In 1992 I was 17 years old and a member of Concord Baptist Church in Hopkinsville KY. One evening our pastor invited in a guest speaker named Fred Overton. During the PM service he gave a lecture called "Is the Bible Reliable?" This was my first ever exposure to something called apologetics, and I was fascinated. The lecture was 2 days long, so I invited my mom to come along with me to the Monday night session. Normally, Mom went to another church, that's why I remember this story.
After the session we bought the workbook and I recall on the ride home saying that the seminar was completely fascinating and that I would like to do apologetics for a living, but, "Nobody could make a living doing that." Smart, I know.
Mom's reply was predictable. "He does."
This was long before I really had any idea what I wanted to do with my life and long before God called me into ministry. At that point I was just concerned with where I would go to college. (Even though I never seriously considered any school other than UK.) In fact, at that time I was fascinated with chemistry, and began college as a chemistry major.
Then in 1997, God called me into the ministry, and I answered. (Just an aside here - I hate the term "surrendered" to the ministry. That sounds like I lost some fight. I just agreed. There was no battle needed.) My calling was clear, I was called to youth ministry, but that doesn't mean I have no other interests. I was convicted further that in order to be the best youth minister I could be, to the glory of God, I needed to attend seminary. I went to Southeastern Seminary and began in the youth ministry program. During my second year, President Akin came on board and his administration began some curriculum changes. When the M.Div. in Christian apologetics was added, I didn't even need to pray about it. I changed my major within the week.
So what's the point of all this?
Yesterday I began teaching a course in Christian Apologetics at Carolina Bible College. Though it is a very small class at a very small college, it felt like a dream realized. It is amazing how God can work the circumstances of our lives to bring things about. The ramblings of a very silly 17 year-old become reality 16 years later. I for one, am excited about the future and to see where God will lead me next.
p.s. I have shared with this blog before my dream of becoming a NAMB Certified Apologetics Instructor. Fee free to click here to see how close I am financially. (You'll probably need to use my gmail address)