I knew the first time I heard a teaching on apologetics that I was hooked. Both my heart and my head were engaged in a way I’d never experienced before, and ever since that time I can’t get enough. It is absolutely thrilling to see the incredible evidence we have for the Christian faith, and I want so badly to share what I’m learning with everyone I know.
In my dream world I have a photographic memory, impeccable articulation, and speed-of-light recall making me an excellent addition to the apologetics speaking or debate circuits. In the real world, I’m not the greatest at remembering details, I understand far more than I can actually explain, and sometimes I don’t remember what I intended to say until I’m just about to fall asleep.
Maybe you can relate. Maybe, like me, you’re super passionate but not ready (yet?) to share the stage with J. Warner Wallace or Frank Turek, and maybe you don’t feel super gifted at blogging or producing podcasts. So, what should we do? Just sit back and relax? No. Not an option. The world is filled with far too many false ideas, and the Truth needs all hands on deck.
Here are 4 roles I learned from Sean McDowell’s A New Kind of Apologist[1]. One of these might be just the right fit for you:
1. Content authors. These are the folks who write the articles, blogs, books, reviews, podcasts, interviews, and every other written thing you can think of. They know their stuff, love to write, are good at it, and have no problem thinking of something new to write about.
2. Content artists. These creatives take the content written by the authors and present it in unique or artistic ways that make it accessible to the masses. They are great at packaging ideas in fun videos, apps, or Power Point presentations. They make the content pretty.
3. Content communicators. These apologists are more drawn to personal interaction whether through social media, blog comments, online forums or even in personal conversations with co-workers. These are the ones who take the time to comment precisely, answer kindly, and take a conversation the extra mile.
4. Content propagators. Propagators multiply the reach of the resources that are already available. They retweet, share, and invite others to see great content that they’ve been impacted by. Content authors are thrilled to have the help of propagators. It’s a very important role.
Before finding these different roles I kinda thought numbers 1 and 2 were the only roles to be filled in the apologetics world. I thought I was simply destined to be a consumer. But that’s not the case at all. I’m thrilled to say I’m a robust number 4 with a sprinkling of number 3 and an occasional attempt at number 1.
Which one(s) are you?
[1] This was from chapter two, “Apologetics and New Technologies” by Brian Auten