Winsome Persuasion – Christian Influence in a Post–Christian World

Tim Muehlhoff (PhD, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill) is a professor of communication at Biola University in La Mirada, California, where he teaches classes in family communication, interpersonal communication, persuasion, and gender. He is the author of I Beg to Differ and Marriage Forecasting, and the coauthor of The God Conversation: Using Stories and Illustrations to Explain Your Faith and Authentic Communication: Christian Speech Engaging Culture. Muehlhoff and his wife, Noreen, are frequent speakers at FamilyLife Marriage Conferences, and Tim also serves as a speaker/author with Biola's Center for Marriage and Relationships. Richard Langer (PhD, University of California, Riverside) is professor of biblical and theological studies at Talbot School of Theology and director of the Office for the Integration of Faith and Learning at Biola University. Specializing in the areas of theological integration, moral philosophy, bioethics, political philosophy, and philosophy of religion, he has also taught at Trinity International University and the University of California. An ordained minister, Langer previously served as senior associate pastor of Trinity Evangelical Free Church in Redlands, California, and as a missionary with Campus Crusade for Christ. He also speaks at seminars and conferences around the country and is a board member for Forest Home Ministries. He has served on the boards for Building a Generation, the Southwest District of the Evangelical Free Church of America, and the Internal Review for Research Protocols at Loma Linda University Medical Center. Additionally, he won Biola University's Provost Award for Excellence in Theological Integration in 2008. Langer has contributed articles to publications such as the Journal of Spiritual Formation and Soul Care, Christian Higher Education, the Journal of Psychology and Theology, Philosophia Christi, and the Journal of the Christian Institute for Disabilities. He and his wife Shari have two grown children. Quentin J. Schultze is the author of over a dozen books on the relationship between faith and communications. He serves as executive director of the Gainey Institute for Faith and Communication and as Arthur H. DeKruyter Chair in Faith and Communication at Calvin College.

Foreword by Quentin J. Schultze

Introduction



Part I: Laying a Theoretical Foundation


1. What Is a Counterpublic?

2. What Is a Christian Counterpublic

Historical Sketch 1: Saint Patrick and Irish Civilization

3. Counterpublics in the Argument Culture

4. Credibility of a Counterpublic

Historical Sketch 2: Jean Vanier and L'Arche



Part II: Engaging Others


5. Crafting Your Message

6. Delivering Your Message

Historical Sketch 3: Harriet Beecher Stowe and Uncle Tom's Cabin

7. Forming Loose Connections

Historical Sketch 4: William Wilberforce and Parliament



Part III: Pressing Questions for Christian Counterpublics


8. How Should We Respond to the Supreme Court Decision on Same-Sex Marriage? Tim Muehlhoff

9. How Should We Respond to the Supreme Court Decision on Same-Sex Marriage? Richard Langer

10. Engaging Each Other: A Guided Conversation



Conclusion

Subject Index