PLANO, Texas (WordNews.org) July 8, 2013 – Christian apologist and best-selling author Josh McDowell says pastors need to weave into every sermon a defense of the faith.

McDowell, author of  “More than a Carpenter” and “Evidence that Demands a Verdict,” said preachers also need to provide their congregation with stories of those who have gone before them, like Justin Martyr, born around AD 100.

McDowell outlined four steps to this approach in his book “The Unshakable Truth,” when the church grew from 25,000 people to 25 million.

“The first principal is: What do you need to know about the truth? Second, why should you believe it? Why in the world should I believe this? Third, which is so critical, is—So what? So what if God is creator God? So what if it’s true? How does it affect me? And fourth, How does it apply to me?”

McDowell said people need to know how truth impacts their relationship to the Truth Giver?; and how does the truth impact their relationship to the community around them.

“I didn’t come up with it,” McDowell said in an interview with WordNews.org. “I discovered it from Justin Martyr—where he had three words: Believe, behave, below. And out of that came the four principals.”
McDowell, ever the teach himself, explained:
“Believe. Young people need to know what you believe about god, what Jesus, about the bible. Second, behave. How does it affect your life? How is it important to you? And the third word is belong—in the community.”

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More on Justin Martyr
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McDowell said beyond solid teaching, Christians need to “live it out in reality. If we don’t start doing that, it will all backfire on us.”

Yet the church needs to be careful in its quest to remain relevant.
“When you strive to be relevant, which we need to be, when we address issues, it needs to be reality,” he said. “But it’s so easy to become like the world when we do it.”

The Conversation with Josh McDowell continues tomorrow.

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Related:

Part 1: What’s wrong with America

Part 2: The church’s (lack of) influence in the culture

Part 3: Defending the faith: Pastors need to do a better job