Christian Case Making

I regularly get the opportunity to train groups of high school students in preparation for Berkeley Missions trips. These students spend four to eight weeks learning about the evidence supporting the Christian worldview and examining many of the most popular objections to Christianity. When we are early in the process, I …

A few years back I taught three services at Liquid Church in Morristown, New Jersey. Liquid is a growing, vibrant, passionate family of believers, and the group’s energy was palpable and contagious. It was an exciting opportunity to connect with brothers and sisters on the other side of the country. …

As a Christian apologist (a.k.a. Christian Case Maker), I get the chance to travel and meet other Christian Case Making leaders around the country. Many of my fellow Case Makers are Chapter Directors for Ratio Christi (Latin for ‘The Reason of Christ’), a global movement equipping university students and faculty …

While I was in Tempe a few years ago for a Campus Crusade event as ASU, I carved some time from a very busy schedule to hang out with Matthew Mittelberg, the young son of Christian Case Maker, Mark Mittelberg. Matthew was leading an apologetics club on the campus of …

I was encouraged by your note and your desire to become a Christian apologist. I must confess that I hate that word, “apologist” and wish we would decide, as a group, to strike it from our vocabulary. I know, of course, that you understand the meaning of the original, Greek …

A few years ago, I had the opportunity to train 80 high school students at Crossline Church here in southern California.  These students were capable and willing to engage the tough issues at a high level, and their churches and Christian high schools have embraced the mission. Students have a …

Every year at the CrossExamined Instructors Academy (CIA), dozens of students courageously offer their own “apologetics” presentations to those of us who had been assembled as evaluators, coaches and trainers. Prior to these talks, we take the time to help the students understand the proper structure of public presentations of …

If we hope to reverse the trend of Christian students leaving the Church during their college years, we’ll need to stop teaching and start training. I’ve proposed a way to do just that, and this week we’ve been examining a simple model (using T.R.A.I.N. as an acronym) to help describe …

I’ve written repeatedly about why the Church needs to stop teaching students about their faith. Young Christians are leaving the Church in tremendous numbers during their college years, and our efforts to teach them has been incapable of reducing this rate of attrition. That’s why it’s time to stop teaching …

If you scan the pages of Scripture looking for a list of “offices” (leadership positions within the Church), you’re likely to find eight roles described in the New Testament: Apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers (Ephesians 4:11), elders, deacons and bishops (1 Timothy 3:1-7; 1 Timothy 3:8-13; Titus 1:6-9). One thing …