Posted by Anthony on April 24, 2010
This article discussing emerging church staff positions crossed my desk and caught my attention. According to the article, prevailing trends in society and in the Church (Institutional) suggest that we can see these positions being developed or created:
The Network Administrator
The Multicultural Children’s Director
The Chief of Staff
The Operations Pastor
The Creative Arts Director
The Boomer Director
The Spiritual Growth Pastor
I think this list, though not portrayed as comprehensive, is probably pretty accurate. Given my background, I noticed that one position is not mentioned: Apologetics Director. I think that is pretty accurate, too.
I find this to be pretty interesting and indicative of the state of the Church, Inc. today. Not to take away anything from the positions mentioned above or positions that may already exist, but we live in a society where Christianity is being deliberately attacked at a number of levels. At the same time, the culture itself represents challenges to Christianity less intentionally, in the form of hundreds and even thousands of new world views for Christians to encounter and have to deal with.
The average Christian receives an education from the Church that presumes that said Christian will never encounter someone with a different worldview or even one that is positively hostile. We educate our youth as though when they go to college their professors will be sympathetic to Christianity.
Now, we all know that hostility to Christianity is rampant. Read the rest of the entry… »
Posted by Anthony on April 28, 2008
Note: this post was originally intended for a small, almost exclusively Christian readership that consisted largely of folks who shared my perspective. I have opened the post up to the World Wide Web but please read it in light of its original context.
In private correspondence this week I’ve talked with a couple of people who are pursuing their Masters in Apologetics. In case the reader doesn’t know, I am doing the same. I don’t get emails like that very often, but if the programs that Christian colleges are offering is any indication, there is a demand- at least from the perspective of students- for apologetics degrees.
I wonder if any one has checked the ‘want ads’ for apologetics openings. I have. There aren’t any. There aren’t any because there aren’t apologetics positions. So the scoop is that there are many determined men and women willing to commit to the time of study required to handle the deepest objections to the Christian faith but there isn’t any place for them in the Church. Not if they want to support their families of course, or make use of the Scriptural principle “The worker is worth his wages” or “Don’t muzzle the ox…”
If a person wants to support themselves in apologetics, the options are limited. 1. Become a professor. 2. Get lucky. 3. Self-Support, like a missionary. I fear for the people entering apologetics. I certainly think the education establishment could use a fair number of informed and godly men and women, don’t get me wrong, but those positions are few and far between and let’s face it, they aren’t specifically apologetics. Even CS Lewis was a professor of literature with his apologetics on the side. Read the rest of the entry… »
