I am finally writing to tell you guys how much I appreciate your ministry. While I had attended a Bible teaching church for a number of years (and still do) I ended up working with a co-worker who I was not prepared for. I am a husband and father of soon to be 5 kids and are on one income. The last number of years and the economic challenges to my industry have required a lot of my energy to keep food on the table. On the other hand the gentlemen that I spent the last 7 years working with has grown children and spends his 2 hour drive home listening to Dawkins, Ehrman, and others. Feeling comfortable at first, I quickly realized he was bringing up questions I had no answer to. Not only that but some people I thought should know the answers didn't. I hadn't cast my faith aside. I know what the Lord saved me from and know how He has worked in my life. Still I found my confidence slipping, and beginning to have more questions and more questions in my head. In fact I tried to look up a speaker whom had visited my church and had a video cassette of; only to find that the author was in prison (that wasn't helping). This spiritual stress was not helping with the financial stress I was under, competition at work, long hours taking toll on my family, and add having someone at work arrogantly ridiculing everyone who mentioned the slightest measure of faith. I would be in my office praying "Lord, you've got to shut this guy up". I didn't have a vast knowledge of resources for apologetics at this level. what I had access to was far too surfacy and the typical answers I heard and was giving had ran out.
But isn't it like our Sovereign Lord to use these things to motivate us out of our apathy, complacency and self reliance? Now back on my knees, humbled, desperate, and removed of my spiritual pride. This lead to a conversation I had with a friend that I remembered went to Talbot theological Seminary. He quickly pulled out a paper he did on the Historical Jesus and I was filled with some hope. I found some books, heard a guest speaker on a Christian radio program Greg Koukl, and then through his program found Daniel Wallace and heard about Reasonable Faith and others. Since then I have been using my drive time to go through your Defenders Podcasts though I have taken a small break here and there with some of the resources you've mentioned for looking into things further.
I cannot tell you how much it means to me that you have given a busy working family guy access to these resources. not having the money or time for finishing my bachelors or getting a graduate degree, let alone much time for reading something like the blackwells companion for Natural Theology (though it sounds really good). Being able to tap into these resources on my drive to jobsites or meetings is exactly what I needed. I have been so motivated by this that I tell everyone to download your app and dig in, sit down and think through. I have even added "big Truths for young hearts" to our family devotions. Thank you guys, I pray that the Lord continues to bless this ministry. I have yet to get some guys together to go through the defenders stuff as a group, but I want to when I get some more studying done. I know the Lord has His ways of putting His people where he needs them, and I appreciate that there are people holding the line in the academic world. I just hope more people can become aware of yours and other great resources so that they don't have to go through things the way I did.
-Joe
