Defender of the Faith

Welp, I'm back. I'm still exhausted, but the missions trip to St. Louis was amazing. I need to process a lot of what I learned and experienced on the trip before I try to write on it. Hopefully later this week I'll be able to talk about the trip on here. I can say one thing, though: my perception of ministry and living out the gospel will never be the same. More to come...

On another note, while on the trip I got to do a lot of reading. Ever since I started college I've loved reading. Now it's become something I need to schedule time for every week or I just don't feel right. My book of choice for the trip was the Case for Faith by Lee Strobel. This is a fantastic apologetics book. As I've mentioned before, I have become very interested in the realm of apologetics, the rational defense of the faith. This book addresses 8 common objections to Christianity such as "If evil and suffering exist, a loving God cannot", "Evolution explains life, so God isn't needed", and "A loving God would never torment people in hell." For each of these objections (each has its own chapter), Strobel interviews an expert or professor on the issue and dialogues with him or her while playing somewhat of a devil's advocate role. Strobel is a former atheist turned Christian, so he remembers and can articulate much of his own doubts from when he was an atheist. It's a very intellectual and philosophical book, and I've learned so much. I think we as Christians underestimate the need to be able to speak scientifically and philosophically about our faith. While living in a postmodern and relative-truth era, it is becoming more and more necessary to explain rationally why we believe what we believe. If we can think of a doubt or question in our own minds that we have no idea how to answer, we need to take this as a challenge and discover the answers for ourselves. Just think... if someone who is not a believer comes to us with these same questions, how can we truly witness to them in the name of the gospel if we can't answer the questions for ourselves? At the National Student Leadership Conference at Taylor this past spring, J.P. Moreland specifically addressed the imperativeness of this situation. To truly love God with all our mind, we must engage ourselves intellectually to affirm our faith. We do not have to abandon our intellect to have faith. In fact, our minds are a crucial teammate to our faith. Reading this book has reaffirmed my faith in ways beyond explanation. I have full confidence that I can address some doubts about Christianity and engage someone in a conversation about these issues. In fact, I have already had the opportunity to talk to some non-believers about their doubts and things that I've read and studied.

This is just another way that God is molding me and preparing me for ministry. I'm so thankful for the passions He gives us. We just never know what curveballs life is going to throw our way, but at least God gives us some practice pitches to swing away at.

1 Peter 3:15 - "But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect"

Also, I got to jam out on the drums today, and it felt amazing. I hadn't played in a while, and it was sweet to play again. Music is such a mode of relaxation for me. I'm listening to some John Mayer right now and loving life.

Living in faith,
David