Do you find sharing your faith awkward?
Encouragement to be a good news person
Real-life stories of sharing faith
Seeing the extraordinary in the ordinary
Using everyday objects to convey hope and truth
‘Honest, vulnerable, engaging. Loved it!’
Rev Dr Jill Duff, Bishop of Lancaster
So often we want to share Jesus with our friends and family – but just don’t know how. It feels awkward and embarrassing, and we don’t know where to start. Then stories like the recent arrest of a Christian street preacher in London challenge us as to whether sharing the Good News might even cause offence – how can we avoid saying the wrong thing?
Evangelist and author Glyn Jones believes these problems arise when our confidence lies in our resources and not in the God who loves both us and the people we want to tell about Him. Taking the pressure off us and putting our focus firmly on Jesus, The Peg and the Pumice Stone is a book to encourage and inspire everyone who wants others to experience the goodness of God. It’s especially for those of us who feel a bit clueless as to where to start with sharing the Good News – it’s for those who have tried and failed, for those who have given up or have decided it’s just too awkward or scary to try.
Written by everyday evangelist and lecturer Glyn Jones, this is a collection of real-life, short stories which consider some simple nuggets on what it means to be a person of good news amidst the busyness, humdrum existence, tragedy and sometimes comedic nature of all our lives. It’s an easy book for ordinary people who would dearly love their friends, families and colleagues to know what Jesus is really like but struggle to put that across in simple ways. It’s a book to encourage and inspire ordinary people to know that they do not need to be Christian superstars to be bringers of profoundly good news in their everyday lives. Don’t expect a formula for evangelism but do expect a dose of common sense and some punchy challenges.
‘Jesus had an uncanny ability to use the everyday things that surrounded Him,’ says Glyn. ‘He took some mud from the ground and the blind man regained his sight, some loaves and fish and hungry thousands ate plentifully, some ordinary fishermen and the Church was born. As my wife prays, let us see the extraordinary in the ordinary. It may be unorthodox, but it has a precedent.’
Glyn adds, ‘We can practise the principle of reliance and dependence on God. I’m going to call this the “Bread and Fish” principle of evangelism: look in your pocket, give thanks and bless whatever you find, be willing to ask God to use it – and expect the unexpected. In the fast-paced, confused and crazy world in which we all live, good news in the lives of everyday people will be the thing that makes the world stop and think again.’
What reviewers say:
‘I first encountered Glyn by the fruits of his work. I kept coming across evangelists who were alight with Jesus and comfortable in their own skin. The common thread? Glyn Jones and The Light Project. This book is fresh bread. Engaging story telling by a man who “does what Jesus says”, who prays and sees the extraordinary in ordinary situations, who lives his faith, not just explains it. Honest, vulnerable, engaging. Loved it!’
Rev Dr Jill Duff, Bishop of Lancaster
‘This is a wonderful book and I couldn’t wait for the next story, as each one has a delight and beauty all its own. Glyn is real and funny, and yet all these encounters come from a deep, deep trust in the God who is out there and who loves us. This is an infectious book and I am hoping to catch what Glyn has got, and I hope you do too.’
Keith Sinclair, Bishop of Birkenhead
‘Glyn uses his wide experience of doing evangelism to engage us with a variety of stories. They are worth considering and then informing our activities.’
Revd Canon Dave Male, Head of Evangelism and Discipleship, Archbishop’s Council, Church of England
The Peg and the Pumice Stone by Glyn Jones (ISBN: 9781912726004) is published by Instant Apostle and is available on 21st March 2019 from Christian bookshops, bookstores and online retailers. Non-fiction, 112pp, £7.99.