I posted last week a brief update on the Sunday School class I’m teaching at Crestview. This class is studying BILD International’s First Principle book, Participating in the Mission of the Church. In the three lessons in this particular book, we’ve noticed the strategy of the early church: proclaim the Gospel, plant churches, establish leaders and move on. Then, we saw the role of having good deeds to back up the message we’re proclaiming. In week 3, we saw how we should speak to make the Gospel attractive and invite opportunities with those who are outside the faith. In this lesson, the focus was on making a defense, using 1 Peter 3:8-17 as our springboard.
I pointed to Tim Keller’s writings on Defeater beliefs as well as Barry Cooper and Paul Williams’ book If You Could Ask God One Question. On the whole, though, what stuck out to me wasn’t so much about being ready to get an answer out as much as living in a compelling way that accentuates the defense. It might be the case that if we were prepared to answer with gentleness and humility rather than know it alls who don’t need others, we’d be able to give a more compelling defense.