What place would a book on rhetoric, the art of persuading people, have for an evangelist? Of course, you can see the pragmatic value of being able to use the skills learnt to win someone over to your side. But do such tactics have any place in the lives of God’s followers?
Rhetoric today often gets a bad press. It is most often heard in the epithet “mere rhetoric” meaning words speech that amount to nothing more than hot air when examined closely. Jay Heinrich’s book is in many ways a modern apologetic for the lost art of rhetoric. (Or maybe hidden art would be more accurate because although the word may not be popular these days the practice of rhetoric is everywhere, from politics and advertising to the classroom and family.)
One of the main principles in the book is age-old concept of ethos, pathos and logos (character, emotion, and reasoning) as persuasive elements in any argument. I found the approach in this book useful, as it pointed out that all three are needed to win over an audience. So instead of thinking do I need to use ethos, pathos or logos to win this person/audience over, you are thinking how your ethos, pathos and logos in influencing their receptivity to your argument. It encourages a much more holistic view to communication and persuasion.
To give an example, the author includes several ‘tricks’ to persuade an audience and mentions several times that in rhetoric what works (ie what persuades) is important, as opposed to what is true. However, there is a reminder that if an audience suspects that you are not telling them the truth then your ethos will go way down in their standings and so consequently will your ability to persuade.
Another central principle is the focus of the argument, whether it is on the past, present or future. The author mentions that only arguments that focus on the future are relevant for persuasion, because they are the only arguments that can lead to meaningful action. If an argument is focused on the past, it becomes a blame game – trying to apportion who is at fault for the problem. If an argument is focused on the present it becomes tribal, a marker for where peoples alliances are. Any argument that is focused on past or present is therefore doomed to result in zero meaningful action. However, when the argument is focused on the future, it brings people’s minds to bear on what action can be taken and is therefore much more powerful in persuading people to actually do something.
One of the most useful points I found was the addition of a fourth element to ethos, pathos and logos. The fourth element is kairos, which basically means timeliness. It reminds us that a good argument needs to be given at the right time to bring about the best response.
So, is this a book that has anything to offer an evangelist? I would say yes, that the skills of rhetoric are important to apply to our evangelistic conversations so we can find the arguments that will resonate with someone in communicating the gospel. Of course, the underhand tricks that some rhetoricians use do not have a place, but then, they are often damaging to our ethos anyway and of little long term benefit. (On the other hand, it is important to be familiar with these tactics so we can identify and defuse them when we encounter them.) While we acknowledge that it is the Holy Spirit’s work in someone’s heart that is the crucial element in conversion, we must do what we can to smooth the road for someone to make that step, and smoothing that road is what rhetoric, and the persuasion skills in this book do.