The Pulpit Apologist, Pt. 2

Apologetics, Bobby Conway, Christianity, Christianity Still Makes Sense, Gospel, James Sire, Local church, pastors, Practical Apologetics, Theology and Christian Apologetics
In my previous blog, I briefly unpacked five ways apologetic preaching can help the church navigate these challenging times, while also sharing four of eight points of what it looks like to apologetically equip our congregations today. In this post, I’ll briefly unpack points five through eight before concluding with a few final thoughts. That said, if we’re going to apologetically equip our churches, here’s how we can do that. Fifth, set an apologetic tone that is humble and refuse to be a bully from the pulpit. Sadly, many pastors have used this humility as an excuse to avoid apologetics altogether. But that would be throwing the baby out with the bath water. We can’t detach our pulpit presentation from our personal character. Apologetics in preaching is important, but we…
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What Does it Mean to be “Legalistic?”

Apologetics, Christianity, Gospel, King James Only, Legalism, Melissa Dougherty, Sola Gracia, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Works-based salvation
Legalism. What do you think of when you hear this word? Some people might think of someone who is a stick in the mud. Maybe even someone who relies on the Bible too much instead of following their hearts. Some might think of a strict religion with lots of rules. Others say it’s a “spirit” of criticism and division. I believe one of the best ways to define legalism is as follows: Legalism entails the establishment of man-made rules and traditions as the benchmark for what is considered holy and right. This is precisely what the Pharisees did, imposing an unattainable burden where almost every action and word is deemed wrong and sinful by these standards. For example, I remember someone giving me an earful when I decided to place…
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Are Today’s Christians Confused About the Gospel?

Apologetics, Christianity, Evangelism, Francis of Assisi, Gospel, Her Faith Inspires, Preaching, salvation, Shanda Fulbright, Theology and Christian Apologetics, Works-Based Religion
A few weeks ago, I created a post that said, “I love apologetics but apologetics is not the gospel.” It wasn’t controversial at all. Just kidding. Come on! We’re talking about social media; the breeding ground of controversy. As a teacher, I often look for the underlying cause of a misunderstanding. I ask myself, “What is the foundational aspect of this message and why didn’t the reader ‘get it’”? With the so-called controversial post about apologetics and the gospel, it became more and more clear that the reader didn’t understand the word “gospel.” A Simple Question So, I created a survey that asked, “What is the gospel?” I got a varying degree of answers that included: Sharing the gospel is praying for someone. Sharing the gospel is sharing my testimony.…
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The Pulpit Apologist, Pt. 1

Apologetics, Bobby Conway, Christianity, Christianity Still Makes Sense, Church, Culture Apologetics, Gospel, pastors, Theology and Christian Apologetics
If apologetics has ever met its moment in our culture that moment is now. And it’s especially urgent for some good old-fashioned pulpit apologetics. We need preachers to rise to the occasion and equip their flocks with the apologetic know-how to reach this confused and collapsing culture. As the great wordsmith Carl Trueman put it: “Every age has had its darkness and its dangers. The task of the Christian is not to whine about the moment in which he or she lives but to understand its problems and respond appropriately to them.” [1] It’s no secret that ours is a country replete with problems, so much so it’s even harder to imagine a real United States again. And like those ancient Corinthians many in the church have joined the cultural…
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Making Sense of Christmas

3. Are Miracles Possible?, Apologetics, Bobby Conway, christian, Christianity, Christianity Still Makes Sense, Christmas, Culture, faith, Gospel, Jesus Christ, Miracle of Christmas, Theology and Christian Apologetics, truth
The Christmas season has a way of quickening the senses, doesn’t it? The taste of a kiss under a mistletoe tree, the flavor of nursing steamed Ghirardelli hot chocolate, or the sheer ecstasy of biting into that freshly made batch of flaky peanut brittle. Then there are the smells. Oh, the smells. The smell of Gingerbread houses, hot caramel apple pie, and the dreaded Turkish Delight. We cannot forget the sounds. The sounds of Christmas carolers, holiday bells and our favorite seasonal hymns and not so favorite ones too, like, Last Christmas. It’s also a sight fest. The sight of homes bedecked with multi-colored lights, lawns graced by nativity scenes, and Salvation Army volunteers ringing their bells for coins in the coffer. And of course, we cannot forget the touch…
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Is Christmas Pagan?

3. Are Miracles Possible?, Apologetics, Christianity, Christmas, Culture, faith, Gospel, Jesus Christ, Melissa Dougherty, Miracle of Christmas, Theology and Christian Apologetics, truth
Tree decorating. Repetitive Christmas music on the radio. Sleigh bells ringing. Chestnuts burning. (Like, what does this even mean? Do people actually do this?) And the incessant cyber throat-punching over Christians who celebrate Christmas are actually celebrating an evil pagan holiday. Ah… it’s the most wonderful time of the year. Christmas is that magical time of the year again, full of bright lights, joyful music, and the warm and fuzzy feelings of family and gift-giving. But every so often, you might hear a claim tossed around that Christmas is rooted in pagan traditions. There are many people, especially online, who take this time of year very personally and feel the need to remind Christians that we are, indeed, participating in a pagan holiday. This can be very confusing for some…
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Is Your Church A Personality Cult, Part 2

Apologetics, Christianity, Church leaders, Church leadership, Culture, faith, Jesus Christ, John Ferrer, Leaving the church, pastors, Theology and Christian Apologetics, truth, Wisdom Chronicle
In part one, we looked at how “cult” can refer to a group’s heretical theology (“theological cult”) or to its dangerous practices (“sociological cult). A personality cult is the second type, with personality-driven problems centering on central leader. To discuss the signs of a personality cult, we used the name named Al, as he sees himself as the Alpha, the #1, the head-honcho. And depending on how narcissistic he is, he might honestly believe he’s the only hope for this church’s success. Then we looked six signs of a personality cult: 1. One Charismatic Leader Is THE Face Of The Church 2. Narcissistic Leader 3. Authoritarian Leadership-Model 4. Other Leaders In The Church Are “Yes Men” 5. “Lone Wolf” Approach To Decision-Making 6. Vindictive Church Discipline Now let’s look at…
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What Babylon Teaches The Church About Discipleship

Apologetics, Apologetics for Parents, Babylon, Christianity, Culture, Daniel, discipleship, faith, Her Faith Inspires, https://shandafulbright.com/, Israel, Shanda Fulbright, Theology and Christian Apologetics
When you hear the word “disciple” does your mind go back to the first century where a group of twelve men followed Jesus and helped him pass out baskets full of loaves and fish? The word “disciple” is often associated with Christianity, and for good reason. The Great Commission in Matthew 28:19 commands every Christian to “go out and make disciples of all nations.” It’s no wonder that people’s idea of discipleship is linked only to religious groups. My goal isn’t to change your mind that discipleship is a must when it comes to Christianity. My goal is to get you to think more deeply when it comes to what it means to disciple and be discipled. I’ll start with the claim that discipleship is not isolated to Christianity. And…
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Why Did God Put That Tree in the Garden of Eden?

determinism, free will, free will theodicy, garden of eden, Problem of Evil, Problem of Hell, Punishment, rebellion, Theology and Christian Apologetics, tree of the knowledge of good and evil
God created humans in a state of sinless perfection, but all of that changed when Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit from the tree of knowledge of good and evil. “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it. And the Lord God commanded the man, saying, “You may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall surely die” (Gen 2:15-17 ESV). So why did God put that tree in the Garden in the first place? Not only that, He put it right in the middle of the Garden! It wasn’t…
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Where Rebellion Against God Leads

Al Serrato, Battlestar Galactica, Divine justice, eternal conscious torment, Hell, Problem of Hell, Punishment, rebellion, Theology and Christian Apologetics
Imagine a time in the not-too-distant future. Trying to compensate for a declining population, scientists use advanced technology to build a “race” of robots, giving them not only human appearance and abilities, but also increasing amounts of AI. Things work smoothly in the short run, as the robots’ nearly limitless energy for work transforms Earth into a near paradise. But the programmers, seeking to give their creation a chance at true relationship with their human masters, give the robots freedom of will, grafting it on to their ability to think independently. Chaos soon ensues, as the robots rebel and rise up against the human population… This is standard fare, of course, in science fiction circles. Shows like Battlestar Galactica explored the philosophical issues surrounding this scenario, and play out possible…
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