We’re not at war with people

“We’re not at war with people; we are at war with false ideologies, and our desire should always be to show people hope.”

@lmedenwaldt from her book “Bridge Building Apologetics” - @harvesthousepublishers

I am *not* a good apologist. I get nervous when I talk to people, I generally try to avoid conflict, and I usually have a hard time pushing my own ideas.

After reading Lindsey’s book though, my idea of “apologetics” was all wrong. The idea was to “win” – to have the answers and analogies and comebacks so that when someone challenged my faith, I could dazzle them with my command of the scriptures and they’d have no choice but to instantly give their life to Jesus. Anything less would be a commentary on my sad understanding of what I’d doing here. Which is why I usually wouldn’t share my opinion; the pressure to do it “right” was too great.

The thing that struck me most from Lindsey’s book (other than the Keller and Lasso references 🙏) is that it’s ok to have convictions and it’s ok to share them and it’s ok to not be perfect. Prayer and proper purpose take much more precedence than perfect analogies and slick retorts. We can share in ways that create conversations and relationships even if you don’t get people to agree with you.

I think this quote really stuck with me though; especially as it relates to our online interactions. We can share our opinions, we can share our ideologies, we can push back on others, but the goal is hope. The goal is Jesus. Winning an argument but turning away a person looking for hope isn’t really a win in any sense of the word. It takes time and humility, two things sorely lacking in comments and retweets.

I just appreciate the reframing in my mind about what apologetics is because friend, I had it *way* wrong.