Should pastors include apologetics in their ministry? Definitely. I will do a post on how pastors can do that, but I am going to start with why. I am coming at this as a person who pastored for sixteen years. It is close to my heart, not just as an apologist but as an ex-pastor.
1. It is biblical. We are told in 1 Peter 3:15 that we are supposed to do apologetics. We are given examples in Acts 17 of how Paul did it. The Bible expects this to be an ongoing role for the Christian. There is no reason why a pastor should have an exemption.
2. Our congregation is on the receiving end of anti-Christian apologetics. Books, documentaries, blogs and so on are continually attacking Christianity. A pastor may not be interested, but no one said that ministry is about the pastor’s pet interests.
3. Our congregations have questions. It is not always highly academic questions. Why did God allow that hurricane? Why did my loved one get cancer? We cannot ignore these questions.
4. We live in a multicultural world. The days of Protestant and Catholic being the only religious options are long gone. Christians are interacting with people of every religion. How do we compare?
5. Many Christians are interested in apologetics. We should not listen to the lies about apologetics being irrelevant or unspiritual. People can worship God with their minds, articulating the faith in intelligent ways. Not only should we not stop them, we should help them.
- Apologetics in the Church
- Christian Ministry
- Churches
- Ministry
- Pastors
