When I first walked into church at 35 years old, I wasn’t seeking God—I was just trying to be a good husband. My wife had grown up as a cultural Catholic, and though faith had never been a part of our marriage, she began to express curiosity about what we’d teach our kids concerning right and wrong. I didn’t believe in God, but I thought religion might have some cultural value, so I told her, “If you want to go to church, fine.”
For years I managed to avoid attending—until one Sunday, she caught me off guard. A friend had invited us to a large evangelical church, and this time she was ready. I reluctantly went. The pastor that day said something that stopped me in my tracks: “Jesus was the smartest man who ever lived.” Then he added that the moral teaching of Jesus formed the foundation of Western civilization. That sounded like an evidence-based claim—something a detective could test.
At the time, I was working major investigations as a police officer—homicides, robberies, undercover work. My life revolved around evidence, logic, and corroboration. If someone made a claim, my instinct was to verify it. So I bought a cheap pew Bible and decided to investigate Jesus like I would any case. I began applying forensic statement analysis—the same principles I’d used to assess witness reliability—to the Gospels. Were these accounts the product of truth-tellers or fabricators?
Six months later, I was convinced they were telling me the truth about what happened. But knowing the Gospels were reliable wasn’t the same as understanding the Gospel message. My wife and I both had to ask, “Okay, if this is true, why did Jesus have to die on a cross?” That step—from evidence to understanding—was where faith took root for both of us. By the following spring, I was serving in children’s ministry and could finally say I was a follower of Christ.
Coming to faith through evidence shaped everything I’ve done since. As an apologist and detective, I believe Christianity stands unique among worldviews because it rests on public, testable claims. The disciples were eyewitnesses—not mystics who followed private visions. When John the Baptist doubted and sent his messengers to ask Jesus if He was the one, Jesus didn’t scold him or appeal to emotion. He performed miracles—then said, “Go tell John what you’ve seen.” That’s evidential reasoning.
So why should Christians today care about evidence? Because truth matters—and we should know why what we believe is true. Too often, when I ask church audiences why they’re Christians, I hear two common responses: “I was raised this way,” or “I’ve had an experience that confirmed it.” Those might describe how someone became a believer but not why it’s true. Mormons, Muslims, and atheists can make the same claims about their beliefs. Evidence separates truth from tradition or emotion.
Our faith is part of an evidential heritage. From the beginning, Christianity has invited investigation. It’s rooted in the public events of history—in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus. That’s why the apostles themselves argued from evidence. In Acts 1, when they replaced Judas, they didn’t choose someone based on passion or faith alone—they required an eyewitness to Jesus’s resurrection. The early church valued verifiable testimony—and so should we.
The question, of course, is how ordinary believers can engage with such serious topics in busy lives. The key is discipline, not genius. Every one of us becomes an expert in whatever captures our interest. Some people can tell you every Super Bowl winner or batting average in baseball because they’ve invested attention there. What if we directed even part of that same focus toward understanding why Christianity is true?
There’s an ocean of resources available—apologetics blogs, podcasts, and online forums—that make learning accessible. The goal isn’t to master every argument, but to become confident in one area that interests you: moral evidence, cosmology, the design of life, historical reliability. When conversations arise, you’ll find yourself more prepared—and curiosity will compel you to learn more.
Ultimately, this isn’t about intellectual pride—it’s about transformation. As a skeptic, I followed the evidence and found Jesus. But as a believer, I follow Jesus and continue to find evidence everywhere. The case for God’s existence isn’t confined to argument; it’s written into the fabric of creation, the moral law on our hearts, and the eyewitness record preserved in Scripture.
No matter what background you come from, one thing remains true: if Christianity really happened, it matters more than anything else. And if we claim it’s true, we should live and think like people who have examined the evidence—and found it convincing.
For more information about the scientific and philosophical evidence pointing to a Divine Creator, please read God’s Crime Scene: A Cold-Case Detective Examines the Evidence for a Divinely Created Universe. This book employs a simple crime scene strategy to investigate eight pieces of evidence in the universe to determine the most reasonable explanation. The book is accompanied by an eight-session God’s Crime Scene DVD Set (and Participant’s Guide) to help individuals or small groups examine the evidence and make the case.
