“Do what you can, with what you have, where you are.”
–Theodore Roosevelt
I liked that quote when I first heard it. It describes what I want to do as an apologist. I want to be available wherever I am to give a defense of the Christian worldview, to plant seeds and water, and to help believers become more confident in their faith. That is my mission.
Here are my goals for 2020.
· Mark Riser – Apologist social media. 2019 was a big move for me as I switched from a Facebook based blogger to an independent blogpost, markriserapologist.com. In 2020, I will look for new features for the page. In the first few months of this year, I will add one more quality post during the week.
· Brookwood Baptist Church. One of the joys of my Christian life is to be a part of my home church. I am thankful to God for allowing me to serve there as a deacon and a teacher. This year, my best friend Bruce Hennigan and I will be teaching a new apologetics class called Apologetics 2020. We are also looking for a new class to teach in the fall of the year and looking for more ways to invest in potential apologists. I will continue to speak at my church whenever I have the opportunity and be available to answer questions from our church family.
· Shreveport Reasons To Believe. I will continue to serve as President of the local chapter of the leading faith/science apologetics organization Reasons To Believe. We are continuing our study of Kenneth Samples’ book Classic Christian Thinkers during our monthly meetings this year. I will be leading the session on the work of Thomas Aquinas this month.
· Personal Development. This year, our church has adopted a church-wide Bible study curriculum called The Disciple’s Path which will take us through 2020. This will take us on a step-by-step program to become better and more consistent disciples of Jesus Christ. I’m looking forward to this journey for myself and the friends that I lead in my small group. In my New Year’s post, I shared with you Psalm 19:14. That has been a verse that I adopted in my prayers last year. I want my words and thoughts to be acceptable to God. That is a big standard and I fail many times, but it is a goal and a direction in which to move.
2020 will be another banner year for me as an apologist. I covet your prayers and support as we move forward.
Mark Riser - Apologist 