Ancient Future?

I’m getting ready to re-read the book “The Celtic Way of Evangelism” by Geoge C. Hunter.  In a bookworld awash with every book for every need I sometimes get caught up trying to purchase the latest and greatest for my collection.  This slim little volume was released six years ago and was recommended to me by a pastor friend.

The book chronicles the journey of Patrick (Yes, that St. Patrick we celebrate every March) and his ministry to the Barbarians of foreign lands.  There’s much more to the story than just that but I want to save that for later.  I don’t know whether I might want to blog a series on this book yet or not.

The premise behind Hunter’s work is that the ancient methods used to evangelize the people Patrick ministered to are very much relevant for today.  While the book spends a lot of time sharing historic ideals that were utilized in Patrick’s day, it winds it all up in the book’s seventh chapter with the application and approach for today’s churches.  The ideas have merit and have been praised by other church pastors I know.

When I first purchased this book, I was quite busy with several other projects so I just kind of skimmed its contents.  As the holidays approach, I plan on spending a bit more time with its ideas and concepts to see how it relates not only to today but to me and my ministry specifically.

Has anyone else read this work?  Any thoughts you could share about what you gleaned from it?  I will perhaps bring some new thoughts to the table as I begin to re-read it during this month and perhaps December depending on my schedule.