Something has been happening.
The pieces began to fall into place for me a few years ago
in the small town of Turlock, California, while having dinner with colleagues
before an event.
Seated around the table were Craig Hazen, Frank Beckwith,
William Lane Craig, J.P. Moreland, and myself—each deeply involved in publicly
defending the faith on a national level for years. One by one we reflected on
the people who had made a difference for us when we were all
wet-behind-the-ears pups during the Jesus movement and soon after.
The list was short: Norm Geisler, John Warwick Montgomery,
Francis Schaeffer, Josh McDowell, and Walter Martin.
Moreland set the tone for our conversation, expressing his
gratitude for those pioneers in our field who had laid the foundation for our
own work. His point was simple. We are in their debt. Let’s stay faithful.
Let’s stay united. Let’s leave a legacy behind in the lives of others, just as
those men had done in ours.
The First Column
These five men were our mentors—the first column of
soldiers in the fight, in a sense—paving the way, setting the example,
establishing a beachhead.
They taught us. They set a standard for us to shoot for,
maybe even to exceed. They inspired us to imagine a day when thoughtful
Christians would once again be active players in the marketplace of ideas. And
it was about time.
Back in 1925, when state legislatures began to pass laws
against teaching evolution, the ACLU stepped in to test the law in Tennessee
using high school teacher John Scopes. William Jennings Bryan was the spokesman
for the fundamentalists. The ACLU had Clarence Darrow for the defense.
The infamous "Monkey Trial" was a watershed event
for Christians. Scopes and the ACLU actually lost the court battle,[1] but
it was an empty victory for believers. For the most part, followers of Christ
abandoned the field and took refuge inside the walls of the church.
Choosing cultural monasticism rather than hard-thinking
advocacy, they left the public square to the secularists. The disciples of
Dewey, Marx, Darwin, Freud, Nietzsche, Skinner, and a host of others replaced
the disciples of Jesus in the cultural conversation.
Puritan Christians had been the founding fathers of the
intellectual community in the United States, but in the years that followed the
Scopes trial, Christianity lost its claim as a player in the marketplace of
ideas. As Os Guinness pointed out, Christians had not been out-thought; they
just had not been around when the thinking was being done.
Then things began to change. Sharp and fair-minded men like
those I mentioned above began to slowly chip away at the stranglehold
non-Christians had on the world of ideas. It was just a start—a small start in
light of the challenge—but a column was beginning to form, nonetheless.
And just in time. Nearly one hundred years after Scopes, we
are balanced on the cusp of another historical watershed. On one side is a
public square crying out for answers to the critical issues of life but also
heating up against virtually everything historic Christianity stands for. On
the other side is the cultural and intellectual monastery that provided
sanctuary—and ensured cultural impotence—for Christians in the past.
Which way will the church go this time? Will Christians
engage in careful, compelling ways, or will they retreat? An answer to that
question—at least a partial answer—has been coming into focus.
The Second Column
Those of us seated around the table all had our own
individual stories to tell of what God had done in us and through us since the
early days. One thing was clear to me, though. What God had been doing amounted
to more than the sum of our individual contributions. Something else was
happening.
For over thirty years now, a second column has been
forming, one much bigger than the first. In the first column were the
pioneers—the first in the fray in the battle of ideas. In the second column are
leaders who were influenced—either directly or indirectly—by that first small
band. They are now heading up enterprises of their own that collectively have a
much larger impact than their mentors could have ever accomplished on their
own—the result of the simple calculus of discipleship and multiplication.
We in the second column saw the need to equip rank-and-file
Christians to defend classical Christianity and classical Christian values with
people who didn’t understand our language and who no longer accepted our source
of authority. We were convinced that Christianity could compete in the
marketplace of ideas if it was properly understood and properly articulated.
And we were committed to a diplomatic model of fair-minded advocacy to make the
point that Christianity was still worth thinking about, even in this new era.
Our little band of brothers at the table that summer
evening was just a small portion of the second column. There are many more
whose names you’d recognize, people like Nancy Pearcey, Os Guinness, Chuck
Colson, David Noebel, Gary Habermas, Stephen Meyer, William Dembski, Lee
Strobel, Hugh Ross, to name just a few.
But the second column is small compared to the one that has
been emerging.
The Third Column
A third column has begun to form. Everywhere I travel, I
meet sharp, committed ambassadors for Christ who are students of those in the
first two columns and are grouping up with others of kindred spirit in their
local communities.
Their names will probably never grace the cover of a book
or be in lights on an apologetics conference marquee. Instead, they are foot
soldiers with boots on the ground, individually being faithful to defend the
gospel in smaller arenas their Commander in Chief has entrusted to them.
They are small bands—“little platoons,” Edmund Burke called
them—of ordinary people making a difference right where they live. They are not
large organizations or huge institutions. Collectively, though, these platoons
that are scattered around the country—and, more and more, the world—are growing
into an army of clear-thinking Christians.
You’ll find them in places like Dayton, Ohio, and
Nashville, Tennessee. You’ll also find them in places you’ve probably never
heard of like Moorhead, Minnesota; Gilroy, California; Logan, Utah; and Owosso,
Michigan. You’ll even find them in Turlock, California. They’re the third
column, laying it down where their feet hit the ground.
Let me give you a few examples of the groundswell of
activity the Holy Spirit has been building for years.
- When speaking in Dayton, Ohio, two years ago, I
stumbled upon a nonprofit enterprise called LifeWise Academy.[2] Founder
Joel Penton describes its simple concept for students in public schools:
“We transport students from their school to a nearby location, provide a
weekly Bible education class, and return them to their schools…during
school hours.”[3] And
it’s completely legal. A Supreme Court ruling decades ago[4] allows
for “release time” religious education of public school students as long
as it’s off campus, privately funded, and voluntary. LifeWise launched its
first classes in fall of 2019 with two schools in Ohio. Five short years
later, 30,000 students in 300 public schools across 12 states are enrolled
in LifeWise Academy. Some schools have over 70% student participation.
- Rebekah Humes is a stay-at-home mom who moved with
her husband and three kids to Logan, a tiny town deep in Mormon country in
northern Utah. She’d taught Bible in middle school and received her
apologetics certificate from Biola University, and her heart ached for her
LDS neighbors living in darkness. She began praying that God would bring
some of them to her doorstep. Though a bit timid, Rebekah was still
willing to take a risk. She was stunned, though, at the way God answered
her prayer. One day, her Mormon neighbor stopped by her home and asked if
she would teach apologetics at an LDS young women’s camp. Soon after, more
of her neighbors began showing up at her doorstep, spiritually hungry.
Rebekah now leads a weekly Bible study of 10 to 12 ladies—a mixture of
Mormons, former Mormons, and believers. She always feels she’s in a bit
over her head with the challenge, yet God continues to prosper and expand
her impact as she trusts him and steps out in faith.
- For over 25 years now, South Valley Community
Church in Gilroy, California, has been hosting a summer apologetics
conference to equip their people to be confident and courageous Christians
in an increasingly challenging culture. During four consecutive Sundays
every summer, guest speakers take the pulpit, instructing on various
aspects of Christian defense. SVCC’s practice is one I’ve noticed with a
number of churches now who dedicate a handful of Sundays or Wednesday
nights each year to host apologetics speakers, building their local
community of Christians in confident faith.
- Though barely a teenager, 13-year-old Daniel
Dietrich from Moorhead, Minnesota, wanted to make a difference for Christ
with an apologetics website. How does a young believer populate a site
with content, though, when he isn’t a writer or a speaker and has no
formal education in the field? The answer: Gather solid apologetics
material from around the internet and link to it from a website he
created, making it easy for someone to have access to solid sources from
one location. Thus, Follow the Proof was born.[5] “When
I was investigating questions I had about my faith and looking for proof,”
Daniel writes, “I found lots of information. However, it was scattered
across many different websites. So, I decided to share the best sources in
one place.” Follow the Truth received 1,600 views in the last 12 months
and even inspired a third-grade class in South Korea to start their own
site. Daniel has also heard from Christians in Canada, Austria, Germany,
and the Czech Republic.
- In October 2022, I taught a Tactics seminar at
Community Evangelical Presbyterian Church in tiny Owosso, Michigan. The
next day after the church service, I had lunch with their missions team to
discuss the next steps they could take to get their members out into the
marketplace of ideas to engage others with the good news of the gospel. I
suggested they send their Christians out in pairs—like Jesus did—and
initiate casual conversations at places like the mall using a simple
questionnaire to assist them. Then I sketched out a set of questions and
basic guidelines for interaction to help them in the process. A few months
later, I published those directions in an article posted at str.org so
that many more could benefit from the initiative taken by those faithful
Christians in Owosso, Michigan.[6]
- When Ava Calhoun was 12 years old, she wanted to
showcase how her interest in art, crafts, fashion, and other “girly” stuff
integrated smoothly with her Christian worldview and her love for Jesus.
So, Ava created a multifaceted YouTube channel characterized as “Where
Faith & Lifestyle Aren’t Separate.”[7] Her
thoughtful comments about Christianity soon attracted Muslim challengers,
though, forcing her to add more apologetic substance to her material.
Defending her Christian convictions quickly became her first love as she
devoured books by top Christian thinkers—many of whom she interviewed on
her channel. Ava’s bubbly, cheerful personality quickly attracted a host
of followers. Now 16 years old, Ava has 4,000 subscribers to her unique
site, where every week she posts clever videos on art, lifestyle, and—especially—Christian
defenses. Ava wants young Christians to see that being a believer is not
just for Sundays but encompasses all areas of life every single day.
- In September 2022, STR launched a quintessential
third column enterprise by gathering believers seeking answers to the hard
questions about Christianity and forming them into local communities
called Outposts. Each is led by a qualified director vetted and equipped
by STR to guide the local group in discussions on defending classical
Christianity and classical Christian values. STR provides leadership
training, coaching, and the initial content through podcasts, articles,
and STR U videos. Within 18 months of the launch, committed Christians in
local churches had established 115 Outposts in 33 states and in five other
countries (Australia, Canada, Portugal, the UK, and Zambia), and new
groups are being added monthly.[8]
Each of the examples above (and I’ve just scratched the
surface) describes the efforts of more formal enterprises, but most of those in
the third column are not officially organized.
I wrote in the last chapter of Tactics[9] about
a small group of housewives with kids who met together weekly in my own
community. They gathered not principally for fellowship and prayer, but for
study and stimulating discussion so they could love God with their minds, not
just their hearts.
On virtually every trip I take, I encounter dear people who
tell stories of how God is using them and their friends in ways they never
thought possible. They have grouped together with others of kindred spirit to
plant a flag, establish an enterprise, and to make a change that matters. And
their numbers are legion.
People like these—people like you—are the future of
thoughtful Christianity. The next years do not belong to best-selling authors
or popular speakers at big events, though we still need both. Rather, the
future will be determined in relatively quiet corners of our Christian
communities—small groups of committed disciples in the local church with warm
hearts and sharp minds demonstrating that Christianity is worth thinking about.[10]
How can you join the column? It’s easier than you might
think.
Gather, then Scatter
First, gather. Gather together in “little platoons,” then
gather information. Find others around you of similar vision—at school, in
church, in your social circles. Think of yourselves like sparks in dry tinder
igniting a larger fire in your spiritual community. This may be a
church-sponsored class, an STR Outpost, or an informal fellowship of
like-minded Christians like C.S. Lewis had with Tolkien, Williams, and Sayers.
When you meet, ask questions, raise issues, entertain the
hard challenges—the ones skeptics have raised or the ones that have vexed you
personally. If you’re a pastor, make sure those in your church—especially young
people—feel safe voicing honest objections, even if you don’t know the answers
just yet. This one thing can have a liberating—and energizing—effect on youth.
Then gather answers. They’re everywhere. Read books, listen
to podcasts, search the web. I promise, you will not come up with a problem
that others have not pondered and that a clear-thinking Christian has not
answered well.
Second, scatter. Scatter into your larger community and
scatter the seeds of information you have gathered as a group. Start
conversations simply by asking questions (what I call the “Columbo” tactic),
finding out what people believe and why. Then be
on the alert for opportunities to weave truth into the dialogue in a friendly,
diplomatic way.[11]
Stay calm. Don’t overstate your case. Don’t overreact to
opposing ideas. And don’t get into a fuss or a fight. Don’t swing for the
fences, either—don’t try to win all the arguments with an unbeliever. Just put
a stone in his shoe. Give him something to think about.
And here’s one final bit of advice that may be the most
important.
Bloom Where You’re Planted
I want to pass a thought on to you that has served me well
for five decades as a follower of Christ. I hope it will be your servant as
well. Here it is: Bloom where you’re planted. Make the most of the
opportunities within your immediate grasp, even if they seem small or
inconsequential.
If you can’t speak to 100, speak to 10. If not to 10, then
one—maybe a solitary soul at Starbucks. When you can’t speak, write—in your own
blog, on someone else’s blog or Facebook page, in a diary of personal
reflections. Don’t let your seeds of insight slip away. Find some soil for them
to take root in. When possible, do both—talk and write if
you’re able.
Keep your eyes open. Take what opportunities come your way.[12] Do
whatever you can, wherever you are, even if modest or unexceptional. Then watch
to see how the Lord decides to use your offering. Sometimes it’s the smallest
seeds that grow into the largest trees. That’s how the third column works.
This notion of blooming where you’re planted meshes
seamlessly with a basic biblical principle: We must first be faithful in
smaller things before we will be entrusted with larger ones. And if bigger
things never come our way, then the small acts of faithfulness will be enough.
God is honored in every act of fidelity, grand or simple.
Some enterprises start small and end massive. Others start small and remain
small. No matter. The key is sustained individual effort on a local level,
being faithful with whatever opportunities God provides.
The first column was tiny. The second column is larger. The
third column is massive, and you are part of it.
J.P. Moreland’s advice to each of us around the table that
night in Turlock is the same advice I pass on to you. We are in debt to those
who came before us. Let’s stay faithful. Let’s pay it forward. Let’s end well.
Gather. Scatter. Bloom. Make a difference, even if it’s
small. Leave a legacy behind in the lives of others, just as those who came
before us have done in ours.
[1] The ruling was eventually
overturned on a technicality.
[2] Lifewise.org.
[3] Joel Penton, During
School Hours—Why and How LifeWise Academy Is Reinstalling Religious Education
into the Public School Today (LifeWise Press, 2023), 13.
[4] Zorach v. Clauson (1952).
[5] Followtheproof.com.
[6] Find “A Simple Survey to Help
Initiate Spiritual Conversations” at
https://www.str.org/w/a-simple-survey-to-help-initiate-spiritual-conversations.
[7] https://www.youtube.com/@AvaCalhoun/featured.
See also her Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/avacalhounofficial/.
[8] For information on STR Outposts,
go to https://www.str.org/outposts.
[9] Gregory Koukl, Tactics:
A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convictions, 10th Anniversary Ed.
(Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2019), 259.
[10] As J. Warner Wallace says
frequently, “We don’t need more million-dollar apologists. We need a million
one-dollar apologists.”
[11] Again, Tactics is
invaluable here, providing an easy-to-follow, step-by-step game plan. It’s
available at
str.org—https://store.str.org/purchase/tactics-10th-anniversary-edition.
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