Zondervan - Is Your Church Ready?: Motivating Leaders to Live an Apologetic Life

T he book you have in your hands is the fruit of the vision of Dr. Norman Geisler, who has labored long to equip church leadersand others who desire to share the gospel winsomely and effectivelyto be apologists. While Ravi Zacharias pays tribute to him in the accompanying volume titled Who Made God? in which his writings are highlighted, it is appropriate to acknowledge his contribution in soliciting authors and chapters for this book as well.

In John 13 we witness Jesus tenderly washing his disciples feet, knowing that only hours later he would be betrayed by one and abandoned by the others on his way to the cross. Jesus says to them,If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one anothers feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you (verses 14-15 RSV, emphasis mine). This unique parallel construction of linking identical phrases such as washedfeet and washfeet by using the word ought is found four times in the writings of John, who is identified as the disciple whom Jesus loved. For example, in 1 John 2:6, John writes that if we abide in Christ, we ought to walk in the same way in which he walked (RSV). And in 1 John 3:16 and 4:11, this same parallelism links ought with laying down ones life and loving others: Just as God has loved us sacrificially, so ought we to love. It seems particularly significant, then, that we first hear this phrase from Jesus immediately upon washing his disciples feet, because Jesus is essentially mirroringby both his words and his actionswhat a servant-teacher is.

Jesus model of the servant-teacher is a high calling to church leaders, but then again, it is a high calling to each of us as his disciples, whatever our principal calling may be. And it is with this understanding that this volume came to be. Thus, whereas the content is aimed in a certain measure to pastors and church leaders for the work of apologeticsthat is, to give an answer (apologia) for the hope of the gospel within you (1 Peter 3:15 KJV))the objective goes beyond that. Many of us are also parents or students or young professionals wrestling with questions that perplex not only the intellect but also the heart. With that in mind, we hope that you will ponder this: We are not only called to give answers but, as Ravi Zacharias writes, to be answer bearers, often to respond with gentle hands and swift feet rather than with words alone. This is the incarnational model Jesus demonstrates to us throughout the Gospels, and it is the example we hope you will find fleshed out in the chapters before you.

Danielle DuRant,

research assistant to Ravi Zacharias

J. Budziszewski

J. Budziszewski (Ph.D.,Yale, 1981), a nationally known scholar of natural law, holds joint appointments in the departments of Government and Philosophy at the University of Texas at Austin. He is the author of six scholarly books, most recently What We Cant Not Know: A Guide (Spence Publishing, 2002), as well as a book of apologetics titled How to Stay Christian in College (NavPress, 1999). Dr. Budziszewski also composes a monthly column, Office Hours, for Boundless, an Internet magazine for Christian college students (http://www.boundless.org). He has contributed numerous articles to both academic and Christian journals. His current research focuses on the personal and cultural pathologies that flow from the repression of moral knowledgefrom trying to convince ourselves that we dont know what we really do know about right and wrong.

Peter J. Grant

The Reverend Dr. Peter J. Grant is senior pastor of Cumberland Community Church in the suburbs of Atlanta, Georgia, where he has served since its inception. The church has established a pioneering ministry in apologetics, Reasons for Faith, to equip believers and to engage with the culture in articulating a Christian worldview The church also has a close affiliation with several apologetics ministries in the Atlanta area, and Dr. Grant has served on the board of the Faith and Science Lecture Forum, a ministry that has sponsored debates between leading scientists and philosophers and Christian apologists such as Dr. William Lane Craig, Dr. Ravi Zacharias, and Dr. Norman Geisler.

John Guest

John Guest was born and raised in Oxford, England, and came to Christ after hearing Billy Graham at a crusade in London. He himself has now spoken to more than 1.5 million people face to face since his first major crusade in 1985. He has been called the thinking persons evangelist, a term that rightly describes his gift for combining brilliant apologetics with a powerful speaking style that has earned the respect of historical critics of crusade evangelism. John Guest graduated from Trinity College in Bristol and came to the United States in 1964, where he formed one of the first Christian contemporary music groups, the Excursions, drawing thousands of young people to meetings to hear the gospel. He is founder of the Coalition of Christian Outreach, a unique evangelistic organization employing approximately 150 staff workers on college campuses. He also cofounded Trinity Episcopal School of Ministry and was a participant in the Lausanne Committee on World Evangelism and a board member of the National Association of Evangelicals. The author of ten books, John Guest is presently pastor of Christ Church at Grove Farm in Sewickley, Pennsylvania.

Dean C. Halverson

Dean Halverson has been working with International Students, Inc., since 1988. He serves as the director of apologetics and as campus minister. During his years with ISI he has had the joy of getting to know numerous international students from all over the world and of sharing the love of Christ with them. He has authored Crystal Clear (NavPress, 1990), a discussion guide for witnessing to New Agers, and edited The Compact Guide to World Religions (Bethany House, 1996), which has been translated into Russian. Prior to his time with ISI, Dean Halverson worked as a researcher and writer with the Spiritual Counterfeits Project in Berkeley, California.

Judy Salisbury

Judy Salisbury is a wife and mother who speaks nationally on a wide variety of subjects from Christian apologetics to Christian living. Her speaking opportunities range from youth groups to womens retreats and large national conferences. As founder of Logos Presentations, Judy specializes in the area of equipping Christian leaders with effective communication and presentation skills through consultation, critique, and training. She is creator of the unique compact disc series Divine Appointments: Spontaneous Conversations on Matters of the Heart, Soul, and Mind, and author of the communication training manual A Time to Speak (foreword by Josh McDowell) and A Christian Womans Guide to Reasons for Faith, a book on Christian apologetics written specifically for women.

Ravi Zacharias

Ravi Zacharias has spoken in countries worldwide and at numerous universities, notably Harvard, Cambridge, and Princeton. He received his Master of Divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and was a visiting scholar at Cambridge University. He has received three honorary doctorates. Dr. Zacharias is well versed in the disciplines of comparative religions, cults, and philosophy, and he held the chair of evangelism and contemporary thought at Alliance Theological Seminary for three and a half years. He has written several books, including Jesus Among Other Gods, Cries of the Heart, and Can Man Live Without God? He is heard weekly on the radio program Let My People Think. Dr. Zacharias is president of Ravi Zacharias International Ministries, headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, with additional offices in Canada, India, Singapore, and the United Kingdom.