Guest speaker Dean Meadows, Campus Minister from Blacksburg Church of Christ, delivered an engaging session titled “Changing Minds in the Marketplace” at our Youth Apologetics seminar 2025. With a background as a pulpit minister and a master’s degree in apologetics from Biola University, Dean emphasized the importance of conversational apologetics in a polarized culture. He highlighted the need to move beyond merely accumulating theological facts and instead focus on deploying them effectively in dialogue. Drawing from Acts 17, Dean illustrated how the Apostle Paul engaged diverse worldviews in the marketplace, urging Christians to actively participate in the “marketplace of ideas” by initiating meaningful conversations.
Dean introduced three key questions to guide discussions: “What do you mean by that?” to clarify terms, “How did you get there?” to understand personal journeys, and an “if-then” question to draw conclusions and encourage commitment. Through personal anecdotes, he demonstrated how these questions foster trust and open doors to deeper discussions about faith. He emphasized the importance of patience, sincerity, and meeting people where they are, noting that effective evangelism requires both modeling a Christian life and engaging in verbal conversations. Dean warned against insular church discussions, advocating for outreach that addresses external worldviews to fulfill the Great Commission.
Talking Points
- Engaging the Marketplace: Christians must enter the “marketplace of ideas” daily, as Paul did in Acts 17, to engage diverse worldviews with confidence and compassion.
- Three Key Questions: Use “What do you mean by that?”, “How did you get there?”, and “if-then” questions to clarify, understand, and guide conversations toward faith.
- Cultural Polarization: In a society where disagreement often leads to enmity, Christians should model respectful dialogue to bridge gaps.
- Patience and Sincerity: Effective evangelism requires patience, meeting people where they are, and building trust through genuine interest in their stories.
- Avoiding Insularity: Churches must shift focus from internal debates to equipping members for external outreach to make disciples.
- Practical Application: Meadows’ anecdotes, like his discussions with an atheist and a questioning student, show how these principles lead to meaningful faith conversations.