”Share Jesus Without Fear” by William Fay

In his book Share Jesus Without Fear, William Fay lays out an easy and attainable way for one to reach people for Christ. A former mobster, and prostitution house owner, Fay says that if “God can take somebody like me and change him, he can take anybody in your life and change him as well.”1 In an easy to understand, comprehensive way, Fay shows how to overcome your fears and witness to those who are lost. By breaking down the six most common excuses one uses not to evangelize, he shows how to overcome the roadblocks that we place on ourselves. For instance, one of the fears he addresses is the fear of rejection.

Fay points out that one must realize that this is not a contest. He says, “success is sharing your faith and living your life for Jesus Christ. It has nothing to do with bringing anyone to the Lord.”2 He goes on to say that it takes someone 7.6 times of hearing the Gospel before they give their lives to Christ. Just because you may have been the 3rd, does not mean that it didn’t make a difference. Throughout the book Fay lays out questions to ask, verses to go to, and objections that you will encounter, to lay out a way for you to share your faith with others without excuse. RESPONSE

I must admit I was one of those people that liked to give excuses. I pointed to many of the objections that Fay speaks of in the book. After reading Share Jesus Without Fear, I can honestly say that I am without excuse. Because of the easy way in which Fay makes evangelism sound, one cannot help but to get excited about the prospect of going out and fulfilling the Great Commission. Knowing Fay’s background after reading his full testimony in the back of the book, he is the epitome of the type of person that I would have feared to witness too before now. I once worked for a Christian corporation called C28 / Not of This World. You may have seen their shirts on people or even their stickers on the back of cars that simply say NOTW. The owner, Aurelio F. Barreto III, has an amazing testimony just like William Fay’s. He came from a very successful business background, as he was the creator of the Dog Igloo, the doghouse shaped like an Eskimo igloo. He was extremely successful and was a multi-millionaire with not a care in the world. He always knew though, that something was missing. It wasn’t until the principle at his kid’s elementary school shared Jesus with him that he gave his life over to Christ.

Through the unique way in which he runs C28 / NOTW, as a ministry to reach others for Christ first and foremost, thousands have come to know the Lord. What’s so amazing about this story however was not just the fact that Aurelio gave his life to Christ, but the fact that he had a best friend who was a Christian that never shared Jesus with him before. Although he knew him on a personal level for many years and knew he wasn’t truly happy, he never shared the joy that could be given him by Christ. It took a stranger to share his faith that brought Aurelio to the Lord. We must be reminded that we don’t want to be the one who didn’t take the opportunity to witness to a stranger. They may be just like William Fay or Aurelio F. Barreto III who were ready to give their lives to Christ and fill that hole in their lives, but more importantly, lets not be the Christian best friend who knew all along that they needed Jesus, and failed to share the saving grace that God freely gives.

REFLECTION
If I had one thing to critique with this book, and believe me I had to try hard, it would be that Mr. Fay almost makes it sound too easy. I think in todays society it is harder to witness to people because of the fact that the Mormons and Jehovah Witnesses have pretty much dominated that type of sharing of there beliefs. People immediately think that is whom you represent and a wall goes up automatically because someone doesn’t want to hear that type of false Gospel. I don’t know, but maybe it is the Holy Spirit somehow protecting them from false teachings. I do think that because of this type of thinking by people we need to take a slightly different approach and spend a little bit more time-sharing scripture and the effects that Christ has had on people’s lives. Also, by not trying to force something down someone’s throat goes a long way in him or her allowing you in to share God’s love. ACTION

After reading this book, I will say that my confidence is up about sharing my faith. Mr. Fay has equipped us to be able to share with others in a more confident manner. It’s also helped me to believe that I may be able to help others in the call to the Great Commission as well.

My Father and Mother-in-law are taking a class at their church called “The Call.” It is an evangelism class and after looking over the materials they are using, I have to admit it seemed a little over whelming. So much so that my Father-in-law sort of gave up on the class after the third week. Its not that he doesn’t have a heart to share the Gospel with others, but that when they gave him a book to read that would rival most of the Graduate college books we have on our shelves, it was a bit intimidating. I believe using the book and the methods that we have read here, I will be able to get my Father-in-law excited again about sharing the Gospel. By seeing how easy it can actually be and that you don’t have to be a Seminary student to understand it, I think together we may be able to reach those whom we may not have reached before.

Bibliography
Fay, William, and Linda E. Shepherd. Share Jesus Without Fear. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999.