Pastors and other church leaders at a conference in Battle Creek, Michigan, last weekend confirmed something I’d thought to be true — something that affects virtually every church’s spiritual readiness.

I was telling them about a trip I’d taken with my pastor in Virginia a few years ago. He and I were driving home; it had been quite an invigorating session on Christian ethics and worldview, led by Chuck Colson, John Stonestreet and other Christian thinkers at Breakpoint. Our conversation naturally turned to the matter of teaching worldview and apologetics (reasons for faith) in churches.

I told him I’d seen in many churches that there’s someone who’s really interested in these topics, and would love to teach on it. But these topics can get intellectual. “And what I really want to avoid,” I said, “is having these people come off like they’re smarter than the pastor.”

He was driving, yet still he turned to look at me. “The thing is,” he answered, “they might be.” He saw the question in my eyes, so he went on, “I don’t have time to study. Too many committee meetings. Too much admin responsibility. Too much time doing almost everything else.”

The Reality: No Time to Study

I relayed all this to the pastors at that Battle Creek meeting. Then I asked, “Does anyone here agree it’s hard finding time to study?” The room practically exploded. Clearly, I’d hit a nerve.

It’s a universal problem. It has to be; I don’t know of any job description harder than a pastor’s. Pastors have as many bosses as they’ve got church members, or at least so it seems, much of the time; and every member thinks they know how to do the pastor’s job better than he does.

Even his most obvious job, the Sunday sermon, is a challenge. Imagine writing a message to challenge the brightest mind in the room, without leaving the eighth-graders behind. Imagine feeling the responsibility of knowing God has called you to lead this group, this flock.

So of course it’s hard for pastors to study all they want. But Christianity is coming under serious and growing attack. Churches will never be fully prepared for it without shoring up their reasons for belief through apologetics.

Two Realistic Ways to Teach Apologetics and Christian Cultural Engagement

So there’s a dilemma here: Churches need more teaching on reasons for belief; pastors are short on time for study. The answer can’t be to jam ever more stuff into pastors’ work weeks. There’s got to be a better way.

And there is. Three of them, at least. The first is up to writers, speakers and publishers in the field of apologetics. We’ve got to deliver information in packages that pastors can realistically fit into their schedules. So it can’t be as detailed and deep as we tend to like it. It almost has to be turnkey.

The third answer? You’re looking at it, here at The Stream.

The second answer is for pastors to find, equip and unleash the apologetics-interested persons in their churches, like the ones I was talking about with my pastor in Virginia. These people need to be teaching. They need to be answering questions, like the one a fellow church member sent me this week about the belief that there are many paths to God.

And the whole church needs to know this isn’t just a specialty discipline. It isn’t “geeky,” as some think it is. It’s an essential part of spiritual readiness. It’s actually mainstream discipleship, or at least it should be; it’s commanded clearly enough in 1 Peter 3:15. The best way to bring apologetics into that mainstream is for the pastor to endorse it publicly, in the church bulletin and in the pulpit.

And a Third, Right Here at The Stream

The third answer? You’re looking at it, here at The Stream. Everyone — pastors and lay people — needs to know what’s going on, and how to think about it Christianly. Every Christian should be up to speed on the challenges, and every Christian needs answers informed by Christian thinking. It should be in a form that’s easy to find and easy to digest.

That’s exactly what we’re here for at The Stream. You can help your church’s spiritual readiness by spreading the word about us there. Pass it along to your friends, too!

So if you’re a pastor, please know we appreciate what you’re going through. Your job — your calling — is extremely honorable, and often overwhelming. We want to help. If you’re a lay person, honor your pastor. Whether pastor or lay person, take advantage of ways to build spiritual readiness in your church through apologetics and worldview teaching. It’s no longer optional, if it ever was. Thankfully, it’s not impossible, either.