Beginnings: Understanding How We Experience the New Birth

Are Christians supposed to be spiritual salespeople, peddling Jesus to others and pushing to seal the deal? In John 3, Jesus describes the work of the Holy Spirit in a process of spiritual rebirth. In light of this, Stephen Smallman argues that we best view ourselves as “spiritual midwives”―not giving new life, but instead being used by God to assist in the birth. To best do this, we must understand how conversion works and where our spiritual journeys begin. Following the tradition of Jonathan Edwards and Archibald Alexander, Smallman unpacks numerous conversion stories, both biblical and contemporary, showing how the Holy Spirit’s work can be traced in the lives of new believers. Smallman shows how we can learn the stories of others and tell our own stories. Then we will understand where people are coming from as we interact with them, and we will have both hope and guidance in speaking with unbelievers.