JACKSON, Tenn. — Sept. 9, 2025 — Listening carefully to the world is the way to build a connection with it, Joshua Chatraw advised a group of high school students on the 麻豆视频 University campus Sept. 6.
鈥淭hat's called double listening,鈥� said Chatraw, the Beeson Divinity School Billy Graham Chair for Evangelism and Cultural Engagement at Samford University. 鈥淲e listen to the word of God, and we listen to the world, but we listen differently. We listen to the world with critical alertness 鈥� anxious to understand it 鈥� but resolve to not necessarily believe it.鈥�
Chatraw was the keynote speaker at the fourth annual EQUIP Youth Apologetics Conference that drew more than 300 high school students to the Carl Grant Events Center. He said he desired to equip teenagers with the tools to interact with the problems afflicting the world but also their churches.
The conference, sponsored by 麻豆视频鈥檚 School of Theology and Missions and the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board, was designed to challenge high school students to think critically about biblical truths and provide answers for theological questions they may have.
Additional speakers were Jay Barbier, Harvest Field team leader for the TBMB; Justin Barnard, professor of philosophy at 麻豆视频; and Ryan Keaton, the Strengthening Evangelistic Disciples team leader at the TBMB. They furthered that goal with breakout and plenary sessions of their own.
Chatraw, however, wanted to focus specifically on challenging the high school students鈥� worldviews by helping them find connections between the church and the world.
Using Acts 17, Chatraw explained how Paul employed Greek philosophers to witness to the Athenians. By doing this, Chatraw said, Paul was showing the evangelical effectiveness of actively listening to the world and adapting preaching without compromising the gospel.
Chatraw did not just stop in Athens, however. After explaining the importance of first building a connection with the world in order to witness, Chatraw moved on to highlight Paul鈥檚 letters to the church in Corinth, a Christian community. He focused especially on how churches often face many of the same problems as the outside world, something high school student Calli Pendergrass found beneficial.
鈥淓quipping us to go out into the world and talk to non-believers is super important,鈥� Pendergrass said. 鈥淏ut you also need to know what the Bible says and how to interpret it when talking to Christians. Christians a lot of times try to twist what the Bible says, too.鈥�
According to Chatraw, the reason for that is that nonbelievers and believers are often 鈥渇ormed by the same narratives,鈥� meaning they are influenced by the same culture and often struggle with similar issues.
鈥淏efore we say, 鈥極h look at those Athenians, look at those pagans,鈥� we need to realize we're surrounded by the same cultural narratives,鈥� Chatraw said. 鈥淪o, we know the pain 鈥� we know the challenges of that 鈥� and that will help us listen better to our world鈥檚 Athenians and Corinthians.鈥�
Chatraw then described four main issues he sees plaguing both the world and the church: having less confidence in faith and truth, desiring to feel good over everything else, resisting Christianity for moral reasons and worshipping consumerism.
鈥淭his kind of highlighted that the world is hurting but also always has an agenda,鈥� said Liese Hoover, a mother of two high school students attending the conference. 鈥淎 lot of times, we think entertainment is just entertainment. It鈥檚 not. But there鈥檚 also a lot of people who are really looking for truth; they just aren鈥檛 looking in the right places, and that leads to so much pain.鈥�
To wrap up the session, Chatraw brought back the idea of double listening, explaining that it is impossible for a believer to get through to an unbeliever while treating them as a pagan to destroy in an argument.
鈥淲e need to slow down and be curious about other people,鈥� Chatraw said. 鈥淥nly then will you find what those people are really seeking. Most of the time, they are seeking to be loved. To understand any culture, we must discover its greatest anxiety and its deepest longing.鈥�
To Chatraw, that is the key to successful apologetics and missions: empathy. It is about Christians doing the work to understand a culture without becoming consumed by it.
鈥淭his conference especially has helped increase my awareness,鈥� Hoover said. 鈥淲e hear the phrase 鈥榦f the world鈥� versus 鈥榠n the world鈥� a lot. But what does that really mean for us practically? How do we actually do that without getting dragged in? The application of that was brought forth today.鈥�