Gregory Koukl's Blog, page 132

Links Mentioned on the Show

The following are links that were either mentioned on this week's show or inspired by it, as posted live on the @STRtweets Twitter feed:

Summit Ministries – Greg recommends Summit for your students


Evil and the Cross by Amy Hall


The Problem of Evil by John MacArthur


Pain Now, the Land of Happy Later by Amy Hall


Never Read a Bible Verse by Greg Koukl


How to Read the Bible for All Its Worth by Gordon D. Fee and Douglas Stuart


Playing with Fire: How the Bible Ignites Change in Your Soul by Walt Russell


Introduction to Biblical Interpretation by William W. Klein, Craig L. Blomberg, and Robert I. Hubbard Jr.


Decision Making and the Will of God by Greg Koukl


Does God Whisper? Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 by Greg Koukl

Listen to today's show or download any archived show for free. (Find links from past shows here.)

To follow the Twitter conversation during the live show (Tuesdays 4:00–7:00 p.m. PT), use the hashtag #STRtalk.

A Christian Case Making Strategy for Youth Ministry

I have two grown children and two who are still in high school. I was blessed to be involved in youth ministry during much of their childhood and I pray my efforts to prepare young Christians has had an impact on them (it’s often more difficult to reach your own children than it is to reach strangers). When people ask me about the challenges facing young people in the Church, I do my best to describe both the problem and a possible solution. Here’s what I typically say: “Young Christians are leaving the Church because they no longer believe Christianity is true. For this reason, Christian Case Makers need to make students their priority as we make the decision to stop teaching and start training. This will require youth ministers to embrace a new attitude as they design ‘accessible’ training that challenges young Christians ‘holistically’ and makes the case specifically for students.” I’ve been writing about this lately on my blog, so I thought I would take the opportunity to better explain my response (with links to my blog posts):

“Young Christians Are Leaving the Church”
We need to stop deceiving ourselves. Young people are leaving Christianity and when questioned, they typically say they no longer believe Christianity is factually true. They’ve accepted the teaching of their secular professors over the teaching of their pastors and parents.

“Because They No Longer Believe Christianity is True”
University life is taking its toll on young Christians. From the moral and behavioral temptations to the overt attacks on Christianity, students are often persuaded by self-refuting secular notions related to truth, tolerance and the primacy of scientific naturalism.

“For This Reason, Christian Case Makers Need to Make Students Their Priority”
Since young people are the one group most likely to leave Christianity, Christian Case Makers need to make this group their primary emphasis. It’s time to refocus our attention on young people.

“As We Make the Decision to Stop Teaching and Start Training”
“Training” is “teaching in preparation for a battle.” Youth ministries need to understand the importance of taking young people out into the world to engage the issues head on. When we regularly schedule encounters of this nature, our teaching will become training.

“This Will Require Youth Ministers to Embrace a New Attitude”
Passion and “teach-ability” are requirements for leaders who want to adequately prepare their students. Most of us who are working in youth ministry are probably not formally trained in “apologetics.” We need to get passionate and start learning as much as we can so we can.

“As They Design ‘Accessible’ Training”
We’ve got to take difficult concepts and translate them effectively so they can be understood and remembered. As youth leaders, we’ve got to be able to “throw the ball so our students can catch it.”

“That Challenges Young Christians ‘Holistically’”
Student ministries sometimes forget they were created for students. These young people are here to learn. We need to embrace a holistic approach that includes training in Church history, “apologetics” and theology.

“And Makes the Case Specifically for Students”
Christian Case Making, when it’s designed for young people, is robust, interactive, relevant, personal and visual. It turns out this approach is also highly effective for older believers.

It’s time to “stop the bleeding.” If we are intentional about our approach to youth ministry, we can train young Christians and dramatically change the fabric of the Church in the future. It’s much easier to make the changes and do the training now than it will be to reverse the damage later.

Does No Eternal Life Equal Greater Accountability Now? (Video)

Atheists claim that no eternal life and forgiveness actually leads to more accountability here on earth. How do you respond?

Truth, Conviction, and Jesus Are Relevant

Larry Taunton has an article
in The Atlantic describing what his
organization found when they asked college students who were actively involved
in campus atheist groups the question, “What led you to become an atheist?” He
told a particularly telling story about why an atheist named Phil left his
church:

[Phil’s youth leader’s] Bible
studies were particularly meaningful to him. He admired the fact that Jim
didn't dodge the tough chapters or the tough questions: "He didn't always
have satisfying answers or answers at all, but he didn't run away from the
questions either. The way he taught the Bible made me feel smart."

Listening to his story I had to
remind myself that Phil was an atheist, not a seminary student recalling those
who had inspired him to enter the pastorate. As the narrative developed,
however, it became clear where things came apart for Phil. During his junior
year of high school, the church, in an effort to attract more young people,
wanted Jim to teach less and play more. Difference of opinion over this new
strategy led to Jim's dismissal. He was replaced by Savannah, an attractive
twenty-something who, according to Phil, "didn't know a thing about the
Bible." The church got what it wanted: the youth group grew. But it lost
Phil.

An hour deeper into our
conversation I asked, "When did you begin to think of yourself as an
atheist?"

He thought for a moment. "I
would say by the end of my junior year."

I checked my notes. "Wasn't that
about the time that your church fired Jim?"

He seemed surprised by the
connection. "Yeah, I guess it was."

A few of the themes that emerged from the atheists through
this study:

They had attended church
The mission and message of their churches was
vague
They felt their churches offered superficial
answers to life’s difficult questions
They expressed their respect for those ministers
who took the Bible seriously

Taunton notes:

These students heard plenty of
messages encouraging "social justice," community involvement, and
"being good," but they seldom saw the relationship between that
message, Jesus Christ, and the Bible. Listen to Stephanie, a student at Northwestern:
"The connection between Jesus and a person's life was not clear”….

[T]hey often concluded that church
services were largely shallow, harmless, and ultimately irrelevant.

I’m sorry to say that my experience has taught me these
atheists are not referring merely to liberal churches. I’ve visited quite a
number of churches, and I’d say that at 90% of those, I’ve heard nothing but
moralism.

Churches, often for good reasons, want to increase their
membership. So to get people’s attention, they operate under the assumption
that they must be relevant. They look around and say that self-improvement is
relevant. Practical is relevant. Fun is relevant. Being just like the culture
around us is relevant.

All this relevancy is making us irrelevant by removing every true and glorious thing from
Christianity that makes us unique. Where is Jesus? Where is the Gospel? Where
is the context for the actual Bible passage being cited? Where is our
connection to history and the great Christian thinkers? Where is the theology?
Where is the centrality of God in every message? Where are the answers that
every human being cries out for? We would trade these weighty things for a
boring sermon we could have heard on Oprah?

Relevance is not conformity. What’s relevant to human beings made in the image of God is the historical
reality of Jesus and His payment on the cross for our sins, given freely out of
“the great love with which He loved us,“ in order to remove our objective guilt
and reconcile us to God, upholding both God’s perfect, good justice and His
beautiful, awe-inspiring grace. What’s relevant is hearing this, learning about
this, and responding to this in worship to God and love shown to our neighbor.

When we avoid saying these things as a strategy for drawing
people, we betray both our lack of conviction and our lack of love for these
truths. Is the story of God and His work in the world the treasure hidden in
the field for which we happily sacrifice all else because we value it above all
else, or isn’t it? If you act as if it is not, then don’t be surprised when
people like these atheists see right through you and walk away.

Read the full article.

[HT: Sarah Pulliam
Bailey]

Challenge Response: So Heavenly Minded, They're No Earthly Good

Here is my brief answer to this week's challenge: 

 

To Reach Young People, We Need to “Become Like Children”

My grandparents were young at heart. They were our role models growing up; the one example Susie and I had of an intact, godly married couple. But more than that, they “connected” with us many years before we would become married adults ourselves. Back when we were dating as teenagers, we would drive out to my grandparent’s home to spend a week with them, sitting around the dining room table talking over a meal or a playing a game of Rummikub.  They were 45 years older, but you wouldn’t have known that if you were eavesdropping on our conversations. They were our grandparents, our mentors and our closest friends. Years later, now that both of them have gone home to be with God, Susie and I think about how blessed we were to have had Warner and Evelyn in our lives, even as we ponder what it means to be “young at heart." We want to be like my grandparents so we can mentor our own grandchildren and reach the most critical demographic in the church: young Christians.

Jesus said an attitude of youthfulness was more than an option; it was a necessity for those who wanted to enter the kingdom of heaven:

At that time the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?” And calling to him a child, he put him in the midst of them and said, “Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.” (Matthew 18:1-4)

What did Jesus mean here when He said we must “become like children” in order to enter the kingdom of heaven? It clearly had something to do with submission; Jesus immediately described the importance of humbling oneself in the very next line. As I examine this passage, I can’t help but think of my grandparents and their ability to connect with people more than four decades their junior. They had, in many ways, “become like children”; they possessed a humble nature that I’ve struggled to understand and describe over the years. I think I’ve isolated two features of this childlike humility that might be helpful for those of us who want to “become like children” so we too can mentor and guide the young Christians in our lives:

People Who Are “Young At Heart” Are Passionate
If there’s one feature of young people that seems to separate them most from their older counterparts, it’s passion. I noticed this immediately when I transitioned from the role of Youth Pastor to Lead Pastor. You want to lead a two day missions trip to Skid Row to evangelize the homeless? You’re youth group will get fired up and turn out in droves. Adult groups? Not so much. Young people are excited; they’re up for almost any challenge. They’re passionate and fearless. Adults are often more measured, tentative and uninterested. Jesus knew that people who are uninterested and dispassionate about the kingdom of heaven won’t even care enough to listen to the plan of Salvation. You have to be passionately interested in God before you’re going to be willing to search for Him.

People Who Are “Young At Heart” Are Teachable
Young people are also ready to learn. They’re surrounded by older folks who demonstrate a higher level of proficiency in nearly every aspect of life. They want to know what we know and they are eager to surpass us. They are humble enough to know there’s a bunch of stuff out there they still need to master and they are willing to tackle new challenges. Older folks sometimes settle into a rhythm as we learn just enough to effectively work and sustain our lives. We fall into a comfortable pattern and start to think we know everything we need to know. We seldom push ourselves into unfamiliar territory. After several years, we’ve forgotten many of the disciplines we had as young, eager students. We become more settled and stubborn over time; we’re less and less teachable.

Now that I’m over 50, youthfulness has become ever more important to me (I’m not ashamed to confess this). My body reminds me that I’m aging and there’s not much I can do to reverse that physical reality. But I can do something about my attitude. As an old guy with white hair, I still want to reach and prepare young Christians. This is the one group all of us, as Christian Case Makers, ought to be targeting. But I know I can’t reach them on the basis of my physical appearance, my taste in music or my skills on a surfboard. I’m going to have to be “young at heart” and “become like a child." I need to be passionate and teachable. When students see my passion and humility as a learner, they are far more likely to be passionate learners themselves. I may not dress like them, talk like them, or listen to their music, but I am passionate about them and I want to learn with them. My grandparents modeled this for me, and I want to model this forward to the young people I train.

Links Mentioned on the Show

The following are links that were either mentioned on this week's show or inspired by it, as posted live on the @STRtweets Twitter feed:

Confusing Similarity with Evolutionary History by Ann Gauger


Bothersome Bats and Other Pests Disturb the "Tree of Life" by Casey Luskin


Miracles: The Credibility of the New Testament Accounts by Craig Keener


Did God Condone Slavery? by Amy Hall


Does the Bible Endorse Slavery? by Melinda Penner


Does the Bible Condone Slavery? by Melinda Penner


Is God a Moral Monster? by Paul Copan


The Canaanites: Genocide or Judgment? by Greg Koukl


Slavery in the Old Testament? by Peter J. Williams


20th Anniversary Conference on-demand video


Polyamorists hope to gain same leal recognition as other Canadian couples by Vivian Luk


Striving for Eternity Ministries


by Greg Koukl

Listen to today's show or download any archived show for free. (Find links from past shows here.)

To follow the Twitter conversation during the live show (Tuesdays 4:00–7:00 p.m. PT), use the hashtag #STRtalk.

Jurors Are Asked to Do More Than Hear the Case; They’re Asked to Make a Decision

I’ve never been fond of the term, “Christian Apologist.” For several years now, I’ve tried to find a clearer expression. I typically refer to myself as a “Christian Case Maker” when trying to explain my work in Cold-Case Christianity and my role as a at Stand to Reason. I think this title better captures the nature of my desire as a Christian communicator. Most people understand what case makers are all about; everyone’s served on a jury, heard about important criminal cases in the news, seen a movie or read a book that describes the process. I like the term because it paints a picture that people can easily visualize. I also like the term because it reminds me of the nature of my mission.

“Case Makers” Are Focused on Jurors
Trials typically involve juries (although some are decided by judges). Good case makers understand the nature of their audience. They are good translators; taking complicated information from expert witnesses and making it accessible to members of the jury. It’s not enough for case makers to understand the facts of the case; they’ve got to be focused on the needs of the jury. If you neglect your jury, you’ll most certainly lose your case. For this reason, case making is as much about relationship as it is about information.

“Case Makers” Are Familiar With Evidence, Logic and Rhetoric
Case makers must understand the nature of evidence and how to powerfully communicate the interconnected quality of this evidence to the jury. Case makers also need to comprehend the principles of logic in order to make a reasonable case and highlight the irrational alternative explanations offered by the opposition. Case makers need to develop good thinking skills and become familiar with the case before them.

“Case Makers” Are Fearless in Asking for a Decision
In the end, it all comes down to a decision. Case makers have to do more than present the case; they have to present the case in a manner that causes the jury to make a decision. Case makers must learn to shape a presentation of the evidence that is compelling. We are trying to encourage a decision. Any effort to make a case that fails to ask for a decision is an incomplete work.

It’s been my experience that most of us who want to be “Christian Case Makers” are more concerned about the second aspect of our mission than anything else. We spend time reading through the evidence and mastering the arguments, but fail to see that it ultimately comes down to the jury and their desire to make a decision. As a Christian communicator, I am more and more convinced of the importance of asking for that decision. Maybe it’s because I came to faith later in life and still have an unbelieving father in his 70’s. I’m not sure. But I have a sense of urgency now that compels me to work as an evangelist who understands the role of “apologetics” rather than as a “apologist” more concerned with the evidence than the decision. It’s one thing to understand the case; it’s another to understand your need for a Savior. I want to communicate both aspects of the Christian message. I know my work as case maker is incomplete if my presentation isn’t focused on the jury, directed to the Gospel, and designed for a response. I need to do more than present the case; I need to ask for a decision.

J. Warner Wallace is a Cold-Case Detective, a Christian Case Maker at Stand to Reason, and the author of Cold-Case Christianity

Challenge: So Heavenly Minded, They're No Earthly Good

We're back! For this week's challenge, here's a restating of a common objection:

Is that how it seems to work? Leave your response to this challenge in the comments below, then Brett will be here on Thursday to give his answer.

[Explore past challenges here and here.]

Dismissing Arguments as "Religious" (Video)

How do you respond to someone who dismisses your argument for Christianity because they are “religious” and therefore unreliable?