God Space: Where Spiritual Conversations Happen Naturally

by Group Publishing

You've felt that tug...

A friend, co-worker, family member, or someone you just met is talking—and you sense God nudging you to say something. But what do you say? What don’t you say? How can you bring God into the conversation without shutting it down?

Welcome to God Space.

Where the Holy Spirit can do amazing things through everyday conversations. Where honesty and transparency allow for discovery and deep connection. Where lives are challenged and changed.

Connect with these real-life stories of how ordinary people learned how to engage others in rich spiritual conversations that open doors instead of slamming them shut. You'll find fresh insights and practical tools for connecting with others about the things that matter most.

Genres: Christian, Nonfiction, Evangelism, Christian Living, Faith, Theology, Christianity

127 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Mike (the Paladin) · Rating 4 out of 5]

We read and discussed this (actually we're still discussing the questions at the end of the book) in our "Discipleship Class" (Basically Sunday School). The book is aimed at helping us have or find "God Space' in our daily interactions with others.

I considered going 3 stars on the book as it is aimed at a certain particular understanding of the Gospel and evangelism. Still I think it can be valuable to all Christians.

One thing many Christians are guilty of when trying "give an answer for the hope that is in them" of actually driving people away. Especially today many people have a suspicions if not outright negative impression of Christians. Therefore introducing yourself by saying something like "do you know the Lord", isn't really a way to let them know who Christ is, what He has done for us all and what it really means to be a Christian.

So, good book all in all and I'd say read it for what you can learn from it.

[Iulia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cum vorbeam recent cu un prieten "Toți suntem oameni" iar orice conversație despre preocupările omului duc in retrospectivă la o conversație despre autorul lui, Dumnezeu. O carte extrem de practică și motivatoare spre a avea discuții de calitate cu fiecare ocazie și a vedea frumusețea în preocupările și întrebările altora.
Recomand maxim!

* Traducerea de față are câteva greșeli de scriere

[Alec Holloway · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some good things about making the most evangelistic opportunities, but there were more than a few things wrong with this book. Unfortunately, poor theology of evangelism biblically. It almost made you feel guilty for sharing the gospel if “someone isn’t ready for that.” I understand what he means, but nobody in Scripture was “ready” to be evangelized to. We don’t determine that. The gospel takes a dead heart and makes it alive. This thought isn’t biblical. In fact, sharing the gospel should receive backlash(ref the whole book of Acts, the apostles’ lives, Jesus’ life, Luke 10, 1 Peter calls Jesus the rock of offense, 1 Cor 1, Paul anywhere at anytime preaching the gospel @ Derbe, Lystra). Just because someone gets backlash for sharing the gospel, does not mean they shared it incorrectly. He used out of context verses to support his ideas that were about interacting with brothers and sisters in Christ or Proverbs that were not about evangelism. Now, they affect our relationships with non-Christians. We should be patient; we should listen, but we must also share the gospel. Those are just my thoughts.

[Marissa O’Blenis · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m extremely glad the book club I’m in chose to read this. One of the hardest things for me about sharing my faith is feeling like I can do it in a way that is genuine and and encouraging to others. Pollock’s account of how he has created “God space” gave me a new perspective on the importance of day to day conversations and the power that can be found by asking questions and serving others. I would highly recommend this book to anyone who feels like they are stuck when it comes to sharing about their relationship with God.

[Lesa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was helpful and relevant despite being older. Thanks for the great tips!

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very practical book for those of us who struggle with finding when and how to talk about God in our day to day lives. Glad I came across it.

[Kristina Gvėzdė · Rating 5 out of 5]

Knyga įkvėpė ir padrąsino jautriau įsiklausyti į Šventosios Dvasios vedimą taip atrandant netikėtas erdves bei momentus dvasiniams pokalbiams ne tik su tais žmonėmis, su kuriais tie pokalbiai jau natūraliai vyksta.
Daugiau vertės gavau kartu atliekant pateiktas užduotis, kuriom nusiteikti reikėjo daug labiau nei skaitymui 🙂

[Courtney Mosier Warren · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a good book to give to people who don't have a lot of practice with sharing their faith or are especially "overzealous" at times. I think it would be a good tool for small groups or a leadership team. I think this should be read before going on any international missions trip.
That being said, I thought the use of personal stories was a bit distracting. I prefer stories to have more context and sometimes they made the points feel disjointed.

[Nathan · Rating 2 out of 5]

wanted to dislike this book, but actually wasn’t too bad if you strip the principles of having good conversations/asking good questions from his other presuppositions about christianity

appreciated:
- emphasis on the need for both good intentions and questions when engaging in conversations with others (less “i need to accomplish xyz” more “i want to hear and understand this person”)
- desire to have people understand and know the person before sharing Christ with them
- list of “wondering” questions are useful especially if you don’t talk to people well or if you don’t ask good questions
- loved each of the chapter titles, but would rewrite most of the content within each chapter to be more scriptural or focused on sharing what Gods Word says vs simply seeking “spiritual”conversations: noticing (we need to notice and pay attention to who we’re talking to), serving (we need to be willing to do things with people in order to talk with them), listening (we need to hear what people are actually saying instead of just talking AT them), wondering (asking good questions out loud)



concerns:
- a lot of my difficulty with the book probably stem from the overall perspective of the book which is focused on “seekers” which either severely limits the people you can use this with or means you need to have a view that all/most are seekers (see next two concerns)
- the premise that what is holding people back from becoming believers is someone who is willing and able to ask them how they feel (“low-risk, high-grace places for people to pursue their need for spiritual conversations”)
- the premise that all people are actually wanting and waiting to have spiritual conversations but just haven’t been asked in the right way
- “the early church in the book of Acts existed primarily for those who were not already Christ-followers”
- one of the consequences of the two premises above is that christians become entirely to blame for why more people aren’t becoming christians. not ENTIRELY wrong, but lacks a fuller, more nuanced discussion of sin and any other factors impacting people’s willingness to believe

[L · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book and Randy Newman’s Questioning Evangelism at the same time. That doesn’t result in the best book reviews, but reading both simultaneously definitely encouraged my heart. Here are some of my takeaways:

-The best evangelism usually involves a lot of listening and understanding as an entry into sharing the gospel.

-Because I want to share the gospel more, I should seek to have more spiritual conversations. Rather than forcing my way into a gospel presentation, I need to be opening the doors to spiritual conversations and being prepared to transition to gospel conversations by listening, asking questions, and asking for permission to go to the gospel.

-Since sharing the gospel involves a lot of listening, my focused language speaking practice really should happen outside of my evangelism-focused time. Sharing the gospel will help my language ability grow, but that’s not the best time to focus on bettering my speaking ability.

Over the course of this last year, I’ve enjoyed getting to witness, hear about, and have conversations that quickly went from hello to sharing the full good news and have been overjoyed by how people have responded positively along with how amazing it feels to share the greatest news ever. At the same time, I’ve also seen some conversations go nowhere because everyone involved could tell there was an agenda or because no one was willing to go through the open door in the conversation to the gospel. These two books helped remind me that when seeking to share the gospel I shouldn’t be overly focused on my obedience to share (although that shouldn’t be left out!), but that sharing the gospel also means paying attention to where my conversation partner is on their spiritual journey and listening for the direction of the Spirit.

And now the real test comes: will having read these books excuse me to share the gospel less and settle for having vaguely spiritual conversations with lost people or will having read these books encourage me toward sharing the gospel more than before?

[Mady Paes Leme · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a very practical book that held a lot of good tips for its small size! The author’s experience really helped to make it feel very applicable. I did notice the age of this book in many ways. First, the struggles that Christians feel towards evangelism don’t tend to be the same they were. He mentioned a lot about not being too argumentative or formulaic. I think the newer culture has created a lot of evangelists that are too far on the opposite with a great fear of offending. Secondly, a lot of the questions he gave assume at least a small understanding of the Christian story and/or God. This is definitely not the predominant experience anymore. It would be really helpful to have a more updated version that just tweaked the language and examples used to reflect the vast changes in the cultural climate in the past few decades.

[Paul Keefer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book on understanding how to break down barriers with and converse with non-Christians in a helpful, positive way. It differs from many evangelism books in that it focuses more on the approach, not as much specific step by step points. Pollock shares that having a specific agenda and memorized talking points is not helpful in having meaningful spiritual conversations. Whether you agree with him on all of it or not, I think it's worth a read!

[Diana Jomante · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book! Ir help me to understand some really important things:

- do not be too annoying christian and evangelist! It is important not only you but other people who are not saved yet!

- accept everyone unconditionally! Never forget that Jesus did to you this even when you were/are sinful.

- if you want tell people about Jesus, do it with the biggest love you have and show it to other.

- listen, ask, listen, ask, listen, think, talk.

[Emma Wingerd · Rating 4 out of 5]

This came recommended from a pastor who is an excellent listener and “wonderer,” so some of the content felt very familiar. It’s a pretty light read, but has some helpful content on the heart of listening and quasi-counseling. Added bonus (IMO):
Early 2000’s technology references that made me chuckle.

[Ann · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was torn about this book. Some parts were very good, particularly about not forcing people and listening and really caring. Other parts seemed forced and unnatural. I can't imagine people responding positively to the majority of the "wonder" questions he proposed. I do know I need to do better about having God-conversations flow more naturally. Praying beforehand seems the most important lesson for me.

[Chesca · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to this throughout one day and loved the heart of love to Jesus and people. I hate books on this topic that make people projects to accomplish—this is not that. I look forward to rereading it again at a more leisurely pace.

[Morgan Walker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Recommended to me! Easy to read and practical to apply, but it’s definitely a bit dated.

[Trish Sanner · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wonderfully challenging and life changing

[Susan Barnes · Rating 4 out of 5]

God Space : where spiritual conversations happen naturally, is a practical book, with lots of ideas and thoughts about how to have spiritual conversations with people who aren’t Christians. Doug Pollock emphasises the importance of noticing, serving, listening and wondering. These four simple guidelines can lead to significant conversations and Pollock explains what this looks like through many illustrations, mostly from his own life. Pollock recommends we only share our God stories or Bible verses after asking for permission.

I appreciated the way Pollock pointed out that he has been doing this as part of his ministry for about 40 years so these practices come easy to him, yet he happily acknowledges the mistakes he has made along the way. I also appreciated his explanation that our goal isn’t necessarily to convert someone through one conversation but rather to stimulate their thinking and question their current assumptions. Conversion generally happens over some time and we might be one small step in someone’s journey.

Pollock includes some quotes from Bill Hybels and Ravi Zacharias which was unfortunate, but unforeseeable in 2009 when the book was published.

I was a bit shocked by his pre-Christian attitude towards women when I read his testimony at the end of the book. I was also disappointed he didn’t describe any of the spiritual conversations that moved him towards God. Nevertheless, his story recognises how God can bring significant change to a person’s life.

God Space is an easy-to-read, useful book that moves us towards sharing our faith in small manageable steps.

Overall, a helpful read.

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Wanna share your faith with others? Read this.

If you're wondering how to respect others and share your faith, read this book. Doug explains active listening and respectfulness simply. If you're tired of feeling like an inadequate believer of Jesus when it comes to sharing Jesus, truly read this.

[John · Rating 4 out of 5]

Apparently, I am not the only evangelical Christian who isn't very evangelical and feels bad about that. So many churches have an evangelism class in their curriculum. A number of books about evangelism are written. "God Space" is one of them, and it's pretty good.
A key verse for Doug Pollock is the portion of Ecclesiastes 3:11 that states, "He has placed eternity in their hearts." If that's so, Pollock argues, than every one of us has a yearning for God in our hearts, however to the contrary appearances may be. The key is to creating that "God Space" where the other person feels safe to say what s/he thinks and to ask real questions. There's no easy formula for that and no tract to automatically stick in front of the other person's nose. Instead, it requires a lot of listening -- real listening, not pretending to listen while thinking about what you want to say. It requires a lot of noticing. It requires a lot of wondering. ("I wonder what led you to that conclusion ... ")
While reading this book, I sometimes thought: I don't want to read Doug Pollock, I want to BE Doug Pollock. I would like to think that I, too, could wander into a bar the night before a speaking engagement and soon have the bartender choosing to turn down the music and people sitting around the pool table sincerely engaging in conversation about what turns them off about the church. But I have my doubts.
"God Space" would be a good book for a small group to go through together. Pollock hands out a lot of assignments, and the accountability of a group might actually result in some of those assignments being carried out.

[Jenni · Rating 4 out of 5]

God Space is an excellent book for those, like me, who grew up in an environment of the Evangelism Explosion era, and never felt quite right about trying to "sell" Jesus that way. God can always use these methods too, but it always made me feel an enormous amount of pressure as an introvert who didn't feel comfortable going up to someone and saying "If you died today, do you know where you would be?" It just felt so in your face to me. And increasingly, in this current culture we are in, that kind of approach is unwelcome and a real turn-off to some.

I was comforted and yet challenged by reading this book. It is grace-filled and compassionate. But it doesn't shy away from the Great Commission either. It just gives you a more intuitive way to share God's love AND His gospel with those you come into contact with every day. Getting people to recognize their spiritual hunger, think about Jesus and their eternity, but not feeling like they have been manipulated into it. Leading with love and kindness as you serve, listen, and wonder into their spiritual need. This way is not a formula, but more of a mind-set change. I still feel nervous about sharing the Gospel with others, but not nearly as much as I used to. This book has reminded me that it's all up to God through His holy spirit, not me and how well I do or don't "deliver the message."

[Ashley Klock · Rating 3 out of 5]

Was a quick read and very easy to digest. Pollock is certainly a gifted evangelist with helpful action sparking ideas. It is encouraging to have wind blown into our sails as Christians every now and again for areas such as evangelism and this book has served as inspiration for me as I go about my day to day.

All that to say I would not hang my hat on this book as an end all be all for Spiritual conversations, especially for those whom are having conversations cross culturally. The author knows a lot in the area of evangelism and it’s good he has emphasis there, however, this book is lacking directives of follow up and encouragement once those spiritual conversations turn into life transformations. I can’t fault the book for this, he put the focus on one area but to me it was a shortcoming to not note at the very least how to help point a new believer in the right direction to nourishment and growth from the beginning.

[Oliver Pierce · Rating 4 out of 5]

Intensely practical. Filled with great stories that make it seem much more realistic and natural to share the gospel with others. Most simple yet profound takeaway: when initiating spiritual conversations with people ask permission before bringing up a bible passage or asking deep questions.
Also there are some great rephrasings of stereotypical evangelical language in more biblical terms:
“Looking back now, I realize that I did not give my life to God that night—I had received a whole new life from him.”

[Timothy Koch · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found the book “pandering” and overly obsessed with “natural” opportunities for sharing the gospel. Anything this book teaches could have been learned by reading a book about sales.

Don’t be a jerk. Don’t be arrogant. Listen carefully.
It was fine advice, but not for me.

I can honestly say that I don’t think I LEARNED a single thing reading this book.

It affirmed some things I already knew to be true, and I disagreed with him about many others (this was often due to our differing faith backgrounds).

[Logan Nathaniel Keseg · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the points Doug brought up on how we can naturally create "God space," without shoving the Gospel down pre Christians throats. It opened my eyes to how often we are stuck in our own heads, passing by others and not giving a second thought about them or how God sees them as his sons and daughters.

Highly recommend this to anyone like myself who struggles with sharing the Word with friends, family, or strangers.

[Tyler · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible. Im looking forward to applying what I learned from this book to future spiritual conversations. This had so much to say about the balance between listening and talking, about meaningful relationships and about creating God space in a natural, unstained way. It will take some practice for me to become confident in the evangelism area but this book was a lovely stepping stone and so, so helpful, especially as a college student.

[Damaris · Rating 5 out of 5]

O carte foarte practică şi frumos scrisă. M-a pus mult pe gânduri cu privire la modul în care-mi împărtășesc creștinismul. Cred că este o carte perfectă pentru un studiu alături de un grup. Dar chiar și pe cont propriu este plină de resurse dacă și urmărești recomandările date de autor.


Din păcate, ediția în română este plină de greșeli, însă sper ca asta să nu fie un impediment :) pentru că este cu adevărat o carte bogată în cunoștințe.

[Shannon · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciated that it was short and to the point. Driven by years of experience and a strong passion for sharing the good news of Jesus with others while keeping in mind that it’s not our job to force gospel conversations. It’s our job to care about people, really listen to them, and follow the Spirit’s lead in sharing more. This is a book about loving people well, not just checking the “I shared it” box. Also appreciated the practicals that were included with each chapter.

[Agent_bugs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very good book that honestly just explains simple techniques like taking the time to listen to the person you're talking to instead of dominating the conversation, but sometimes simple things pass you by in the moment so this is a great reminder. Quite America centric though, but still a great resource