#132 Incarnational Apologetics
My ministry going forward will seek to be both informational and incarnational. Incarnational apologetics is “the representative public and private lifestyle of a Christian
that validates to the world the absolute truths of the Bible” while informational apologetics is information focused such as in the Three Circles approach. This has been my thought and plan for a long time. But this class is providing the information I need to be informational and the words to clarify the differences in how I might think about ministry from the point of view of apologetics. It has been my experience that most Christians concisely or not attempt to be incarnational in their faith. I remember growing up hearing a quote often attributed to St. Francis of Assisi that goes, “preach the Gospel at all times. When necessary, use words.” The challenge comes though that most people attempt to follow Christian morals regardless of their faith. Which in American culture makes it harder to recognize that someone is in fact a Christian. While on the other hand Christians participate with equal vigar in all areas of society. Such as watching the same sports, same tv shows, celebrating the same holidays, and spending their time in the same ways. There is certainly a difference between the general non Christian and Christian yet to live incarnationally in American culture seems to call us to something higher than we would otherwise experience. For a Christian to live incarnationally would then mean to go beyond what is normal with our time and actions. Doing things that are Christlike. Such as volunteering, and participating in servant evangelism.
The book Servant Evangelism is what I believe has made the biggest impact on me so far in this class. It has helped to bridge the gap of what I have already done for so long with what I find challenging. I have been serving believers and non believers with joy for many years. Yet the evangelism side has seemed much more daunting. By blending these two ideas together evangelism becomes much more accessible.
I am in this season creating a pastoral counseling Bible for myself so that I can be informational in my ministry. I am planning on being a military chaplain after graduation. So for me to be informational means having answers to hard questions on hand and at the ready. I cannot memorize every possible question and answer. But I can learn the types of questions that may arise and how to deal with them. Creating guides for myself in the back of my Bible.
Upon viewing Truelife.org I found it to be an interesting resource. The information on the site is useful and valuable for answering some of the hard questions of faith. Yet I don’t see myself ever using that particular resource. The quality of the content varies widely so I would probably not send someone to Truelife.org. While for myself I think that I have more useful resources available. Such as my Bible, YouTube channels, Logos Bible Software, and the many pastors whom I have strong friendships with.
David Wheeler, Incarnational Apologetics 1.
