We appreciate Rick Mattson sharing this excerpt from Witness In The Academy: a guide for graduate students, faculty, and those who minister with them. Rick will be joining ESN in a live conversation about our witness in the academy Thursday February 29 at 8 pm ET. We'd love for you to join us by signing up at tinyurl.com/ESNWitness. As a speaker and trainer for InterVarsity’s Graduate Faculty Ministries (GFM), I find myself frequently on airplanes as I travel to campuses around the country. One afternoon on a flight … [Read more...] about A Case Study in Witness: Ruth in 21C
Is God Fair?
Rick Mattson tackles a tough subject that you or your friends may struggle with. We'd encourage you to read all the way through, and to feel free to engage with Rick via the comments. Ben hails from a Hindu background. One evening he pressed me several times, very politely, on the question of God's fairness. His objection was that it seems incredibly unfair for God to require people to possess “the one correct belief system,” when there are so many belief systems out there from which to choose. This exchange took … [Read more...] about Is God Fair?
Evangelism: Evangelism from the Inside Out
Grad and Faculty Minister Rick Mattson proposes that worship leads to witness, that witness is the overflow of our inner life of relationship with God, modeled to us in the encounter of Anna with the infant Jesus in the Temple ______________________________________________________________________________________________ One day I met up with an atheist friend that I'll refer to as Jenny. I hoped to share with her the message of God's love, so I commenced with my usual practice of listening “in stereo,” with one … [Read more...] about Evangelism: Evangelism from the Inside Out
Evangelism: The Holy Spirit Detective Agency
Research in any field uses skills akin to those of a detective. The daily work of a researcher is to observe and make sense of data. Rick Mattson, is an InterVarsity staff minister who comes alongside graduate student groups to equip them in sharing their faith in contextually relevant ways in the grad context. He proposes that both research and witness involve becoming good detectives, whether paying attention to data, or what God is doing in the lives of people around … [Read more...] about Evangelism: The Holy Spirit Detective Agency
Elevator Apologetics, Part 5
Are you looking for some ideas on how to answer common questions about faith? Or searching for some helpful shorthand to distill your years-long study of apologetics into a brief conversation? In this series, Rick Mattson shares some ideas from his extensive work in apologetics. The series explores the idea of having an apologetics "elevator speech” for several common questions—a short, persuasive message designed to spark interest in Christianity and/or further dialogue. Click here for the rest of the series. … [Read more...] about Elevator Apologetics, Part 5