Erskine College
Garnet & Gold Forum speaker offers ‘gardening tools’ for Christians
“Before there can be any harvest, there must be a season of gardening,” Chris- tian apologist and author Greg Koukl told his audience at Erskine’s Third Annual Garnet and Gold Forum, hosted in the Bowie Arts Center Oct. 25. “I think most Christians are gardeners.” of the apologetics organization Stand to Reason, endorsed the use of “pre-evange- lism,” a process he calls “gardening” because it prepares the spiritual ground for a later harvest. He focused on how to engage others in meaningful spiritual conversa- tions, saying he was providing “gardening tools” for Christians. The speaker pointed out two problems that can occur in evangelism. First, hear- ers can be put off by a vocabulary that is not well understood outside the Christian community. Second, would-be evangelists can be intimidated by what they perceive as pressure to push people toward immediate conversion. As outlined in his book Tactics: A Game Plan for Discussing Your Christian Convic-
tions, Koukl advised Christians to ask questions which seek to understand others’ viewpoints and offer opportunities for non-Christians to consider the logic of their own positions.
In a comic illustration of his emphasis on asking questions, Koukl donned a rain-
coat, produced a cigar, and did a creditable impersonation of Colombo, a scruffy TV detective who made his debut in the 1970s. The character is famous for a line usually spoken as he is winding up an interview but wants to ask another ques- tion— “Just one more thing.”
Asking questions enables Christians to be “on the offensive in an inoffensive
way,” Koukl said. Two key questions are “What do you mean by that?” and “How did you come to that conclusion?”
Inquiring “What do you mean by that?” shows that you are seeking to under- stand someone’s viewpoint and gives the person a chance to examine his or her own beliefs. The question “How did you come to that conclusion?” allows the person to explain the logic behind a belief or position. Underlying Koukl’s pre-evangelism practices is the desire to make people think. When he speaks to non-Christian audiences, he tells them, “I’m not here to convert you. I just want to put a stone in your shoe.” During a Q&A session following Koukl’s talk, Erskine President Dr. Steve Ad- amson asked what led the apologist to develop his approach. Koukl said his is not a new method and is similar to the Socratic method. He tried to use what he found in the gospels and the Book of Acts as a model, he said, paying special attention to the way Jesus asks questions. On the day before the Garnet & Gold Forum, Koukl explored the topic “What
Greg Koukl impersonating TV detec- tive Columbo: “Just one more thing”
Dr. Steve Adamson, left, and Greg Koukl, center, with Honors Institute students
a worldview. When people use pieces from multiple belief systems, their view of reality is inconsistent. He sum- marized the Bible’s redemptive story, stressing to the students that since the Bible is “true to reality,” then “If you’re a Christian, this is your story. If you’re not a Christian, this is also your story.”
Greg Koukl, left, answers a question posed by Dr. Steve Adamson
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The Associate Reformed Presbyterian
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