1 Peter 3:15 NLV
"Your heart should be holy and set apart for the Lord God. Always be ready to tell everyone who asks you why you believe as you do. Be gentle as you speak and show respect."
Hebrews 13:17
"Obey your spiritual leaders, and do what they say. Their work is to watch over your souls, and they are accountable to God. Give them reason to do this with joy and not with sorrow. That would certainly not be for your benefit."
Psalm 119:9
"How can a young person stay pure? By obeying Your Word."
[Emphasis added]
If you've read through this ministry's website, you'll know that one of several groups God placed on my heart to serve are our youth/young adults aka "babies, youngers, etc."; an honor which I take very seriously. Part of this is Masterpiece University and its' Bootcamps etc. but another part is mentorship both through active ministry and through non "ministry" arenas. And because this mentoring extends to my secular university alma maters in addition to my faith-based programming, I encounter these precious young people in many walks of life. Earlier this month I participated in one of my favorite annual events to edify, encourage, uplift and support some local honor students at my undergraduate alma mater and as usual my heart was filled to overflowing at seeing kids from all walks of life, race, creed, color and gender pursuing and excelling in education. But overwhelmingly as happens each year, even in the midst of an educational event, the majority of them were struggling in some capacity of Faith without much clue of how to address it. They know I'm a woman of Faith and Christian Minster and inevitably they want to pick my brain on different topics and ask for prayer. Both of which I am happy to accommodate.
But during our many conversations I was reminded of a tool that many of our young Believers lack, and our young unBelievers are curious about. That is the concept of Christian Apologetics. Apologetics is simply the defense of the Faith [think--> as a lawyer defends]. And despite the vitriol [bitterly harsh, abusive or venomous language] we often see spewed over social and traditional media; Christian Apologetics is not to be a hateful screaming match between opposing sides. It is meant to be a Christian, when asked/needed, defending the Faith with respect, kindness, Truth and in love. You see, when a young person knows the Truth of the Word of God, that young person can not only defend their Faith but better withstand the attacks of the Enemy. London's Oxford Center for Christian Apologetics specializes in just such a thing by framing their work around asking the question, "How is Secularism [i.e. the world] responding, how is the Gospel responding, and how can Christians show Gen Z {12-27 years old} and Gen Alpha {0-approx. 11 years old} how the Gospel has superior resources to respond to these questions than Secularism?" What questions? Those would be questions like the six questions that late pastor Tim Keller characterized in his many sermons and teachings as being most present and prevalent on the minds of our youth/young adults: Identity, Meaning, Morality, Justice, Satisfaction and Hopefulness. And we know this encapsulates what every generation is faced with as the tension presented by defending the Faith or just the challenges, questions, and concerns of the Gospel message of the Christian faith.
One of the ways I've seen how these questions can be answered from a Biblical worldview is by providing a safe space for the youngers to ask these questions without fear of shame or condemnation. In doing so, this softens their hearts not only to listen, but to apply God's Truth to their lives, circumstances and situations they are presented with as they navigate the rough seas of today's world. They won't need to fumble, stumble and stutter in refusing to succumb to sin or respond to an influencer/influential friend's invitation to participate in things displeasing to God. If needed, their simple "No" can extend to an, "I am not comfortable doing that because it doesn't line up with my Faith" or "I believe God's Word when It instructs me to flee temptation" etc., you get the idea. Getting the Word into our youngers doesn't mean they have to memorize it, or we have to provide worldly entertainment in the pulpit, but it does mean we have to engage them where they are. And sometimes that is a drafty university library full of hungry freshmen. I've found over the years they are not only hungry for the free food spread and education but for affirmation. So not only do I encourage Believers to partner with the youngers in their respective spheres of influence and provide a loving, kind and safe space for them to ask questions and receive sound, Biblical Truth in love, but help equip these youngers with tools to pursue, communicate and defend the Faith. The end result will be a world filled with Kingdom soldiers in the army of the Lord eventually themselves raising up generations and generations more pointing as many people to Jesus as possible. I no longer want to be surprised that the students I'm meeting in my non-Faith based service are Believers, I want to expect it! A mind is truly a terrible thing to waste and a mind stayed on God is a wise and discerning one.
Takeaways for you to remember:
#1 Christian Apologetics is defending the Faith.
#2 The Bible instructs us to always be ready to defend the Faith...in kindness, love and respect.
#3 Youngers ask questions and are more receptive to wise Biblical counsel when they feel safe, supported and affirmed.
Yours in Christ!
Dr. Quahana
Want to enjoy some of the Scriptures inspiring this entry?
[All Scripture listed is NLT version unless otherwise noted.]
References
Oxford Center for Christian Apologetics. theocca.org.
REBOOT. rebootquestions.com.
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