Conspiracy of Kindness: A Refreshing New Approach to Sharing the Love of Jesus with Others

This is a revolutionary new approach to ministry even though it is an age-old idea.

My wife loves a good practical joke. She will drive up to a drive-through window at a fast-food place and pay for the order of the person in the car behind her and then tell the cashier that when they give the food to the person, to tell them that Jesus loves them. Then she pulls away, giggling. She got that idea from Steve Sjogren, the father of servant evangelism. And Steve has a host of creative ways to kill the world with kindness that all started with his 1993 bestselling book, "Conspiracy of Kindness." Now, Sjogren is back with an updated and revised version, warranted with the arrival of the Internet and the Information Age, all of which has tweaked our ability to serve others and show kindness. What Sjogren has taught me is that the dog is supposed to wag the tail, not the tail the dog. Churches are to serve, not be served by, their community. Have you ever noticed those "No Solicitors" signs at store entrances? They are there for a reason. Shop owners often display them in self-defense--sometimes from local churches and religious organizations that approach them all too frequently to solicit funds for this project, or that missions endeavor, or their youth group, or a new addition to their church. Every retailer has had the disheartening experience of having to say regularly say no to yet another religious group. And, regrettably, somewhere along the way, some business owners have simply lost respect for churches so that, now, when a church really wants to do something for their community, for free, for nothing but the joy of serving, people lift an eyebrow and mumble, "Yeah, right." Enter, "Conspiracy of Kindness." Sjogren's is a fresh approach to doing Christianity, which mirrors the sentiments of Mother Teresa: "Small things done with great love can change the world." He believes that exhibiting genuine kindness may be the greatest tool a Christian has in influencing their world. When we endeavor to affect the world through simple acts of kindness rather than those hard-to-learn, step-by-step, often counterproductive, make-the-pitch-and-close-the-sale confrontational approaches to "soulwinning" that have made "evangelism" a four-letter word for many people, we discover that anyone can do the E-word. Everyone can do an intentional act of kindness at any time for anyone any where: mow an overstressed neighbor's lawn, visit a hospitalized coworker, bake cookies, wash a car, be a friend, live life outside yourself. These are "low risk, high grace" approaches to sharing the faith. And they are proving to be more effective. In "Conspiracy," Sjogren offers a host of kindness strategies sprinkled with timely stories--and he has a natural gift for storytelling--of people whose lives were changed by Christians who simply showed them "God's love in a practical way." The first edition of "Conspiracy" has sold over 200,000 copies and launched a style of Christianity that is changing strategies of churches around the world. As Bert Waggoner ha

Steve Sjogren and Rob Lewin's Community of Kindness is a tremendously helpful book. One must remember that kind acts are not necessarily a presentation of the Gospel itself, but they are things that can and do open the door for presenting the Gospel. This book is packed full of ideas and encouraging words that will help pastors. The authors' down-to-earth, practical advice about pastoring is humorous and helpful. Our church has begun to implement a number of the ideas contained in this book. People who have previously been inactive in our evangelism efforts are becoming extremely involved in servant evangelism. Some will disagree with particulars in the book, but overall it's a worthwhile book and well worth the investment. You'll be glad you read this book.Paul Heier, author of Leading Out of Love

Yes it can, and Steve Sjogren shows you how in this book! Some of the ideas that he puts forth in book are so simple and so powerful that "average Joe Christian" could impact significant numbers of the unchurched in the span of a mere hour, washing cars, wrapping packages, or delivering light bulbs door-to-door. This stuff is a piece of cake!

We are making Sjogreen's book required reading for our Evangelism Team 2000. It debunks all old theories of the E-word and makes it exciting and down-to-earth with wonderful, tangible easy-to-reach goals. Kudos to the author for sharing his perceptive insights with everyone and not just his Vineyard Church. These concepts will help all denominations grow in witnessing. It probes deeper, too, than just servant evangelism. Conspiracy of Kindness speaks of becoming true spiritual lighthouses. One of the best books I've read in the past 5 years.