Excellence Looking In

I believe that the conscious Christian has not just the right, but the duty offer a plausible defense for the hope that has been shaped inside of them.

From my upbringing until the time I reached twenty-one I had little to no religious exposure and quite frankly I was doing just fine without the supposed “nuisance” of religion. I lived my life as happy and free as any other boy growing up in these United States of America. I had seen people go to church, had some friends that were church-goers, but I guess I just didn’t get it. The question always seemed to come back to me, “Why do I have to waste my time when I could be doing other, more useful things?”

By the time that I did “make the plunge,” as some have put it, I found that most of the people that called themselves Christians could not articulate their faith very well. By asking simple questions of those older than me in the faith I hoped to get some deeper meaning out of them concerning the Bible or the sermon, or just stuff that happens in life. To my surprise I was often times left on my own to discover the truths I was searching for. Then something hit me: As a parent you wouldn’t want your kids to find out about drugs or sex from someone other than you. You wouldn’t want them to grow up fumbling through life, giving them no real direction or insight into all the interesting things that happen to a person. So why on earth would someone do this same thing to a person who is new to the faith? If the Christians of this country really want more people to join their faith why is there such a lackadaisical approach to education and articulation? One would not take this stance, or maybe attitude is a better word, toward applying for a job, selecting a college, selecting a mate, etc.

I believe that the Christians of this great country should not be afraid to artfully and skillfully present all the whys and hows of their faith without shame and without disrespecting those of other faiths. I believe that excellence is not something left on the doorstep of the local church.