ABOUT
I became a Christian while I was in High School in 2001. I attended New Mexico Tech in 2004 to pursue a physics major. During my time there, I was involved with Intervarsity Christian Fellowship, lead Bible study groups, and a small apologetics group. After two years, I strongly felt that God was calling me to get some formal ministry training, so in 2005 I attended a one year School of Ministry program at Calvary Chapel of Albuquerque. While there, I also served as a leader in their High School student ministry. After finishing their ministry program, I became the youth pastor at Calvary of Socorro in 2006. I also led hermeneutics, discipleship, worldviews, apologetics, and evangelism small groups while serving there. In the Fall of 2009, I moved to Montana to help out with a church plant. I helped setup and tear down for service and did some social media and audio/media work as well as leading some small groups and outreach events. Rachael and I married in 2012, then in 2014, we moved back to New Mexico….
I've been studying theology, apologetics, evangelism, and worldviews since 2005 and I have realize that many Christians have not been exposed to these subjects. I have also been seeking to attend a church that is similar to Timothy Keller's. As Keller says: “We don’t want to have a church for ourselves, but for people who don’t like church.” A church where the pastor has an irenic theology, accurately representing all views or interpretations; addresses arguments for the Bible/Christianity/ theology; a church who's leadership strives to give historical, philosophical, and scientific reasons for the Christian worldview and who's pastor has a basic knowledge of philosophy, hermeneutics, theology, and apologetics or at least understand the importance of these subjects. I don't have a formal degree other than a basic certificate in ministry but I have a strong passion to teach apologetics/worldviews/evangelism full time (as a career) for a church or organization. Therefore, I started a part time ministry called Worldview Café https://sites.google.com/site/worldviewcafe in 2006 to discuss people’s worldviews and to provide rational as to why the Christian worldview is both reasonable and true compared to other worldviews. I have developed a worldview conversational survey and my curriculum is derived from various sources including Conversational Evangelism: How To Listen and Speak So You May Be Heard By Dr. David Geisler, Unshakable Foundations by Norman Geisler and Bocchino Peter. I am always trying to connect with other Christians who share the same passion in philosophy, theology, apologetics, and evangelism.
After having learned recently that most youth will leave the Church after graduating college and after having experienced and observed many issues, concerns, and problems in the local church; I have made it my goal to
I have written two essays addressing this.
In “Does The Church Need A New Reformation? An Open Letter To Anyone Who Teaches The Bible”, I address:
Why is the church not having much influence in our culture, schools, government, laws, media? How can the church and pastors be more effective and more convincing in our post-modern culture? Why are so many young college aged Christians abandoning Christianity more now than ever before? I am convinced that the local church, pastors and other people who teach the Bible need to return to reason and training to be more effective and more convincing to both Christians and non-Christians so that they can know and love God better and have a greater influence in our culture. I argue that pastors or Bible teachers ought to defend what they are teaching, address barriers, cover objections, answer questions and make people aware of the other systems, views, and theories in Christian Theology. I explore the questions: What is the Christian's and Church's Ultimate Goal and Responsibility? What is The Purpose of the Church? What is the relationship between Apologetics, the Christian and the Church? What Is The Importance of Understanding Today's Barriers to the Gospel? Why is Philosophy Important in Theology? Why is Understanding Purpose and Audience Important? How Do We Interpret and Apply the Bible Correctly? Why There Are Different Interpretations, Systems, and Views (What Pastors and Bible Teachers Are Not Telling You)? and How Can the Church Incorporate Apologetics?
In “Is There A Need For Christian Apologetics”, I explore the following:
Is there a need for Christian Apologetics in general? More specifically: How does Apologetics benefit the average Christian personally? What about those who leave the Church/Christianity? And how does Apologetics benefit Christians in Sharing the Gospel? I gathered together some of the research, surveys, quotes, and case studies. I came to the conclusion that the Church in the USA is failing drastically our youth and failing to influence our culture and schools. Young people (high school and college aged) between 50-90% are leaving Christianity and the Church.
Over the past few years and after being exposed to various teachers, theological and apologetic systems, and denominations, I have adapted a more irenic or communal theology and philosophy (moderate; avoiding extremes; aiming at unity and reconciliation and attempting to accurately represent all major views or interpretations, even opposing ones) and syntopical theology/philosophy (using multiple books, articles, etc., on related subjects and forming a thesis or original thought by comparing and contrasting various other authors’ thoughts). I take the time, effort, and care to examine at all the relevant facts and to consider all the views on a matter, issue, doctrine, system, or concept. I aim to present all sides; provide balance when there are multiple interpretations of biblical data.
From my experience (meeting different Christians, working at a Christian ministry, seeing social media), Christians often (and unfortunately) allow their differences to obscure Christian unity (Ephesians 4:4).
However, informed and mature Christians can find that many differences are complementary and related. I try to represent each approach at its best and in the most sympathetic manner possible. I try to draw attention to some of the most important weaknesses that attend each of the major theological system, along with their perennial strengths to underscore the fact that all of us can learn from other theological systems.
I strongly believe that integrative analysis of theological systems is important and that there is a real danger when Christians claim to present their theological system as the best or most complete. We all have our own pronounced tendencies and limited points of view.
Some Christians are inclined to see issues in terms of either/or, emphasizing the dichotomies, the divided issues, and the unbridgeable differences between points of view and theological systems. Others Christians are inclined to see issues in terms of both/and, emphasizing the commonalities, the qualifications to be made on both sides of a debate, the potential for reconciliation between seemingly opposed points of view. I attempt to apply the “both/and” wherever possible with the ultimate goal of finding truth wherever it may be found or lead. Of course, there are essential and foundational “issues on which Christians must take a decisive stand for truth and against error, insisting that one is either upholding the truth or advocating error. Either one affirms that all facts are what they are ultimately because this is God’s world, or one denies that God is the sovereign Lord of creation. Either one affirms that Jesus Christ rose physically from the dead in real space-time history, or one denies this cornerstone truth of the Christian faith. Either one affirms that the Bible is God’s Word, communicating revealed truth just as God willed, or one undermines the church’s foundational source for its worship, its practice, its doctrine, and its apologetics. Either one affirms that God is known savingly only in Jesus Christ, or one erroneously encourages people to believe that there is hope for them outside a relationship with Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. ” (23. Speaking the Truth in Love: Perspectives on Apologetics. Kenneth D. Boa and Robert M. Bowman, Jr. https://bible.org/seriespage/23-speaking-truth-love-perspectives-apologetics )
We Christians are far more likely to engage the world effectively and to communicate better with one another and to retain our love and respect for one another if we make an active effort to have more of a irenic or communal theology and philosophy and if we understand and incorporate our differences.
So, personally I would consider myself a student of integrated or irenic or mixed theology, philosophy, and apologetics.
( https://bible.org/series/faith-has-its-reasons
https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/its-time-to-train-in-mma-mixed-martial-apologetics )
Recently, I have been finishing a Bible Study or Hermeneutic Apologetic.
I read my first book on how to study the Bible in 2004. Since then I have read others and have been developing my own guide so that I could study the Bible better. However, over the last few years, (after meeting different Christians, working at a Christian ministry, being on social media, etc.) I have seen a loss of basic Hermeneutic principles especially among Christians.
( See: https://thestateoftheology.com
https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/are-young-people-really-leaving-christianity https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/another-christian-survey-confirms-a-national-trend
https://coldcasechristianity.com/writings/why-are-you-a-christian-believer
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PL273P9aMo7iG5OYmoBDlbbMKY-iI4q3Lj
https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDP3r2FYXPWWyLh2BJMt8s2zL8tOYUUvr
https://www.youtube.com/c/SeanMcDowell-info/search?app=desktop&query=misunderstood )
I see a growing need to return to systematic and inductive Bible study. So, I decided to work towards publicly sharing my personal Bible study guide. The study guide is intended for Christians (and non-Christians) who want to find out for themselves what the Bible says. It uses a systematic (comprehensive, coherent correlation of all related data) and inductive (using posteriori reasoning or after studying the evidence; conclusions follow from premises or propositions) approach to studying the Bible. It allows you to not only explain and interpret the Biblical text for yourself but also to present arguments for and against; to note comparisons and contrasts with other interpretations, systems, and views; to address common objections; to minimizing assumptions; and to answer common questions and objections. It also allows you to give informed explanations and answers to critics and skeptics of Christianity. To accomplish these, this guide incorporates philosophy, logic, hermeneutics, theology, and apologetics. This guide also allows you to have a more irenic or communal (moderate; avoiding extremes; aiming at unity and reconciliation and attempting to accurately represent all major views or interpretations, even opposing ones) theology and philosophy and a syntopical (using multiple books, articles, etc., on related subjects and formed a thesis or original thought by comparing and contrasting various other authors’ thoughts) theology and philosophy.
I am not a “Conservative” Christian but a Correspondence Christian.
Because:
Conservative does not tell you what is true.
Tradition can be wrong.
Change can be good.
I’m not a Christian because of tradition or because I do not like change or because it serves my own purposes and desires or because it “works” for me or because it makes me feel good.
I’m a Correspondent or Objective Christian because truth is what correctly corresponds to reality as it exists regardless of what one thinks or feels and is known through objective means. I am a Christian because it is true. I'm a Christian because I desire to live in a way that reflects the truth. And I’m a Christian because my high regard for the truth leaves me no alternative.
Personality type
(I know that there are some concerns with using these https://www.vox.com/2014/7/15/5881947/myers-briggs-personality-test-meaningless
https://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-echochambers-28315137
https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/the-faqs-what-christians-should-know-about-the-enneagram ):
Myers/briggs: ISTJ-A: Introverted Sensing with Extroverted Thinking, reserved yet willful, with a rational outlook on life, integrity, practical logic and tireless dedication to duty
https://www.16personalities.com/istj-personality or
I lean more towards the Enneagram 5w6 The Investigative Thinker because I tend to be: perceptive, insightful, intelligent; ability to observe and see things that most people cannot or do not notice; inquisitive, objective, and practical mind; make wise decisions based on reason and knowledge; insatiable thirst for thinking and knowing.
https://www.yourenneagramcoach.com/type5
I have read/been discipled by many books/mentors including:
1. Come Let us Reason. Norman Geisler and Ronald Brooks.
2. Intro to Philosophy: A Christian Perspective. Norman Geisler and Paul Feinberg
3. The Unshakable Truth by Josh and Sean McDowell.
4. Unshakable Foundations by Norman Geisler and Bocchino Peter
5. Essential Doctrines Made Easy by Norman Geisler
6. Conviction Without Compromise by Norman Geisler and Ron Rhodes
7. Love Your God with All Your Mind: The Role of Reason in the Life of the Soul by J.P. Moreland
8. Faith is Not Wishing. Greg Koukl
9. Evidence That Demands a Verdict. Josh McDowell.
10. ColdCase Christianity. J Warner Wallace.
11. Conversational Evangelism. David Geisler
12. The Theology Program. https://bible.org/topics/434/The%20Theology%20Program