The phrase “because the Bible says so” just doesn’t cut it with most people these days, Mark Colvin said.
“If we’re going to do evangelism in the kind of world we have now, we’re going to have to be able to answer people’s questions, and those questions are different than they were 50 years ago,” Colvin said.
In an effort to help provide answers in a world where atheism is growing and skepticism of the Bible abounds, Colvin, a member of Fullness Christian Fellowship, Vestavia Hills, has become Alabama’s first Certified Apologetics Instructor (CAI). The certification, offered by the North American Mission Board (NAMB), trains believers to understand the historical, scientific and philosophical evidence that backs up their faith and communicate that to others.
“Christians held the intellectual high ground for 1,800 years after Jesus,” Colvin said. “Only in modern times have we surrendered that to science and academia. That’s ground that needs to be taken back.”
His journey toward apologetics (which comes from the Greek word apologia, meaning “in defense of”) began more than 30 years ago shortly after his conversion at age 20. While reading “The Chronicles of Narnia,” by C.S. Lewis, he noticed that beneath the surface story, Lewis was writing about a Christian worldview. Colvin began defending the faith himself although he lacked education on the subject.
“I had always argued for, in a very informal and sometimes ignorant way, the truths of Christianity the best I could without knowing what I was doing,” Colvin said.
While attending seminary, he read “The Case for the Resurrection” by Mike Licona, NAMB’s apologetics coordinator. A friend mentioned Licona’s association with the CAI program, and after meeting with Licona, Colvin decided to enroll in the program in 2009. The CAI program is an intensive, work-at-your-own-pace course of study that has two main requirements. The first is an academic component that includes approximately 80 hours of lectures on CD, three exams and eight books.
“The requirements of the program either forced you down the path of seriousness or weeded you out, because they’re pretty rigorous,” Colvin said.
After gaining knowledge of the evidence for Christianity, students are taught how to communicate it through the Dynamic Communicators Workshop, four days of public speaking training from instructor and comedian Ken Davis.
“The communications workshop taught me to be clear and to try to communicate one thing well rather than a lot of things in an inferior kind of way,” Colvin said.
Colvin, who finished the CAI program March 1, speaks to a variety of audiences from Christians to atheists. He most enjoys talking about the evidence for Jesus’ resurrection; he said there is a significant body of historical data even atheists would accept that builds a good case that He rose from the dead.
“Faith is not a blind leap in the dark,” Colvin said. “Faith is a step in the direction that the evidence is already pointing.”
He acknowledged that some may think apologetics is unnecessary, but he pointed to Paul’s address to pagan Greek philosophers in Acts 17, where the apostle laid out a defense of the reality of God and the sufficiency of Jesus.
While Colvin admitted apologetics is not appropriate in every situation, he said it can help overcome some people’s intellectual objections to the gospel and make them more open to its message. He pointed to one of his friends who became a believer after studying the evidence for Christianity.
“Obviously the Lord was at work in all that, and it wasn’t a head thing completely, but what it did was it made his head quit fighting with his heart,” Colvin said.
Sammy Gilbreath, director of the office of evangelism for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, said apologetics has emerged as a key interest for younger pastors and is an important resource for reaching younger generations. He said a state apologetics conference is in the works.
“We’re really excited about Mark being the first one to hold [the CAI] certification in this state,” Gilbreath said.
Colvin enjoys using apologetics to help believers, who are at times ridiculed and told their faith is akin to believing in Santa Claus. He said when he sees the relief in the eyes of Christians who realize there is solid evidence backing up their faith, it’s a great reward.
“There’s no reason why a believer should have to live with the idea that he has to check his brain at the door when he goes to church.”
Colvin is available to help train Alabama Baptists to defend Christianity’s claims. Contact him at 205-381-0699 or info@veridisciple.com. For more information, visit www.veridisciple.com.
For more information about the CAI program, visit www.namb.net/certified-apologetics-instructor.
For more information about the state apologetics conference, call Gilbreath’s assistant, Stephanie McClelland, at 1-800-264-1225, Ext. 245.
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