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Q&A with Dr. Queen

Evan: Tell us about yourself. When did you start at SWBTS and what is your role there?

Dr. Queen: I am a two-time alum of Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary, where I earned an MDiv and a PhD in Applied Theology, with a specialization in evangelism. I have vocationally served in local Southern Baptist churches as a minister of youth and music, an associate pastor of evangelism and discipleship, and a pastor.

I began teaching at Southwestern in August 2010 and have been blessed to serve here for over twelve and a half years now. Serving at Southwestern has been a dream come true for me. Currently, I serve here as interim provost and vice president for academic administration, professor of evangelism, and the L. R. Scarborough Chair of Evangelism (“Chair of Fire”).

In addition to my duties at Southwestern, I am an evangelism consultant for the Southern Baptists of Texas Convention. My wife, Hope, and our two girls are members of Lane Prairie Baptist Church in Joshua, Texas, where I also serve as associate pastor of evangelism.

Evan: What led to you writing this book?

Dr. Queen: For years I have used Mark McCloskey’s “Tell it Often, Tell it Well” in my Contemporary Evangelism classes—our introduction course in personal and church evangelism at Southwestern. McCloskey’s book, in my opinion, is one of the most helpful books I have ever read on personal evangelism. However, I felt like the time had come to write my own evangelism textbook.

Historically, Southwestern Seminary evangelism professors or alumni have authored most of the evangelism textbooks Southern Baptist seminary professors have used in their introductory evangelism classes. As the ninth occupant of the world’s first academic chair of evangelism—the L. R. Scarborough Chair of Evangelism (“Chair of Fire”)—I felt an obligation to that heritage to research and write a volume consistent with Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary’s evangelistic tradition.

Dr. David Dockery, our current interim president, was extremely supportive and encouraged me to write “Recapturing Evangelism.” At the time, as my interim provost, he advocated that I be granted a sabbatical by our trustee board, which they graciously did. I am deeply grateful that he was willing to write the foreword to the book, which in and of itself is a marvelous theology of evangelism. My desire is that this book will equip students, ministers, and lay people in the crucial work of evangelism.

Evan: Why do you think churches lose their focus on evangelism?

Dr. Queen: The reasons churches lose their focus on evangelism are legion. Nevertheless, I highlight a few of the most common hindrances to churches’ consistent practice of sharing the gospel. One involves the professionalization of evangelism within our congregations. Growing numbers of church members have convinced themselves that evangelism is a job for someone else who is “better” at it than they are, or their ministerial staff who “get paid to do the church’s evangelism for them.” Another reason congregations lose their evangelistic focus is because they have a tendency to get busy doing so many noble and good activities, that they leave themselves little time to evangelize. Last, churches can lose their focus on evangelism due to investing and trusting in marketing efforts that advertise the church and what it has to offer the members of a community at the expense of personally proclaiming Christ and the salvation He offers through His death, burial, and resurrection from the dead for their sins.

Evan: What do you hope readers will get from Recapturing Evangelism?

Dr. Queen: This textbook intends to offer a biblically comprehensive, theologically applicable, personally and congregationally reproducible, and intentionally focused treatment of evangelism. In it, I have endeavored to present a thoroughly biblical philosophy and practice of both personal and corporate evangelism, in order to advance Great Commission disciple-making in the twenty-first century. I hope God will use it to train readers in evangelistic methodologies and best practices, while also acquainting them with underlying issues, theories, and ideologies that either threaten (so they can be corrected) or reinforce a biblical philosophy and practice of evangelism.

Thank you Dr. Queen! We are praying for you, your family, and SWBTS. May the Lord bless you and your ministry and may we take the Gospel to our neighbors and the nations.

To purchase a copy of Recapturing Evangelism, click here.

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Evan Knies is an elder of North Hills Church in West Monroe, LA. He is husband of Lauren and father to Maesyn. He is a graduate of Boyce College and Southern Seminary.