10 Proven Ways to Improve Your Readiness (And Never Get Caught Flat-Footed Again)

Get the full show notes at http://thethink.institute. The Think Institute Creed is that, "we believe no Christian should ever get caught flat-footed when asked about the Christian message." Put another way, we believe every Christian needs to be able to explain, share and defend the truth at all times.

The Think Institute Creed is that, “we believe no Christian should ever get caught flat-footed when asked about the Christian message.” Put another way, we believe every Christian needs to be able to explain, share and defend the truth at all times.

That’s a tall order, it’s true. But it’s biblical.

Here are five verses providing biblical support for this position:

“But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15a).
“Preach the word; be ready in season and out of season; reprove, rebuke, and exhort, with complete patience and teaching” (2 Timothy 4:2).
“...I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints” (Jude 1:3b).
“See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ” (Colossians 2:8).
“When [Apollos] arrived, he greatly helped those who through grace had believed, for he powerfully refuted the Jews in public, showing by the Scriptures that the Christ was Jesus” (Acts 18:27b-28).

There are many more verses we could cite. But all this means that every believer needs to be committed and stay committed to honing his skills of explaining, communicating, and sharing the Christian message.

To get to that point takes preparation, and that’s what this article is about.

So what are some practices you can take to keep yourself from getting caught off-guard? Here are our top 10.

1. Watch videos on Youtube.

YouTube is a cesspool of absolutely awful content. It is also an incredible repository of the Christian world’s greatest thinking, teaching and preaching. Eschew the former; pursue the latter. Hone your biblical worldview and apologetics by watching…

The Think Podcast videos from the Think Institute
Anything by Greg Bahnsen (one of the greatest apologists of the 20th Century).
How To Answer The Fool (Full Film) by Sye Ten Bruggencate.
James White’s many debates (one of the 21st Century’s greatest apologists).
When We Understand The Text (90-second videos teaching hard-core, biblical truth).
The Ten Minute Bible Hour, Matt Whitman’s channel exploring Christianity in all its forms (from an Evangelical perspective).

2. Listen to Podcasts.

I really enjoy podcasts. Here are some of my favorite, that I think will help get you equipped not only to speak biblically, but also to think in ever-more biblical ways.

The Think Podcast with Joel Settecase, tackling impossible questions from a biblical perspective to help you explain, share and defend your faith.
The Briefing with Albert Mohler, a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview.
Blog & Mablog, the audio recording of Douglas Wilson’s blog of the same title.

3. Read Articles.

After you’ve read all the articles on TheThink.Institute blog, check out the scores of topics available from theologians John Frame and Vern Poythress at Frame-Poythress.org or get transferrable answers from EveryPerson.com (an awesome website run by a fellow Cru Church Movements missionary). You may already know about The Gospel Coalition, Desiring God and For the Church, but have you heard of It’s Good To Be A Man? Check them out too. Then head to CARM.org for a huge library of apologetics tools.

4. Download E-books.

Nowadays we have an embarrassment of riches when it comes to free PDFs and e-books. We ourselves offer:

And you know what else? You can access tomes from ancient church history at the Christian Classics Ethereal Library. The amount of books they have is truly astonishing.

5. Attend a training at your church.

Does your church run baptism classes or membership classes? That can be a good chance for you to bone up on your basic theology.

If your church doesn’t currently have any offerings, talk to your pastor or elders and suggest a class on the biblical worldview, evangelism or apologetics. Warning: when you do this, your pastor might say it’s a great idea and ask you to head it up (this is the oldest pastoral juke in the book, and it’s one I used many times; pastors are busy).

Of course you can book me to come to your church and run a training too. This is what I do.

6. Participate in a discussion group.

I’m thinking here of groups that bring believers and non-believers together for robust discussion. These groups provide opportunities for skeptics and religious unbelievers to interact with the Christian point of view, as well as for Christians to share their faith and engage with those who believe differently.

Join an existing group or start your own. Some suggestions:

Our Think Tank features honest, intelligent and respectful discussions of life’s important topics for Chicagoans and those near the Northwest Side
Visit Tom Schmidt’s Coffee & Conversations (Naperville) Meetup if you’re in the Western Chicago Suburbs.
Try Alpha with folks all over the world (and certainly one near you).
Or get busy Questioning Christianity with Tim Keller and Redeemer Church.
A planned, new initiative for 2020 springing from a partnership between the Think Institute and Park Community Church (South Loop). Stay tuned for this!

7. Disciple some kids--whether your own or in your church’s children’s ministry.

What better way to learn what the Bible teaches than to prep to teach it to someone else? And who better to invest in than the kids in your home church?

If you have kids of your own, this is a no-brainer. Get busy teaching them God’s truth! If you need a tool, I humbly suggest Catakids!, a resource I made for my own children, but which several other families and churches have picked up too.

8. Join a discipleship program.

The C. S. Lewis Institute offers one of the best discipleship training programs out there (listen to my interview with CSLI Chicago Director KJ Johnson here).

The Think Institute is also working on a rigorous, discipleship cohort to be rolled out in 2020.

9. Get a mentor.

Timothy had Paul. MLK had Gandhi. Peter Parker had Tony Stark (R.I.P.). You need a mentor. One of the best things about churches is the opportunity to interact with those from other generations. Who in your church is 8 years older than you, or more, who can naturally take on the role of a spiritual big brother, father, or grandfather in the faith? Finding a godly mentor might be as easy as simply praying, approaching this person, and asking to meet up once a week or month. See how God leads you in this.

Now, I know what you’re thinking: Joel, you haven’t mentioned the two most important practices. Have you completely forgotten prayer and Bible study? Are you an apostate? Are you drunk on new wine?!

No, my friend, I am not drunk as you suppose (Acts 2:15). Rather, I’ve just been saving the best for last. I also want to head-off an objection before anyone has the chance to make it. That objection? “I want to read the Bible and pray more, but I am too busy. I just don’t have enough time.

The answer to this objection?

10. Wake up earlier.

I was challenged at a recent men’s retreat with Park Community Church (via an excellent sermon from Dr. Mike Bullmore) to quit doing things that dissipate my vitality. In other words, I needed to stop staying up late and frittering away my time. I committed to waking up at 5 a.m., and now a buddy from church, Adam Young, and I text each other early in the morning to hold each other accountable.

I don’t always succeed in waking up at 5. But what I have succeeded at is making my personal Bible study, Bible memorization (using the Bible Memory App) and prayer a top priority in my day. I am currently dissecting a chapter of Proverbs every day, memorizing Romans 1 and 2, and praying through 10 items on my PrayerMate app.

Quite frankly, this has forced me to go to bed earlier, which means I have less time during the day to get work done, which has forced me to reevaluate how I spend my time during the workday. I’ve been going to coffeeshops less and working more from my home study.

But these readjustments are worth it, because whatever else I get done (or don’t get done) during the day, I’m investing in my spiritual life (and really, every area of my life) by learning from God’s word consistently, every day.

If you want to hone your skills of sharing and defending the Christian message, you need to know Scripture. And if you don’t have time right now to spend studying Scripture, then you need to clear time by waking up earlier. Maybe that’s 7 a.m. Maybe that’s 4 a.m. Maybe you work third shift and you need to wake up at 8 p.m. instead of 9 p.m. But make the step and see if God honors it by opening your eyes to see wonderful things in his word (cf. Psalm 119:18).

Why This Is Our Creed

In conclusion, we believe no Christian should ever get caught flat-footed when asked about the Christian message. That means we need to be able to explain it, share it, and defend it well. That’s why we do what we do: to equip believers with knowledge, encourage them to share their faith, and engage them in conversation with non-believers.