I finished up Dever’s The Gospel and Personal Evangelism last night. (Review coming soon… Probably. ;-)) I’m following it up with Thomas Boston’s The Art of Manfishing, a short book from a Scottish Puritan on evangelism, from around 1700. Here’s a crumb (emphasis added):

O my soul, then see that gifts will not do the business. A man may preach as an angel, and yet be useless. If Christ withdraw his presence, all will be to no purpose. If the Master of the house be away, the household will loath their food though it be dropping down about their tent doors.

Why shouldst thou then, on the one hand, as sometimes thou art, be lifted up when thou preachest a good and solid discourse, wherein gifts do appear, and thou gettest the applause of men? Why, thou mayst do all this, and yet be no fisher of men. The fish may see the bait, and play about it as pleasant, but this is not enough to catch them.