In The Oxbridge Evangelist: Motivations, Practices, and Legacy of C.S. Lewis, Michael Gehring examines the evangelistic practices of one of the most significant lay evangelists of the twentieth century. In the 1930s, his contemporaries would never have predicted the scope of the legacy that Lewis was to leave behind him. Although millions across the world have been influenced by Lewis's evangelical thought, Lewis scholarship has not paid sufficient attention to this crucial side of this multi-faceted author. The Oxbridge Evangelist examines Lewis's loss and recovery of faith, and it shows how his experience heightened his own awareness of the loss of the Christian faith in England. Because of his ability to identify with others, Lewis engaged in the work of evangelism with uncanny skill. This work required singular courage on his part; it cost him dearly professionally and in his relationships. Gehring critically explores Lewis's motivations, practices, and legacy of evangelism. In doing so he provides penetrating insight for those interested in the theory and practice of evangelism in a culture that too readily leaves it to the crazies of the Christian tradition or relegates it to the margins of church life.

Foreword by William J. Abraham
Acknowledgements
Permissions

1. C.S. Lewis: An Unusual Evangelist
2. Lewis's Formative Years: Family, Religion, and Cultural, Socioeconomic, and Political Identities
3. From Faith to Unbelief
4. A Journey from the Loss of Faith to Finding the Faith
5. Lewis's Evangelism: Motivations and Practices
6. The Message, the Messengers, and Character
7. The Conclusion

Selected Bibliography
Index

• Full List of Contents (PDF, 44 KB)

• Foreword by William J. Abraham (PDF, 43 KB)
• Extract from Chapter 1: C.S. Lewis: An Unusual Evangelist (PDF, 157 KB)

Michael J. Gehring is Senior Pastor of Broad Street United Methodist Church in Statesville, North Carolina and Adjunct Professor of Pastoral Theology at Hood Theological Seminary.