In my book, Navigating True North, I set out on a journey to find the truth about God. After a very difficult time in my life, I came to the personal realization that much of what I believed in terms of faith in God, had been influenced by what I have come to refer to as magnetic north. I define magnetic north as everchanging “worldly” forces influenced by individual, religious and societal agendas, motivated by the desire for influence, power and control. The forces of magnetic north promise to lead people in the direction of contentment, safety and truth, but ultimately leaves people feeling hopelessly lost in life. For me, the most disheartening part about finding myself lost in life, was the fact that I willingly and blindly followed those directions without ever questioning whether or not I was headed in the right direction.
As I looked to find the truth about my faith and God, I knew I needed to find evidence to support what I believed and why I believed it as I was no longer willing to accept blind-faith. For me, that meant leveraging my skills as an attorney to research difficult faith issues and starting from the very beginning to rebuild my faith foundation.
During my seven-year journey I painstakingly studied the issues and facts presented by cosmology, science, philosophy, archaeology and history. After weighing the evidence for myself I found life-changing answers that laid the foundation for a new way of life and pointed me in the direction I call true north.
General presentation outine: (can be designed for 2 hour to full day presentations)
1. My story
2. True vs. magnetic north
3. Is there evidence that God exists?
How did the universe begin
Big Bang as the prevailing theory
Who or what caused the bang
Arguments presented by naturalism to explain the beginning of the universe
Arguments presented by intelligent design to explain the beginning of the universe
My conclusion based on the evidence and encouragement to others to reach their own conclusion
4. Is there evidence of who God is?
Understanding religion
Overview of Hinduism, Buddhism, Judaism, Christianity and Islam
Finding objective evidence for religious claims: Christianity offers the opportunity
Historical methodologies applied to ancient texts: the gospels
The minimal facts approach
My conclusion based on the evidence and encouragement to others to reach their own conclusion
5. What is God's message to his creation?
Overview of the Old Testament message
Religious, political and cultural context of first century Israel
Overview of the New Testament and Jesus' gospel message
The Kingdom of God
6. What does God want from me?
S.T.A.N.D
C.L.I.M.B.
Target Audience:
- Christians intellectually questioning their faith for philosophical or scientific reasons. (38% of Millennials site these as reasons for rejecting faith.)
- Christians emotionally doubting their faith as a result of a personal tragedy or the presence of evil in the world. (12% of those who experience emotional doubt abandon their faith altogether.)
- Apologetics: Christians struggling to articulately defend and share their faith. (Only about 19% of Christians will share reasons for their faith with others.)
- Anyone of any faith looking for evidence supporting truth and a deeper sense of purpose, meaning and significance in life. (Only about 25% of Americans feel they have a sense of purpose and meaning in their lives.)
