If you know me, you know that Christian apologetics is extremely important to me. And no, that doesn’t mean apologizing for being a Christian!
The word apologetics comes from the Greek word apologia, meaning a defense or reasoned answer. Christian apologetics is simply being able to give reasons for what we believe and why we believe it.
For most of my life, I couldn’t do that very well.
I am a preacher’s daughter, so naturally, I grew up being at church any time the doors were open. I was involved in GA’s, Acteens, a couple of mission trips, and was “Superior” in Bible Drill every year. I believed in Jesus. I believed Jesus died for my sins. I made that profession of faith in front of the church at an early age.
And yet, during all those years and all that involvement, I never really understood the big picture.
I remember sitting in Sunday School and Church Training (now known as Discipleship Training—a decidedly better name, but it will always be Church Training to me), reading lessons about people I didn’t know, with names I couldn’t always pronounce, living in places I didn’t know existed. I just didn’t see how any of it connected to my reality—to my life now.
The Bible? That was then. I didn’t understand what it had to do with now.
My faith was superficial, with very little growth. Looking back, it’s no wonder I ignored it for such a long time.
The boys were still in car seats when that began to change.
During my long commutes to work, I stumbled across Frank Turek and his radio show, Cross Examined. I had never heard the kinds of arguments he was making—the logical kind. I downloaded the Cross Examined app and listened to hours upon hours of apologetics: the intersection of science and faith, archaeological evidence, different worldviews, cultural issues, and more.
For the first time, the connections were being made in my head. And it changed my direction.
Those morning commutes opened a door I didn’t even know was there. The more I learned, the more I wanted to learn. I discovered other Christian apologists, each helping me understand different pieces of the puzzle.
Apologetics changed my faith. It gave a foundation to what I already believed. If someone asks me today why I am a Christian, I can give them an answer. Years ago, if someone had challenged me on that, I would have struggled to give an answer that went much beyond, “because I believe it.” My faith would have sounded a lot like a blind leap.
But the Christian faith is not a blind leap. Christianity is rooted in history and centered on the person of Jesus—His life, His death, and His resurrection. Real people. Real places. Real events.
As my boys have grown up, I’ve done my best to make sure they are more prepared than I was. Through the years, we’ve tackled tough questions together—not just what we believe, but why we believe it and how to talk with others about those beliefs with respect.
I’ve tried to do the same with the kids I teach in Sunday School. I teach 3rd–6th graders at our church, and we rotate through a year of apologetics followed by two years focused on learning how to study the Bible. We use timelines and maps so those people and places I once struggled to connect to real life become exactly that—real. Real people. Real places. Real events.
I want them to be prepared to give an answer—and to do it with gentleness and respect.
And that brings me to 3:15 Collective.
The name comes from 1 Peter 3:15 and its call to always be ready to give an answer for the hope that is in us, while doing so with gentleness and respect. 3:15 Collective is the next step in that progression for me—a place to share what I’ve learned and, hopefully, help equip others to have those same gospel conversations.
Because I don’t want us to simply know what we believe. I want us to understand why we believe it—and to always be ready to share it.
