Apologetics Makes a Comeback Among Youth

From Christianity Today by Chris Norton posted 8/31/2011 10:18AM Relational evangelism may have the key to successful youth ministries in the 1990s, but today apologetics is gaining new traction. Kids struggle to explain their beliefs today more than they did two decades ago, said Christian Smith, director of the Center for the Study of Youth and Religion at the University of Notre Dame. One of the center’s 2005 reports indicates that 12 percent of 13- to 17-year-olds say they are “unsure” of their religious beliefs, and 41 percent of Protestant teens agree that morals are relative. ” faith is more about meeting emotional needs than an ideology,” said Smith. This is the product of “an overwhelmingly relativistic and privatized cultural climate,” he said, as well as “youth leaders who have not challenged that climate.” Challenging the cultural climate is a major component of the new apologetics, said Sean McDowell, head of Worldview Ministries. “The apologetics resurgence has been sparked ultimately by teens who are asking more questions about why people believe the things they do,” he said. “Those who thought that kids in a postmodern world don’t want an ideology were wrong.” . . . >>> Read Entire Article in Christian Post , always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence ; and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame.” There is more to Christian discipleship than these three things. However, without them, individuals and churches are missing key components of Christ’s call. May God grant us mercy and the strength and wisdom to learn from past failures. Let’s not neglect the mind in what it means to be a fully functional disciple in the 2010s. Let’s just be grateful for what the article said, “Today apologetics is gaining new traction.” Amen. And let’s keep up the momentum! Let’s roll!

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