Why I Am a Christian

Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Stitcher | Spotify | Google Play

Happy Easter! I hope this email finds you celebrating this sacred day with joy and gratitude for what Jesus has done for us.

I don’t often talk about my faith directly on my blog or podcast. It’s not because I’m hiding my faith–rather, it’s because my focus is on helping people with writing, not to preach.

But today is different. I think it’s important for you to know where I’m coming from as a person and an artist. Since today is Easter, it’s a great opportunity to share a little about my faith.

My Story of Faith

I was involved in church from a very young age. I accepted Christ and was baptized at a summer church camp when I was twelve. Church was my whole life through my teen years. I led worship, preached sermons, and was very active in youth group.

After high school, I went to a Christian college, then later become a worship pastor. I was a poster child for the kind of young man every church would be “proud to call one of their own.”

Then in my late 20’s, while I was still a pastor as well as a seminary student, my faith crashed and burned. I began to question everything I believed about God, the Bible, Jesus, and the church. Nothing made sense to me anymore.

This crisis of faith lasted for several years. You can imagine my internal struggle since I still had to be a pastor who projected a confidence and faith that no longer existed. I felt like a total fraud.

I didn’t realize at the time that this was a normal experience for many Christians. Up until that point, my faith was mainly “borrowed.” I had simply accepted what others had taught me. My faith wasn’t truly my own.

If I was going to have a faith that I truly “found” on my own, then I had to “lose” the old, immature faith of my youth. The old building needed to be torn down before I could build a new one in its place.

Over the next few years, I went on a journey to figure out what I truly believed. Books like The Myth of Certainty by Daniel Taylor, as well as The Case for Christ (and later, The Case for a Creator) by Lee Strobel were instrumental in helping me “find my way back home.”

Gradually, I found my way back to the center of my personal faith. It was stronger, more confident, and far more joyful than ever before. And it remains so to this day.

I realize that there is a spectrum of people who read this weekly email. Maybe you’re a strong, devoted Christian. Maybe you’re a Christian in practice, but you’re struggling with your faith. Maybe you’re investigating the faith and aren’t sure what you believe.

Maybe you’ve been burned by the church and want nothing to do with Jesus or Christianity. Maybe you don’t know what to believe at all. Maybe you follow a different faith such as Buddhism, Judaism, or Islam.

No matter where you are, I know two things: 1) I appreciate and value you as a person, and 2) It’s OK if you don’t agree with me on any or all of these things. We can disagree and still be friends!

Now that I’ve given you that back story, I want to take a few moments and share five reasons why I’m a Christian. On this Easter Sunday, I hope this encourages you in your faith, or at the very least, inspires you to learn more about the Christian faith for yourself.

5 Reasons Why I’m a Christian

1. There has to be an “intelligent designer.”

The most basic observation we can make as humans is to look around and realize that the universe exists. How did it get here? No matter what you believe about the Big Bang, evolution, or any other theories of human origins, there has to be a “first mover”–an intelligent designer who set the universe (along with the laws of physics) in motion.

This is why I can’t intellectually commit to atheism. If there is no God, then how do you explain matter organizing itself into a structured universe? This is the crux of the faith issue for me. A huge reason why I’m a Christian is that 1) the universe must have had an architect, and 2) out of all the “faith options” available, the God described in the Bible seems to best match what I see in observable reality.

2. The evidence for Jesus’ resurrection is compelling, and requires a response.

Jesus’ resurrection is a historically verifiable event that has to be reckoned with. It can’t be ignored. Would people throughout history, including some of Jesus’ own followers who knew the truth firsthand, have died for a lie? I don’t think so.

I’m an Enneagram 5, and the way I experience the world is through investigation and facts. When I look at the historical evidence, it suggests that the resurrection was a truly miraculous event. And if that is the case, then we have to decide whether to accept or reject Jesus’ claims about himself.

Some Christians use evidence-based apologetics as a way to confront or even harass others about the truth of the Bible. It amazes me how these people preach a message of love and grace in a way that is decidedly un-loving and un-graceful. If you’ve had experience with Christians who like to beat people over the head with their message, please accept my apology because this is not a very Christ-like way to relate with people honestly seeking the truth. (In fact, Jesus loved hanging out with “pagans” and “sinners,” and he was the harshest with the religious leaders!)

So when I say that the evidence for the resurrection is compelling, and it requires a response … that’s not a challenge, but rather an invitation. If you’re not a person of faith, I want to invite you into a conversation about what that means, and how you might respond to it. In the Gospels, when you see Jesus interacting with people who are seeking the truth, he has conversations. He invites. He dialogues. My hope is that all Christians follow suit.

3. God answers prayer.

In addition to historical evidence, I also look to the evidence in my own life, and the lives of other people I trust. My personal experience is that God answers prayer–not always in the way that we hope, and often not on our timelines. But I can’t discount the many times when I have experienced God’s supernatural intervention in my life.

I don’t trust feelings. I trust evidence and facts. All I know is that there have been too many times that “weird things” have happened in response to prayer to discount God’s hand at work.

4. People of faith have been a force for good in the world.

Yes, yes, I know … God’s people have also done a lot of damage at times. There are events in church history that are absolutely reprehensible. But it’s unfair to judge the whole church by its worst examples. God’s people have built hospitals, fed the poor, advocated for the unborn, created amazing art, and so much more. The world is a better place because of the influence of the church.

It’s important to surround yourself with “winners”–people who are making a positive difference in the world. While there are lots of organizations that create positive change, none even comes close to the church in its different expressions. Even if you just look at the church through the lens of social impact, it’s the most powerful force for good on the planet.

5. The principles in the Bible make me a better person.

This is an extension of the last point. The Bible teaches principles such as self-control, love, peace, kindness, humility, generosity, and many other qualities that simply make you a better human being. These make me a better husband, father, business owner, artist, and citizen. My life is better when I live out the character qualities taught in the Bible.

To summarize: My point here is not to convince you of anything. I just wanted you to know where I’m coming from. No matter where you are on the spectrum of faith, I hope it encourages you to trust God and seek His wisdom and blessings in all you do.