Stand to Reason / Life Training Institute
Apologetics Speaker Tour
September 2012
Thinking Matters New Zealand is proud to host these three top US speakers in September and would like to make them available to your church or youth group.
They can speak on any topic relating to the defence of Christianity, the sanctity of human life or any other theological topic which equips Christians to know and defend the essential beliefs of their faith.
These are three dynamic and experienced communicators who engage both the heart and mind, leaving audiences challenged and inspired.
They can speak on any topic relating to the defence of Christianity, the sanctity of human life or any other theological topic which equips Christians to know and defend the essential beliefs of their faith.
These are three dynamic and experienced communicators who engage both the heart and mind, leaving audiences challenged and inspired.
Brett and Jay speak to thousands of adults and students at churches, conferences, and university campuses across the US each year, while Amy writes for the Stand to Reason blog (at str.typepad.com – which has a readership of roughly 32,000 visit per month) and has spoken at churches and women’s retreats.
Each speaker brings different specialities and can contribute in different ways. See over for a list of potential presentation topics.
Each speaker brings different specialities and can contribute in different ways. See over for a list of potential presentation topics.
Available individually or as a group, for daytime or evening presentations, sermons, workshops, women’s ministry groups (Amy) or casual youth-group discussions.
The dates are as follows (there is still some flexibility in these):
- Auckland: Friday 14th September to Sunday 16th September, and a week later on the morning of Sunday 23rd September.
- Hamilton/Tauranga/Rotorua: Sunday 16th September to Wednesday 19th September.
- Palmerston North: Wednesday 19th September to Thursday 20th September.
- Wellington: Thursday 20th September to Saturday 22nd September.
Possible Speaking Topics
Brett Kunkle
- Who’s waiting for your kids? What do good Christian kids face when they leave home and youth-group and head off to university?
- True for You but Not for Me. Moral relativism is everywhere. We examine its flaws and equip you with an understanding of how we come to know and defend moral truth.
- Tactics in Defending the Faith. Learn specific skills to help engage others in friendly conversation and be equipped to present Christ in an intelligent yet gracious way.
- Can we be Good without God? Atheists claim we don’t need God to be moral. Yet objective moral values cannot exist without God.
- Is One Way the Only Way? Examining common objections to the exclusivity of Christ’s claims and building a careful case for Jesus as the only way to God.
- Doubting Your Doubts. Identifying three causes of doubt, and how to deal with doubt it in constructive ways that draw us back to God.
- Is the Bible Intolerant? Demonstrating how accusations of Christian intolerance are flawed in three important ways, and examining the true nature of tolerance and truth.
Brett’s full list of speaking topics and his biography are here and his YouTube channel is here.
Jay Watts
- Is Truth True? How do we reach people with the truth when they deny that absolute truth exists or can be known?
- How to Train your Doubters. Learning to tactically approach conversations with people who disagree with us makes it possible to discuss Christian ideas without making enemies.
- Back to the Cross: Apologetics and Evangelism. How the Gospel of Jesus Christ encompasses our full worldview while defining how we relate to information and experience in our lives.
- The Case for Life. Defending the pro-life position in an attractive and winsome manner using science and philosophy.
- The Christian Worldview: Victory or Futility. How the distinctive facets of the Christian worldview starting at the historical resurrection of Jesus compete against rival worldviews in answering the big questions in life.
- Image of God or Strange Apes? What does it mean to be made in the image of God, and how does that impact our obligations to other human beings, our place in the world, and our understanding of human consciousness?
- Can the Incomprehensible be Relevant? The Trinity and Our Daily Life – God’s nature and how and why he reveals himself to us impacts our grasp of concepts like grace, community, and purpose.
Jay’s biography is here.
Amy Hall
- Facing Hostile Opposition in Ministry. Staying the course.
- Conversational Evangelism. How to talk to people about Jesus.
- Suffering and the Goodness of God. How can a good God allow us to suffer?
- Character issues in apologetics. How can you gain knowledge without getting puffed up?
- Why I Am a Christian. Good reasons for thinking Christianity is true.
- Reaching Mormons. Practical advice for talking to Mormon friends and missionaries.
Amy’s blog is here.
Brett, Jay & Amy Q&A Panel. Our speakers work well as a team for casual conversations and challenging questions on any topics in the area of ethics, values, religion and God.
If you would like to host these speakers in your church, please contact Rodney ASAP at: Rodney@ThinkingMatters.org.nz
…will be visiting New Zealand on Sunday 1 to Sunday 8 May 2011
Quick update on the Arnold Fruchtenbaum meeting
Arnold Fruchtenbaum is a Messianic Jewish scholar and expert on the life of the Messiah from a Jewish perspective (MP3s and DVDs are available — scholarly and popular books by that title may be on the way). Arnold was born in Russia and escaped Hitler before landing in the USA.
Arnold is a Bible encyclopedia — rumor has it he even studies the Bible in the shower. His scholarship is perhaps best evidenced during the Q and A times following each lecture. Arnold appears to know the Bible off-by-heart including the ability to cite chapter and verse for almost everything.
Arnold’s lectures are highly structured and methodical, and delivered in an accented monotonic manner. Notes are provided including lots of whitespace for you to add your own notes on them. Every lecture section ends by a Rabbi joke.
Following the lecture given in the photo above, one questioner asserted that the Jews have a debt owing to the church. Arnold replied correctly that the actual debt is the other way around. The church is hugely in debt to the Jews, and part of that debt should be an apology for the disgraceful treatment the Jews have received at the hands of Christians during their diaspora. This disgraceful behavior continues in parts of the anti-Semitic church today.
Related:
Ariel Ministries blog