2026 Top 5 Podcasts – #5
Are fear and anxiety holding you back from sharing your faith? Does the thought of evangelism make you uneasy or leave you concerned about making others uncomfortable? The biggest barrier to evangelism, Mark Teasdale argues, is not lack of training or information—it’s fear.
Book: Socially Awkward Evangelism
WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:
- How Well Are We Sharing Jesus in a Dark World?
- Why Feeling Anxious or Awkward in Sharing Jesus with Others
- Responding to Anxiety
ABOUT THE GUEST:
Mark R. Teasdale (PhD, SMU 2010) is the President of United Theological Seminary and the former E. Stanley Jones Professor of Evangelism at Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary and an adjunct professor of evangelism at Emory University and the Methodist Theological Institute in Yangon, Myanmar. He is ordained in the United Methodist Church and served for 12 years in local churches. He is the author of several books and articles on evangelism, missiology, and Methodist studies, including Evangelism for Non-Evangelists, Participating in Abundant Life, and most recently Socially Awkward Evangelism.
RELATED LINKS:
TIMESTAMPED SHOWNOTES:
01:15 – Introducing Dr Mark Teasdale
03:30 – How Well Are We Sharing Jesus in a Dark World?
05:09 – …”WE” is inconsistent across the global church
05:42 – …recognize that the gospel is the supremely Good News
06:12 – …inconsistent formation of Christians
06:25 – …Book, Socially Awkward Evangelism, is focused on the western context
07:28 – …struggling with formation and our claiming of just how good the gospel is
07:52 – …followup question 1: evangelism outside of the western hemisphere
08:08 – ……much high priority and conviction
08:56 – ……even with freedom of religion in the west, it is socially uncomfortable
11:22 – …followup question 2: what is the best global practice?
13:02 – ……there is not a single best practice because of distinct contexts
15:59 – ……relational engagements
18:11 – …Organic Non-Western vs Planned Western Church Planting
19:03 – Why Feeling Anxious or Awkward in Sharing Jesus with Others
19:57 – …seminarians are anxious in sharing their faith publicly
20:43 – …wired to feel anxious
22:14 – …allows us to act
23:23 – …problem of anxiety
24:17 – …cancel culture
24:58 – …what is life about and what to believe
26:27 – Responding to Anxiety
29:15 – …intellectual: understand the gospel better to articulate it
30:06 – …emotional, social, physical: tools from behavioral psychology therapy
32:36 – …build a new example of what evangelism looks like
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