Bibliographical Entry
Thompson Jr., W. Oscar. Concentric Circles of Concern: Seven Stages for Making Disciples. Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999.
Author Information
W. Oscar Thompson pastored in various churches for 20 years becoming a faculty member at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary in Forth Worth, Texas. He specialized in the study of evangelism. During this time he was the president of the Oscar Thompson Evangelistic Association, served as pastoral consultant for the Cancer Counseling and Research Foundation, and also on the board of the Trinity Valley Hospice Association, Inc. Dr. Thompson died in 1980 after battling cancer for several years. This book was started previous to his death, but it was published posthumously after being compiled by his wife Carolyn.[1] Each year, Southwestern Baptisit Theological Seminary awards the W. Oscar Thompson Jr. Memorial Award in Evangelism to an outstanding student in the School of Theology.[2]
Claude V. King is a discipleship specialist for Lifeway Christian Resources and has helped write several other books, including Experiencing God.[3] He has previously been a consultant with the Office of Prayer and Spiritual Awakening and has authored numerous learning programs.[4]
Content Summary
In Concentric Circles of Concern, W. Oscar Thompson lays out an evangelism plan that focuses on building relationships first, then sharing the gospel with someone, rather than simply sharing with complete strangers. In his plan there are seven levels of relationships imagined to be concentric circles beginning with the reader in the middle. As one moves out through the circles, the relationships become more and more distant until the last circle is Person X, someone who is a complete stranger.
Thompson compares the church to a divine hospital, at which many people come to receive help. Each believer that is in the church should strive to help others, to “mature and join the hospital staff and start meeting other people’s needs” or else “we become a liability, and the flow is always going inward”.[5] The result of this lack of maturity results in a stagnant church which damages the body of Christ.
According to Dr. Thompson, the most important word in the English language is relationship.[6] This is because he believes that relationship is the pathway to love, that without relationship there is no one to love. All the relationships in life make a person into what they are, and right relationships give one the best that life can offer.[7]
Thompson calls believers to be ambassadors for Christ, living a lifestyle that makes Him apparent to all around. In everything that a believer says or does, Christ should be represented, whether that is in business, in school, buying groceries, whatever and wherever, Christians should always act as ambassadors. He also says that the ministry of the believer begins today, not at some point in the future after a degree is completed or the children are older, but today. He says that “your ministry is not out there somewhere in the future; it is now!”.[8]
The seven circles of concern that Thompson establishes are Self (Circle 1), Family (Circle 2), Relatives (Circle 3), Friends (Circle 4), Neighbors and Associates (Circle 5), Acquaintances (Circle 6), and Person X (Circle 7). Person X is the stranger that a Christian has no prior relationship with. Each of these relationships is detailed in later chapters of the book.[9]
Claude King revised the original book and added to Thompson’s idea, defining seven stages for making disciples. These seven stages include: Get Right – get right with God, self, and others; Survey – survey your relationships; Pray – work with God through prayer; Build Bridges – build relationship bridges to people; Show Love – show God’s love by meeting needs; Make Disciples – make disciples and help them grow; and Begin Again- help new Christians make disciples.
Each chapter of the book details the various circles and their subsequent relationships with the stages of discipleship. The emphasis is put on relationships with the people in those circles and cultivating those relationships in order to share the gospel. The stages are used to create a cyclical process that helps to make disciples through a gradual progression of relationship development.
The second stage is creating a survey. The surveys are intended to help structure the evangelism effort and create opportunities for witnessing. To some this may seem like an unnecessary step, but Thompson replies that “(n)othing ever becomes dynamic until it becomes specific.”[10] He argues that by creating the survey lists, people will come to mind that may not have been thought of without it. The people that are on an individual’s survey list may not be on anyone else’s survey list.
Evaluation
This book is excellently written. Thompson’s method for sharing the gospel is one that can be used by small groups, youth, or even full congregations. When used as part of an overall evangelism plan, it can produce a great number of people that a congregation can witness to, all of which are acquainted in some way with that congregation. According to Dr. Chuck Vance, a church that he consulted with on this program came up with a list of over 900 prospective converts through the survey lists that were somehow familiar with the congregation.[11]
In order to learn to apply the principles spoken about in this book, the authors have included two sections at the end of each chapter. The first one helps readers to personalize the information that is given in that chapter, giving instructions on how to “understand and apply the truths of this chapter to your own life”.[12] The second additional section is called Building Up the Body and is written to empower small groups in discussion and application of the chapter’s information.[13] These sections are excellent both for individuals and groups because it allows them to not simply read a book about evangelism, but they can put it into practice immediately.
Concentic Circles of Concern is an excellent evangelism reference and tool that can provide the church with a comprehensive, yet simple way to reach a large number of people that the church is already familiar with. Thompson and King have created a system by which the lost can not only be reached, but also integrated into the church so that they become disciples and not merely converts. This is something that is lacking in other evangelism efforts.
[1] W. Oscar Thompson, Jr., rev. by Claude V. King. Concentric Circles of Concern: Seven Stages for Making Disciples. (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999). Back cover.
[2] Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. “Print Catalog”. http://www.swbts.edu/catalog/printcatalog.cfm (accessed 17 July 2010).
[3] Lifeway Christian Resources. “About – Growing Disciples”. http://blogs.lifeway.com/blog/growing-disciples/about.html. (accessed 17 July 2010).
[4] Thompson. Back cover.
[5] Ibid., 11.
[6] Ibid., 8.
[7] Ibid., 9.
[8] Ibid., 28.
[9] Ibid., 20.
[10] Ibid., 98.
[11] Dr. Chuck Vance. Interview by author. 17 July 2010. Written notes. Dr. Vance was a student of Thompson’s at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary.
[12] Thompson, 54.
[13] Ibid., 103.
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