Tim Keller, Apologetics, and Preaching

Last Saturday I featured a post on 5 Ways to Incorporate Apologetics into Your Preaching.  In keeping with that theme, I stumbled across this interview with Pastor Tim Keller and in it he was asked the following question:

"Most of the people in this room preach to Christians regularly in churches.  How much should apologetics be worked into a sermon schedule?"

His response was as follows:

"What you ought to do is have apologetic sidebars.  You shouldn’t do apologetics as the main thing you do in a sermon, but when you get to a text or part of the text where non-Christians would probably object, then just take a little sidebar and mention the reasons why that is true.  Even if it’s all Christians, still do it.  No one will bring their non-Christian friends if you talk as if everyone in the room is a Christian." [1]

Amen!  My prayer is that God would raise up a generation of pastors who value the life of the mind and who equip their congregation to engage the world for Christ!  

To learn more about how to preach to the non-believer's mind, go here.

Dear Lord, wake us up!

Courage and Godspeed,

Chad

Footnote:

1. http://willfjohnston.com/2011/05/05/dr-tim-keller-advance-the-church-qa/