata Last Updated: 2024-07-03T18:32:33Z

About Andrew Root

Andrew Root (PhD, Princeton Theological Seminary) is Carrie Olson Baalson Professor of Youth and Family Ministry at Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, and has written extensively about youth ministry. He is the author of numerous books, including Faith Formation in a Secular Age, The Pastor in a Secular Age, Bonhoeffer as Youth Worker, The Children of Divorce, Revisiting Relational Youth Ministry, and Relationships Unfiltered, and the coauthor (with Kenda Creasy Dean) of The Theological Turn in Youth Ministry.