By Gary Meyers, NOBTS Communications
NEW ORLEANS – In today’s increasingly secular and pluralistic society, Christian apologetics isn’t just an option in the local church. It’s a necessity. Christians must know what they believe, why they believe it, and they must be prepared to give a reasoned response to questions from those with opposing worldviews.
New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary is to host a training event April 13 designed to help pastors and church leaders integrate apologetics into their churches.
The “Apologetics in the Local Church” conference is co-sponsored by the seminary’s Institute for Christian Apologetics and Baptist Center for Theology and Ministry.
Bryant Wright, David Hankins, Gary Habermas and J.P. Moreland will lead the event.
Wright, the current Southern Baptist Convention president and long-time pastor of Johnson Ferry Baptist Church in Marietta, Ga., has seen dramatic growth at Johnson Ferry over his 30-year tenure as pastor.
Once a small mission church, Johnson Ferry’s membership has swelled to more than 7,000. Wright centers his preaching on Scripture and seeks to explain how the Bible applies to everyday life.
Hankins, executive director of the Louisiana Baptist Convention, has 25 years of experience as a local church pastor and more than 15 years in denominational leadership.
Habermas and Moreland are well-respected Christian philosophers and apologists. Habermas is distinguished research professor at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Va. Moreland is distinguished professor of philosophy at Talbot School of Theology, Biola University in La Mirada, Calif.
The “Apologetics in the Local Church” conference is to begin at 9 a.m. in Leavell Chapel with a panel discussion on local church apologetics featuring Wright, Hankins, Habermas and Moreland.
At 11 a.m., Wright will model apologetic preaching during a special chapel service.
The conference will then conclude with a luncheon dialog with Wright for pastors and church leaders.
Bob Stewart, associate professor of philosophy and theology at NOBTS who also directs the work of ICA and pastors a New Orleans-area church, said he believes pastors should be intentional in training church members how to defend their faith and give a thoughtful witness for the gospel.
The apologetics conference is $20 for pastors and church leaders and includes lunch and admission to the Greer-Heard Point-Counterpoint Forum April 13-14, which will feature evangelical scholar Gary Habermas and non-evangelical scholar Michael Shermer discussing the topic of life after death.
For more information about the “Apologetics in the Local Church” event, visit www. nobts.edu/Publications/ApologeticsintheLocalChurch.html. To learn more about the Greer-Heard Forum, visitwww.greerheard.com.