Apologetics Table of Contents

Transcription

1 Apologetics Table of Contents APOLOGETICS TABLE OF CONTENTS... 1 RUNNING AN APOLOGETICS CLASS... 3 HOW TO USE THIS CURRICULUM... 3 LESSON 1: INTRODUCTION WELCOME LECTURE ASSIGNMENT... 6 LESSON 2: RESEARCH WELCOME LECTURE ASSIGNMENT... 8 LESSON 3: CARD WRITING WELCOME LECTURE ASSIGNMENT LESSON 4: THE BOX WELCOME LECTURE ASSIGNMENT LESSON 5: COMPETING WELCOME LECTURE ASSIGNMENT LESSON 6: THE UNPREPARED SPEECH WELCOME LECTURE LESSON 7: USING THE UNIQUE WELCOME LECTURE ASSIGNMENT LESSON 8: CARD EDITING WORKSHOP WELCOME WORKSHOP LECTURE LESSON 9: THE CLUB MINDSET WELCOME LECTURE ASSIGNMENT LESSON 10: GLORIFYING GOD WELCOME Section 4 Apologetics Page 1

2 2. LECTURE ASSIGNMENT LESSON 11: CHRISTIAN/NON-CHRISTIAN AUDIENCE WELCOME LECTURE ASSIGNMENT LESSON 12: DISCUSSING THEOLOGICAL STUDIES WELCOME DISCUSSION Section 4 Apologetics Page 2

3 Running an Apologetics Class If Apologetics is new to you and you bought this curriculum hoping that it would give you some kind of direction, you re not alone. Coaches call the Monument Publishing offices regularly to tell us that they ve been roped into coaching a speech or debate club, and they have no idea what they re doing. Whether you have many years of experience behind you or if you are starting a brand new club in an area with few speech and debate clubs, we hope that the Apologetics Curriculum will give you the tools you need to help your students along. The ultimate goal for Apologetic coaching is to train students to live lives that bear the image of our God and Savior, giving all glory to Him, leaving nothing on the table, investing into the lives of God s people to change a generation. A thought we hold to is that it takes one person to change a generation, and one generation to change a nation. Coaching gives you the opportunity to aid in this process for this cause that God is working in the hearts of youths. The best coaching a person can give is coaching that will last a lifetime. If you structure your Apologetic club under such an auspice and teach with this in mind, God s blessing and success will follow (and I do not merely mean in trophies that will collect dust someday, but in the golden character you grew in your student s hearts). You have a big responsibility in teaching apologetics to high school students. The way you explain things can have a huge effect on their faith. Please do not let doctrinal differences divide a club. Truly, it saddens us to hear of non-crucial division among God s people. How do you think God feels about his children separating over bickering and contentious arguing? (Proverbs 6:12-19; 1 Corinthians 12:25) How to use this curriculum This is a companion to the C.S. Lewis Edition Silver Book. The curriculum walks through the Bible, several CS Lewis works, and Mark Mittelberg s Questions Christian Hope No One Will Ask. This edition works through these resources through a 12 week plan. You ll find the Silver Book a needed reference in coaching. In it, we give in-depth commentary on every question asked in your league, with quotations and book recommendations. With this as a companion, you can go through the lesson plans and create a dual lecture each week. The first lecture is written in this book, giving basic instructions in Apologetics competition, and the second lecture is one that you ll be able to develop using our simplification of the 100 questions into 12 basic topics. There are two leagues that offer apologetics as a competitive event: Stoa and NCFCA. Silver Book caters to both leagues, but the leagues do change their questions before the competitive year gets going. We encourage apologists to study the content as if the questions will not change, but download the free midseason supplement for Silver Book. We will release an addendum by the end of the year that accounts for any changes that the Section 4 Apologetics Page 3

4 leagues may release. This way your students will have plenty of time to prepare for qualifying tournaments. As you teach your students, remember that you are training up young warriors for Christ. You hold in your hands the tools your students need to answer difficult questions for themselves. Be excited about this opportunity, and be eager to foster a club of students who work together well, building each other up in love. Blessings in your coaching this year! Luis Garcia (Wingsofmusic37@gmail.com) and Cynthia Jeub (cynthiajeub@gmail.com) Section 4 Apologetics Page 4

5 Lesson 1: Introduction Goals 1. Understand Apologetics 2. Get started with a healthy mindset toward competition Agenda 1. Open with prayer 2. Lecture: An intro to Apologetics 3. Assignment Homework Assignment #1 1. Buy cards and boxes 2. Bring your to-do list next week 1. Welcome Open in prayer. Go around the room and have students introduce themselves and explain why they are interested in Apologetics. 2. Lecture Part 1: General Mindset: The right attitude is necessary when approaching Apologetics competition. Encourage your students to go into this event with humility. The goal is to grow closer to God. Answering questions about Christian belief is not so that they can sound smart, it s so that they can have a way to answer difficult inquiries for themselves. Explain that many young people walk away from Christianity when they reach the end of high school or college. Theoretically, this is because the students don t know how to research the answers for themselves, relying on their pastors and teachers to figure things out for them. That s not what Apologetics competition is about. Your students are here to learn to dig for the answers to the questions for themselves. Terms: A card is one or more 4x6 cards that have an outline for a speech written on them. Cards include notes, an outline, verses and/or quotations to be used in the speech given. Rules: Failure to adhere to the rules can get you disqualified. You as the coach should look up the rules from your league and read them over. Below are the ten commandments of Apologetics rules: 1. When you walk into the room, you may have your Bible and Box of 4X6 index cards. No outside sources, besides those which you have typed/written on the cards. That means no other books and no electronic devices. A pen or pencil is allowed. 2. When you speak, it s only you and the cards. Nothing else can be taken up with you. Section 4 Apologetics Page 5

6 3. During a round, you shall be given three random topics, and of them you shall select one to prepare a 6 minute speech with 4 minutes of preparation time. 4. Speak from the Topics. Don t give a speech on a topic other than one you have chosen. 5. State the Topic. The judges will want to know where the student is going with the speech, so let them know within the first minute of the speech what your topic is. 6. Stay on Topic. The number one complaint that limited-prep students receive on their ballots is that their speech didn t relate closely to the topic. 7. Give a presentation that is an original work, using Scripture, Outside Sources, and Analysis. Keep it balanced between rhetoric, Scripture, and non-scripture selections, as this gives a wellversed impression. 8. Cite your sources ethically. 9. Own your own Box. During a tournament, box sharing is not permitted. 10. In your box, you may have prepared cards for the topics to use as you speak and extra blank cards to write whatever further notations you wish during your prep. time. Part 2: Topic-specific God s nature Discuss with the students why it s so important that we believe correctly about God. The A.W. Tozer quotation is a question to be addressed here. Be sure to point out that some beliefs are crucial to salvation, while others are secondary. Bring up the trinity and the omni- questions, like explain the meaning and significance of the omniscience of God. 3. Assignment Because each of the students needs to take responsibility for their own boxes, they should have a game plan for the next several weeks. How many of the questions do they plan to cover by writing speeches? How much time do they plan to spend on each card they write? Will they be able to accomplish all of this in time for their first tournament, or will they set goals for each tournament this year? Have them bring their ideas back next week. Section 4 Apologetics Page 6

7 Lesson 2: Research Goals 1. In-depth discussion on how to research for Apologetics Agenda 1. Opening discussion 2. Lecture on research and the existence of God Homework Assignment #2 1. Bring a list of books you found helpful when going through the Apologetics topics 1. Welcome Open in prayer. Ask each of the students: when you have a question or a topic for a paper to write, where do you turn for help? Examples: library books, internet, parents/church teachers, thinking it through. Go over the game plans that the students were assigned last week. Point out the first tournament of the season, and help them to determine which goals are realistic for them to meet before the event. 2. Lecture Part 1: General When getting started on research, first study the topics in general. Read through them. Get a good feel of what is being asked, and take notes on how you would like to respond to them. Understand what is being asked by looking up any words you don t know. Second, group the questions. How many can be addressed with the same card outline? Depravity of man and original sin are two separate topics, but if you choose one or the other, basically the same speech could be given for both. It s recommended that as the students get more advanced, they make as many topic-specific cards as possible, not general one-size-fits-most speeches. As the research begins, look for ways to read about the general categories that were produced in the last step. One great way to start is by looking at the definition questions ( explain the meaning and significance of ), or by highlighting the questions that are the most interesting or least understood by the student. Once the student has chosen where to start, research takes a majority of the time involved in this competitive event. Encourage reading books on the topics, and working through the Silver Book as they study them. Section 4 Apologetics Page 7

8 Part 2: Topic-specific The Existence of God The existence of God is something that many people question. Discuss with your students what it means for God to be beyond space and time, and why He is still at work though we can t see or touch Him. Also discuss atheism, and ask if some people are atheists because they have a misconception of what God is like, or have been hurt by religion. 3. Assignment Bring to the next meeting a list of the books you found, some notes you took or quotations you gathered, and how they apply to one of the topics. Section 4 Apologetics Page 8

9 Lesson 3: Card Writing Goals 1. Understand the elements of a good card, and how to use them Agenda 1. Opening discussion 2. Lecture on card writing, God s perfection Homework Assignment #3 1. Bring a completed speech to the next meeting, ready to perform 1. Welcome Open in prayer. Ask the students for the resources that they found helpful while researching their cards. Ask them: Do you feel prepared to start writing a speech? How many speeches do you think you could write using what you ve gathered? Would you like to do more work in this area? Did you learn anything new that you d like to share with everyone? 2. Lecture Part 1: General A card outline ought to include what is needed to give a focused speech. Too much text on the notes will force the speaker to spend more time reading off of the card instead of presenting extemporaneously. Conversely, not enough content will make the speech too short. The solution is to encourage your students to practice at home for their parents or by themselves with a timer, and to perform for the club. A good speech Introduction: as breakfast is the most important meal of the day, the introduction is the most important part of the speech. It won t contain the most in-depth thought of the speech or the climactic logical conclusion it s most important because to do it poorly is to begin with little credibility. Begin with a unique story, quotation, or idea. Don t waste this time by rushing directly into stating the topic. Have fun with it, or draw your audience in emotionally. Your goal here is to grab the attention of your audience, and get them thinking about what the climactic conclusion might be that you have in store. Though it is at the top of your card, the introduction doesn t have to be the first thing you come up with. Also, leave room for yourself: always make the introductory example something that can be told in about forty to forty-five seconds, so that there is room to state your topic and give an outline for your speech before moving along. Section 4 Apologetics Page 9

10 Map: The three parts of the speech are often lined up like this: tell them what you re going to say (map), tell them (meat), and tell them what you ve told them (memory). This part of the speech is only about ten or fifteen seconds long, just giving a brief preview of what you ll be spending most of your speaking time on. Thesis: Tell your judges in one sentence what the speech is all about. Why is the answer to this topic important to you? Answer with only a few words. The thesis needs to be clear and simple, something that is closely related to the topic but is not the topic itself. Make it profound, if possible. Phrase the thesis in a way that makes your audience stop and think. If you re not sure what will make people thoughtful, try giving the thesis statement to your parents at home, and ask them if they re intrigued. Meat: There are three ingredients in the meat of the card, and they are Scripture, Analysis, and Sources. Sources are quotations or ideas from books, websites, or other sources that pertain to the topic. Like Scripture, your Sources will be written down with citations word-for-word on the card. Analysis, however, will not be written down exactly. Instead, write just a few words to remind yourself what you re going to say, and improvise it in your speech. Those are the ingredients, and once these are gathered, it s simple to categorize them into two or three points, and prioritize those points. To put the three points in order, make it build up to a climax: the third point should be the strongest and most profound, while the first point builds, and the second point is the least significant one that connects the other two. Memory: This is just going over your outline again. Conclusion: Like the introduction, you want your conclusion to be smooth and concise. Leave yourself about a minute to finish up, and to refer back to your introductory thought. A good rule of thumb is to conclude with a memorable one-liner, whether it be from your own head, a quotation, or a memorized bible verse. Your goal is to let the last bit of what you say hang in the air nicely when you leave the room. Part 2: Topic-specific God s Perfection Among the questions asked on God s perfection are those of holiness and goodness. Ask the students whether God is above all, and if there s any way for there to be something more perfect or complete than God is. Let this basic philosophical question lead into how humans measure up to God s ultimate perfection, and what it means about grace. As a bonus for this discussion, consider reading The Grace and Truth Paradox by Randy Alcorn. 3. Assignment Bring a completed speech to the next club meeting, ready to perform. Section 4 Apologetics Page 10

11 Lesson 4: The Box Goals 1. Understand how to use and organize the box well Agenda 1. Practice first Apologetics speeches 2. Lecture on boxes 3. Lecture on topic Homework Assignment #4 1. Gather quotations to share with the club 1. Welcome Open in prayer. Have each student give the speech they wrote for the class. Ask whether the students felt like they knew about the topic they chose already, or if they learned new things as they were writing cards. Give constructive feedback for improvement on the cards or their performance. 2. Lecture Part 1: General There are many approaches that can be taken to the box. First of all, don t be intimidated by the 100 questions. Take them one at a time. Remind the students that the box is never finished until the very last awards ceremony at your very last tournament. With the Silver Book, you re a step ahead of where students who were just getting started were a few years ago. This lecture is all about getting started on the box. Every student should develop an individual box that they can get to know well. The box that holds your cards can be organized any way the student chooses. Just remember: finding cards during prep time at a fast rate is crucial. Using small tabs to mark them by alphabetical order or by category are common ways to organize it. The goal in laying out the organization system should be that the cards are easy to find. You don t want to be using up much of your four minute prep time looking for your card the purpose of filing is retrieval. Whatever system you choose, know it. Make it your own, and make it easily accessible to you. Put a list in the front of your box that shows how you organized your cards as a reference. Consider creating a code system for labels. For example, the questions are organized by categories and subtopics. Subtopics could be statement analyses, definitions, or general questions. So one question could be category 2, definition 3, or C2D3. This simplifies the card labeling more than coming up with other titles. Another system is highlighting the different Section 4 Apologetics Page 11

12 categories and color-coding them with the tabs. Highlighting has also been used to note the quality of the card being used (green means it s excellent, red means it s not-so-good, grey means that there is not a card on that topic). Besides having strong cards in your box for each speech, you ll also want to have several blank cards for use if you don t have any cards on the topic you ve drawn. Also for this use, bring some generic cards, or cards with quotations and bible verses on them that can be used for just about anything. These help tremendously when stuck with a topic you haven t prepared for (more on the unprepared speech at the next meeting). In addition to backup, these quotations could just be ones that can be applied to cards that have already been written, and provide impact to the point being made. Finally, be dedicated to your box. An old box that you re unfamiliar with, that you haven t practiced with recently, and that you haven t been improving all the time will fail you at the tournament. Part 2: Topic-specific Scripture The question of scripture s canon and reliability is covered in Silver Book under the respective questions. Cover inspiration and whether the Bible could be written by both man and God. 3. Assignment Begin gathering quotations together. While all the club members have individual boxes of their own, they can work together and cut the time spent by sharing notes from books they ve read or quotations they ve found. Bring a printout of the quotations you ve found to club next week. Section 4 Apologetics Page 12

13 Lesson 5: Competing Goals 1. Get ready for a good performance at tournaments Agenda 1. Exchange quotations 2. Lecture on competition and Man s Sinful Nature Homework Assignment #5 1. Prepare speech(es) to give at the next meeting 1. Welcome Open in prayer. Spend some time going over quotations that the students have gathered, and ask which ones would apply to which questions. Gather addresses so that the documents can be sent to all the students. 2. Lecture Part 1: General This lecture is breaking down the steps to competing in Apologetics. First, before you walk into the room, there are a couple of things to note. One is that the judges are always judging. You want to have a consistently good attitude throughout the entire tournament. Judging doesn t begin when you walk into the room, it begins when you get out of the car, and one of your potential judges sees the way you behave as you walk into the building. Competition in speech and/or debate demands a positive demeanor throughout the whole day, because you never know when you re making first impressions on your judges. The other note to make before walking into your competition room is your box. You ve put time and love and effort into this box, so give yourself at least a few minutes to sit down and open your box. Think about the things you ve been writing about in preparation for this tournament, and reorganize anything that is out of place. Get reacquainted with the way your cards are lined out, and ensure your confidence in your ability to draw out any one in a short amount of time. Your performance is best when you get into the Apologetics mindset just before each round. When you walk into the room, carry yourself with a strong stature. Offer a smile that shows you are confident, willing, and meant to be there. You want to communicate that you are eager to give a conversational and relatable speech that will be worth your audience s time. Next, break the ice. Smile, ask how the judges are doing with sincerity, crack a joke, make a comment that is relational. Make sure to do any one of these ice-breaking techniques before you draw the topic, as the judge expects you to be professional and focused after that point. Section 4 Apologetics Page 13

14 Always double-check round procedure; basic permitted activities like taking all three of the topics with you during preparation time or keeping your slip of paper after you re done speaking can be important to the judges. Be polite with stringent judges, and listen carefully to any additional instructions your judges give you. Once preparation time begins (usually as soon as you hold three topics in your hand), read them quickly. You should know all the questions well enough that skimming them will let you identify which one you ve chosen. Choose which one you re going to address in seconds. Get out your card, and begin reading through it. Decide if you re going to give the card as is, or if there will be any last-minute changes. Make any changes within the first minute of your prep time, if you must make them. It is however desirable that there aren t any changes to be made. Now memorize the outline of your speech. Read and commit to memory the titles of your points so that you can keep your organization smooth and keep eye contact with the judges as you move through the speech. Next, read through the verses and quotations. Make sure that you can recite any verses that you ve memorized before. With quotations, read through it and make sure that you know the pronunciations of the words and that it makes sense. As you get more experience in Apologetics, you ll get to know your weaknesses. These are apparent when you watch yourself on film, or with similar comments on your ballots from different judges. In some cases, students speak too quickly without enunciating clearly, and in other cases, students lack clarity and organization. Take note of these, and use your preparation time to focus on how you re going to counter those weaknesses. The last piece of advice for the preparation time use is to pray. Always take some time to dedicate this speech to the Lord, to request focus as you speak. Part 2: Topic-specific Man s Sinful Nature Address first the creation and fall of man. What are some ways to outline a speech that discusses man s sinful nature? Is it always necessary to tell the story of the fall of man, or are there creative ways to allude to it? How does salvation apply? What does it mean for us to be redeemed, justified, and sanctified of our sinful nature? 3. Assignment Have students prepare another speech to give in front of the class at the next meeting. Section 4 Apologetics Page 14

15 Lesson 6: The Unprepared Speech Goals Agenda 1. Help students understand how to give a good speech if they end up with a topic they haven t prepared for 1. Practice speeches, go over goals 2. Lecture on giving a speech that was unprepared 3. Discuss good and evil 1. Welcome Open in prayer. Have each student present a speech in front of the class, and give helpful feedback. Discuss ways to improve, and go over goals. How many speeches has each student written? 2. Lecture Part 1: General Note first of all that while this meeting time will be focused on learning how to give a good speech without preparing ahead of time, this is no excuse to fail in preparing to the best of your ability. A good goal to have is that in any case, you have a written speech for at least one of the three topics drawn in your round. With that in mind, here s the backup plan. First and foremost, if you don t have a card for any of the three topics you ve drawn, don t panic! This isn t the first time you ve seen this question before, and you should have something to talk about. Spend a little more time than you usually do to choose the topic. Go through your box and find your general quotations and ask: what card do I have written that is the most similar to this question? Then get out a pen and cross out anything that won t apply, and think through whether you ll still be able to fill your time with what is left, and otherwise insert on of your generic quotations. In some cases, it works well to combine two different cards you ve written. In general, follow these steps: 1. Take a little longer to choose the topic 2. Carry blank cards 3. Refer to your general quotations 4. Cross-reference 5. Lots of prayer Section 4 Apologetics Page 15

16 Part 2: Topic-specific Good and evil There are some questions in the Apologetics topics that question goodness. One that can be applied is explaining the omnipotence of God by asking: if God is all-powerful (omnipotent), why do bad things happen? Ask the students if they have any questions concerning whether God is good, and why there is evil in the world. Ask them if they have any ideas of stories they would use in their speeches to describe good and evil (ideas: the story of the fall of man, or the mythological tale of Demeter and Persephone). Section 4 Apologetics Page 16

17 Lesson 7: Using the Unique Goals 1. Cultivate a readiness to stand out from the other competitors Agenda 1. Lecture on using the unique and heaven Homework Assignment #7 1. Bring speeches that are ready for in-depth coaching 1. Welcome Open in prayer. 2. Lecture Part 1: General There are several ways to be unique in a way that provides a competitive edge: credibility, delivering new information to the audience, presenting old content in new ways, and approaching topics differently than you are expected to. The first way to stand out and be unique is to give Biblical context. It sounds simple, but where most competitors will quote Romans 3:23 ( for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God ), only a few give the context and explain that the next sentence is about justification (Romans 3:24). This is just one example of a commonly used verse, you have the opportunity to prove how well you know the Bible, and not that you just looked for a verse that pertained to the topic. It s also helpful to bring in a selection from Scripture that is less well known and show how it applies. Here are some other ideas: search for one-liners (memorable phrases), quotations (found online or selected from a book), ideas (a concept that can be given with rhetoric instead of an exact quotation), statistics (there are some facts concerning Apologetics that can be found on gallup.com or barna.org), or stories. Anything can be quoted, from blogs and YouTube videos to audio sermons and books. Make sure that when quoting something, it s a good source that will not damage your credibility as a speaker. A new idea is one that most people have not heard before, and can be fun to bring up in a speech. If you re not sure if the idea is truly unique, tell your parents about it, and ask them if it s a foreign or familiar concept. Some well-known names that will boost your credibility, people who have written about Apologetics: William Wilberforce, Lee Strobel, A.W. Tozer, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Jim Elliot, Amy Carmichael, C.S. Lewis, Corrie Ten Boom. Section 4 Apologetics Page 17

18 Note on quoting: Be ethical. All of this is probably not going to be checked, so it s left to your discretion. Don t say somebody said it who didn t, but that doesn t mean you re forced to cite something if it will decrease your credibility. Keep in mind, though, that if something will decrease your credibility, then you are taking that risk by quoting it. After you ve gathered unique information, there are ways to perform uniquely. Explain any new ideas carefully, as you want to communicate well, but be careful not to insult the intelligence of your judges. Also, use plenty of logical reasoning. Spelling out the answer to a difficult question. The best way to be unique is to be savvy to what other competitors are doing. Make sure that you watch a few other Apologetics speeches at each tournament, so that you can take notes on what similarities there are with most performances, and come up with ways to do things differently when you speak. Remember that uniqueness is a helpful tip along the way, but standing out is not to come at the expense of staying on-topic. The top complaint from judges in limitedpreparation speech is that the students don t stick to the topics they were given. Make the truth your goal, and don t be afraid to defend what you believe. Part 2: Topic-specific Heaven What do we need to do to get into heaven? Yes, that s a loaded question. Allow this to lead your discussion as you help your students to decide what kinds of outlines would work well in a speech on heaven. Why is it important that we make sure that our beliefs about salvation are correct? 3. Assignment Prepare one or more speeches to give in front of the class. Section 4 Apologetics Page 18

19 Lesson 8: Card Editing Workshop Goals 1. Have students work together and learn from each others ideas Agenda 1. Develop in-depth card writing and structure breakdown to tighten the performance of the students 2. Lecture on Justice and Hell 1. Welcome Open in prayer. Before the workshop begins, remind the students that the purpose of critiquing each others speeches is to build each other up. Establish that for every weakness pointed out, a compliment on something the speaker did well should also be made. 2. Workshop 1. Have each student perform a speech they have written. Use a whiteboard to map out the structure of the speech while the speech is being given. 2. After the student is done speaking, look at the outline and ask the class: how can this be tightened into a better-structured speech? Was there more or less time spent on one of the points than on the other two? Should there be more Biblical sources? More non-biblical sources? Are there any ways to improve the performance in general? 3. When all of the students are done speaking, break down the goals again. How close are we to meeting these goals before the first tournament, and what needs to happen in the next few weeks to achieve them? Are any of the students struggling in one subject area? Have students help each other to answer questions about these difficult theological topics. 3. Lecture Topic-specific Justice and hell Why would a loving God create hell? Who is deserving of hell? What s so bad about hell? These are basic questions that can be covered with the students. A highly recommended book is Erasing Hell by Francis Chan. Section 4 Apologetics Page 19

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21 Lesson 9: The Club Mindset Goals 1. Establish the mindset of a support system among club members Agenda 1. Coach speeches 2. Lecture on clubs and the Deity of Christ Homework Assignment #9 1. Write a topic-specific speech 1. Welcome Open in prayer. Allow any students with new cards to give speeches. 2. Lecture Part 1: General Now that we know how to compile cards and organize boxes, it s time to settle in to the mindset that we ll have for the tournament season. We ll be attending tournaments together. This means that we make sure that we re watching each other to give support and providing uplifting feedback on the speeches. There should be a good deal of club support, but never exclude those outside the club. Part 2: Topic-specific Deity of Christ Jesus was, and is, God from the beginning of creation, not limited to a beginning at all, having always existed outside of time. As part of the Trinity, He was there for creation and is an eternal being. To set up the argument for this position, it s possible to use logic, bible references, and history. Note that Jesus claimed that He was God before His death, using present-tense terms. Second, Jesus doesn t say that sacrificial death is connected to deity at all. 3. Assignment Prepare a speech on the Deity of Christ. Section 4 Apologetics Page 21

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23 Lesson 10: Glorifying God Goals 1. Emphasize humility and glorifying God in Apologetics speaking 2. Learn about Jesus Life work Agenda 1. Perform speeches, coach students 2. Lecture on Glorifying God and Jesus life work Homework Assignment #10 1. Prepare a topic-specific card 1. Welcome Open in prayer. Each student may give a speech and receive feedback. 2. Lecture Part 1: General The ultimate goal in Apologetics speaking is to bring glory to God. No matter who is in our audience, we want to let Him shine through us as we speak. Specifically in the questions of what the duty of man is, we need to answer this for ourselves as well as when writing Apologetics cards. When someone is benefited by a speech you ve given, remind yourself that you never would have given the speech if God hadn t told you what to say, and helped you along in your research. The issue of giving the glory to God goes deeper than just redirecting compliments to Him. That s what is seen, but it takes a change of heart to be willing to refuse credit for the work you ve put into this competitive event. You see, you and I don t make converts. God makes converts. We should never forget that if something is well because of something we did, God is working through us, and we must allow Him to do so. The story goes that George Whitefield, a famous preacher in the 18 th century, was walking down the street one evening when a drunk man told him that he was glad to see the preacher. After Whitefield insisted that he had never met this person, the drunk replied, but you converted me a few months ago! Whitefield then explained to the man that he looked like the convert of a man, but if God had converted him, he would be sober. This is the attitude the students need to take when giving Apologetics speeches with potentially impacting messages and ideas: give the glory to God, because only He can ultimately help, heal, and save the people hearing your speech. Section 4 Apologetics Page 23

24 Part 2: Topic-specific Jesus Life Work There are several different topics to cover here, involving everything from the virgin birth to proving the resurrection of Christ. To keep the discussion general, ask: why is it so important that Jesus rose from the dead? Why did Jesus have to die to atone for our sins? What was achieved through Jesus death and resurrection? 3. Assignment Write a speech on Jesus life work. Section 4 Apologetics Page 24

25 Lesson 11: Christian/non-Christian audience Goals 1. Know how to deliver to all audiences 2. Communicate the critical need for humility in approaching topics concerning religion Agenda 1. Give speeches 2. Lecture and discuss Christian/non-Christian audiences Homework Assignment #11 1. Prepare a topic-specific card 1. Welcome Open in prayer. Have each student give a speech and allow for feedback. 2. Lecture Part 1: General When giving your Apologetics speeches throughout this competitive year, most of your judges will be Christians. However, you may once in a while have a judge who is watching because they have problems or questions for the Christian faith. When you walk into your room and give your speech, you have no way of finding out which of your judges are sympathetic to your message. Furthermore, some Christian judges are looking for a message in your speech that is directed toward a non-christian audience. It can be confusing, and it s hard to please this a crowd of this sort! Our best advice is to deliver to both audiences. An audience that doesn t believe that the Bible is the authoritative Word of God won t want to hear many Bible verses as reasoning, but an audience that values Biblical passages will naturally want to hear them. Therefore, don t use the Bible as an answer to the question by itself. Bring in other sources, and make good use of logical answers to the questions presented in your speech. A good number is about five Scripture references per speech, and four outside sources. This gives a balanced feel without being too rushed during the six minutes of speaking time. Remember that Apologetics is a training ground for life opportunities to defend your faith. In life, you ll probably have audiences in both Christian and non-christian circles. In some cases, you ll be called to edify your brothers and sisters in Christ and help them to become better disciples (2 Timothy 2:24), and in other cases you will need to defend your faith to someone who shares less common ground with you. You have the ability now to prepare for both situations. Section 4 Apologetics Page 25

26 Part 2: Topic-specific Christianity and faith Christianity has its share of enemies. Let s face it: we may have a great track record, but there are people who call themselves Christians who don t represent us very well. These Christians have hurt others and turned them off to any interest in the faith, and perhaps religion itself. About 12% of Americans leave the Christian faith, while 3% convert to it. 1 This is heavy stuff, and we need to be ready to deal with it. The first step in approaching the reality of Christianity and faith and what the world thinks of it is humility. Some of the most influential people we know are not those Christians who pretend to have all the answers about life, but those who are willing to say, I don t know everything, but let s look into it together. Better yet is when Christians can come to those around them with an attitude of love. Randy Alcorn points out that at the time of Jesus, nonbelievers loved to be around Him, but they don t like being around us. 2 The reason for this is that nonbelievers feel judged instead of welcomed and loved by Christians. The problem is not so much that they feel judged, but that they feel we aren t any better than they are. And the fact is, we aren t. We have been saved and need to look toward those who are unsaved with the same amount of love and compassion that God has for us. The questions that you can bring this issue up under are those that mention religion. 3. Assignment Prepare a card on religion and its perception from non-christians =m0xptrakok6u0aheumqda&sa=x&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0cdaq6aewaa#v=onepage&q=windows&f=false Section 4 Apologetics Page 26

27 Lesson 12: Discussing theological studies Goals Agenda 1. Realize that theological studies through Apologetics competition is just the beginning 1. Practice speeches with the class 2. Discuss Apologetics review, and make plans for the future competitive season beyond the class 1. Welcome Open in prayer. Have each student give his/her new speech for the class. 2. Discussion Part 1: General Well, we ve finished twelve weeks of studying Apologetics together. We ve written speeches, learned a great deal together, and have built each other up to be better speakers. This last part of our Apologetics class will be focused around theology, and what we ve learned. An important note to make is that Apologetics will never be over, even when you re graduated and your box is long gone. There will always be more theological books coming out to read, sermons to listen to, and YouTube videos sent around on the Internet concerning God, His nature, His Word, and His Son. Ask your students: what were some questions you had about Christianity and theology that have been answered by working on your speech writing? Are there still some questions you have? If you wrote the Apologetics questions, do you have any ideas for what you would add to the list? Do you think you can use your knowledge learned here to witness to non-christians without the help of your cards and these exact questions? Part 2: Topic-specific Branching out Though narrowing the 100 topics down to ten or twelve speeches may be a good start, encourage the students to write more cards and cover more questions. A good way to do this is to make a list of the cards you have, then re-read the hundred question list. As you go through the list, check with your cards: would the generic outlines you ve written really cover these topics adequately? If you re stretching the card you wrote to fit another question, are you truly giving the best speech you can give? Make notes on the topic list and decide what other cards need to be written. The goal here is not quantity, it s quality, but covering most of the topics is best for giving topic-adherent speeches. As a final thought for the students, remind them that the box is never finished, and you look forward to seeing them continue to improve throughout the competitive season. Section 4 Apologetics Page 27