If Necessary, Use Words

The Social Gospel, Secular Silence, and the Return of Witness

For generations, Christians have treasured the saying attributed to Francis of Assisi: “Preach the Gospel at all times; if necessary, use words.” Its wisdom has shaped lives of compassion, humility, and service. Yet in a changing cultural landscape, that wisdom has often been misunderstood—and its unintended consequences quietly felt.

If Necessary, Use Words traces the journey of the Social Gospel from its faithful roots through a season of silence that contributed to secularization, declining church influence, and a thinning of Christian meaning. Drawing on Scripture, history, and decades of pastoral experience, Geoffrey Schmitt explores how good works, when left unexplained, can lose their interpretive power—and how kindness alone cannot anchor lives against suffering, guilt, or death.

This book is not a rejection of lived faith, justice, or compassion. It is a call to their completion. Schmitt shows how the Gospel was always meant to be both embodied and proclaimed—lived visibly and spoken clearly. With a tone that is pastoral rather than polemical, the book invites readers to rediscover witness that is humble, relational, and honest.

Moving from silence to renewal, If Necessary, Use Words points to a new generation recovering its voice—not through domination or argument, but through integrity, testimony, and love that dares to explain itself. It is a guide for Christians who long to serve faithfully and speak truthfully in a world hungry for meaning.