Contact: Jon Hirst, The Well, 719-362-5235, jhirst@dotheword.org
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif., March 23 /Christian Newswire/ -- This week marks the 17th annual celebration of Consider Christianity Week and Christians are being encouraged to examine the evidence and reason for their faith and non-Christians to take another look at the Christian faith as intellectually viable. Bob Sears, a leader within the simple church movement, is offering his advice to Christians who choose to participate, "Don't rely on apologetics alone. Christianity cannot be 'proven' any more than God's existence can."
Consider Christianity Week, the main goal of which is to equip Christians with the knowledge and ability to "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have," derived from 1 Peter 3:15, is being promoted by Consider.org, an organization committed to equipping Christians through the use of apologetics. Their website describes Christianity as "a faith solidly grounded in fact."
"By itself," says Sears, "our ability to sufficiently answer all the intellectual oppositions people have won't result in a single person being saved. Apologetics are good, but they simply aren't adequate. That's one reason why the New Testament doesn't spend a lot of time answering theoretical questions."
Sears is a leader with The Well, formerly a traditional Southern Baptist church that transitioned in 2005 to a network of home-based churches.
He continues, "I use apologetics often and engage in conversation with those who need answers to big questions before they're willing to believe. But I fear that many Christians count on apologetics to do something they weren't designed to do. They help us get beyond a 'blind faith,' but they are not a substitute for faith. God is not looking for those who can be convinced, he is looking for those who are willing to trust and obey Him."
The Well hosts 5-15 members at each of its seven locations on a weekly basis. Sears and others within the church post their experiences on a blog maintained by the church, www.leavethebuildingblog.com, with the purpose of interacting with individuals from traditional and house church backgrounds.
