Apologetics Mentoring

Detailed information about the 2012 Forum Mentoring is not yet available but will be posted in the future. Please review the information from the 2011 Forum Mentoring below for a look at the quality of mentoring that will be available at the 2012 Forum.

APOLOGETICS MENTORING

For 19 centuries, Europe was the primary home of Christian life and mission.  In the last century, however, the European church has shriveled and is now struggling to survive. Most Europeans have some sort of Christian heritage but now like the prodigal son have turned away.

What did the Apostle Paul do when Pre-Christian Europe was so pagan, relativistic and pluralistic?  He practiced apologetics among his contemporaries.  He went first into synagogues to persuade his fellow Jews that Christianity is true, proving and arguing from Old Testament Scriptures that Jesus was the Christ.  Paul also went to pagan Greeks, and beginning with their literature and cultural artifacts, demonstrated that the “unknown God” had been revealed and proclaimed in Jesus the Lord and Judge.  Likewise, in front of King Agrippa, Paul declared the Gospel to be “true and reasonable!”

Europe today is in great need of gifted apologists who, like Paul, can winsomely and wisely communicate that Christianity is true and relevant.  Therefore, the European Leadership Forum is actively seeking to raise up a new generation of European apologists.

But how are we to do this? 

Apologetics is much more than the right collection of arguments and knowledge.  In addition to explaining the Gospel in the power of the Spirit, a biblical apologist is spiritually mature, has honed his or her skills in persuasive communication, is able to open closed doors and has the foresight to walk across key cultural bridges.

Forum Apologetics Mentoring brings together an older and more experienced apologist with a younger apologist for a time of discussion, reflection and prayer.  These meetings will focus specifically on how to think strategically about apologetics, how to identify and connect with important points of contact in a culture and how to remove roadblocks to the Gospel.

Lars Dahle is a theologian, educator, preacher and apologist. He works as Principal at Gimlekollen School of Journalism and Communication in Kristiansand, Norway, where he has lectured in worldviews, ethics and apologetics since 1991. Lars wrote his PhD on Acts 17:16-34. It is titled: An Apologetic Model Then and Now? (Open University, UK).  He is Chairman of Damaris Norway Steering Committee, a member of the European Leadership Forum Steering Committee and has previously served as Vice-Chairman of NKSS (the Norwegian student movement within IFES).  In addition, Lars leads the European Leadership Forum Media Communicators Network.

Bjørn Hinderakeris an Assistant Professor at Gimlekollen School of Journalism and Communication (www.mediehogskolen.no), a Christian university with accredited degrees in Journalism and Communication, where he teaches Ethical Theory and Christian Apologetics. He is also a part-time senior pastor in a local church (www.misjonshuset.com) with regular preaching and teaching appointments there and in the surrounding region. Bjørn has been a missionary to Kenya and was recently involved in the founding of Damaris Norway (www.damaris.no), an organization which is seeking to relate biblical faith to contemporary culture. He has extensive experience as a speaker on biblical, cultural and apologetic topics. 

Gavin McGrathis Senior Pastor of Christ Church, Earlsfield, London—a recent Anglican church plant in south London.  He holds a PhD from University of Durham in historical theology.  He has written numerous works in the areas of puritan theology, biblical ministry and applied apologetics.  Gavin is the author of A Confident Life in an Age of Change (IVP) and is the co-editor of The New Dictionary of Christian Apologetics (IVP).  He has ministered in churches both in the UK and in the USA and was on staff at English L'Abri. Additionally, he served as Vice Principal of a theological college in the USA and lecturer in theology. 

Ellis Potter, a native Californian, is a former Buddhist monk who became a Christian under the influence and ministry of the late Dr. Francis Schaeffer.  He worked for many years with Schaeffer at L’Abri Fellowship, Switzerland and was the pastor of the Basel Christian Fellowship for ten years.  Potter’s unique background includes music and the arts, theology and philosophy, which qualifies him to lecture on a variety of subjects including the relevancy of Christianity to the arts and modern philosophical and social movements.  He often lectures on a comparison of Biblical and other worldviews, seeking to establish the clear truth of God’s Word.  He now works as an independent missionary, based in Basel, Switzerland and directs most of his attention and energies eastward to the developing nations of Central and Eastern Europe.  He is co-founder of Eastern European Renewal (EER).

Tom Price is an Academic Tutor at the OCCA and an Associate speaker of the RZIM Zacharias Trust. He holds degrees in Christian Apologetics (MA) and Philosophy (BA). Tom was the founding Editor of the University and Colleges Christian Fellowship's world class apologetics website bethinking.org. Tom regularly lectures and speaks on Christian Apologetics, at events such as Spring Harvest, the European Leadership Forum, Hungary, and 24-7 Prayer's Transit. Tom is also the Student Resources Coordinator for the Damaris Trust - an educational charity that seeks to help people across the world explore spiritual and moral issues underlying their contemporary culture. Tom's specific interests include: meta-ethics, analytic and continental arguments for God, faith and reason, suffering, cultural apologetics and C.S. Lewis. Tom is married to Caroline and they live in Oxford.

Peter S. Williams studied philosophy at Cardiff University (BA), Sheffield University (MA) and at the University of East Anglia in Norwich (MPhil). He then spent three years as a student pastor at Holy Trinity church Leicester before moving to Southampton to work alongside the Christian educational charity Damaris Trust (www.damaris.org). Through his work with Damaris, he leads over 30 Philosophy and Ethics conferences for sixth form students each year, as well as undertaking various writing projects, speaking and broadcasting engagements. Peter is also Assistant Professor in Communication and Worldviews at Gimlekollen School of Journalism and Communication in Norway. His publications include, A Sceptic’s Guide to Atheism: God Is Not Dead (Paternoster, 2009), and the forthcoming Understanding Jesus: Five Ways to Spiritual Enlightenment (Paternoster, 2011).

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