Matthew

^“13 Who is there to harm you if you prove zealous for what is good? ¹⁴ But even if you should suffer for the sake of righteousness, you are blessed. AND DO NOT FEAR THEIR INTIMIDATION, AND DO NOT BE TROUBLED, ¹⁵ but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence; ¹⁶ and keep a good conscience so that in the thing in which you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ will be put to shame. ¹⁷ For it is better, if God should will it so, that you suffer for doing what is right rather than for doing what is wrong.”

Christians are called by God to be in a constant state of readiness so that when the time arises we can proclaim the hope that is within us.   This urgent command by God shows his unwillingness for us to compartmentalize our faith within ourselves, but that we should actively proclaim our hope to the ends of the earth.   If we are to be HIS ambassador or representative to a fallen world then we must prepare.  This act of preparation includes every aspect of our Christian life from the spiritual to the mental.   We should demand from ourselves and others an unyielding devotion to our God through spiritual and mental maturation.   One way we can secure our devotion is to place a high premium on discipleship training because the more we learn of God and HIS truth the closer we get to godliness (Titus 1:1)  Our spiritual transformation towards a Christ-likeness (2 Corinthians 3:18) is helped on by such practices as a healthy prayer life as well as willingness to enter into deep theological reflections through biblical study.   When we actively pursue this type of maturation something special happens…we find ourselves not only ready but also passionately willing to speak about Christ Jesus

Our goal at Tactical Faith  is to stand along side the local church and local Christian schools with the hope that we can help the body of Christ progress towards a mature passionate faith.    We try to achieve this vision by providing financial assistance to these entities so that they can bring in quality apologetic and theological speakers as well as purchase top-notch educational resources.   We are in the conditioning business in that we want our church “prepared” to give a reason for the hope that is in us.  That hope and solution is only found in Christ Jesus our Lord.

 

Matthew Burford – President and Founder of Tactical Faith, INC

 

 ¹⁵ Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth. ¹⁶ But avoid worldly and empty chatter, for it will lead to further ungodliness, ¹⁷

The “learning curve.”  Anyone who has been brave enough to try something new has come up against it.  The awkward struggle of an aspiring musician to sound a clean note from her new instrument.  The endearing confusion of a young athlete on the gridiron running full steam ahead, but running in the wrong direction.  Every new job or skill has a learning curve that must be endured and mastered in order to accomplish the task at hand.  Unfortunately, the awkwardness of learning a new skill is sometimes so overwhelming that we simply give up.

This reality holds true in the Christian experience as well.  Each Christian has a job assignment from God to advance, promote, and defend the good news of salvation through Jesus Christ.  The “Great Commission” (Matthew 28:19-20) remains the divine summary of the call for every follower of Christ to advance God’s kingdom now on earth.

But how are we doing?  Many sincere Christians want to make a difference but feel unprepared, awkward, or ungifted when faced with the spiritual learning curves inherent to growing in Christ.  This is especially true when it comes to proclaiming and defending our faith.  There are so many questions, so many objections, and so many skeptics that we feel overwhelmed and the temptation is to do and say nothing at all.  We remain silent but troubled by our hesitance and dissatisfied by our inactivity.

Tactical Faith wants to help.  Giving up isn’t good enough.  The learning curve can be mastered.  The words of Paul to Timothy inspire us: “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15).  We want to partner with you by providing the best resources and the finest teachers to get you through the learning curve.  We want to empower you with a firm grasp of the faith and the ability to communicate that faith articulately, lovingly, and confidently.  You’ve been given a job to do and we can help.

 

Eric Kennedy – Board Member of Tactical Faith

“¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. ¹² For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. ¹³ Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. ¹⁴ Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, ¹⁵ and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; ¹⁶ in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

We already know that a fallen, secular world will be hostile to the gospel. That’s a given. Our Lord told us this repeatedly. So, if attacks are inevitable, how do we deal with it? Do we retreat from the culture and fortify ourselves behind the church walls, preparing for seige? Of course not. That’s not the example we were given anywhere in the New Testament. Instead we see the Apostles and early church fathers going out boldly to proclaim the good news to their culture.

The question for us today though, is to consider how our culture is different than it was in the early church so we can best “prepare” the gospel of peace for proclamation. The content of the gospel never changes, but the challenges that come against it do. They change form from generation to generation. Whereas 80 years ago, a typical defense of scripture may have revolved around transmission (errors in the handing down of text). Today, the scripture is typically attacked from the standpoint of physicalism (there is no supernatural). This is something the average Christian needs to be prepared for, but probably is not. That needs to change.

That’s one of the goals of Tactical Faith: to bring in good, quality apologetic training to the local church, so that the average Christian feels equipped to prepare the gospel for his or her community. We aim to be an armor catalog for the local church, so that they can access the training they so desperately need. We hope that you will pray for us, and support us as much as possible in this endeavor. The best defense is always a good offense. The full armor of God has a sword as well as a shield.

In Him,
Dave Jones – Board Member of Tactical Faith