JACKSON, Tenn. — Sept. 10, 2024 — Most cultural debates today are rooted in an attack on God鈥檚 original design for his creation, Shane Pruitt told a group of high school students at 51社区 Sept. 7.
鈥淎t the end of the day, God is the originator, designer and inventor of it all,鈥� said Pruitt, national Next Gen director for the North American Mission Board. 鈥淎nd if God is the original designer, inventor and creator of it all, he also gets to define what things are.
鈥淎 lot of cultural agendas and a lot of cultural issues that we鈥檙e trying to navigate today are really an attack on God, and it鈥檚 mankind wanting to prop itself up as God instead of letting God be the authority, letting God be the definer.鈥�
Pruitt was one of the keynote speakers at the third annual EQUIP Youth Apologetics Conference, jointly sponsored by Union鈥檚 School of Theology and Missions and the Tennessee Baptist Mission Board. The conference is designed to help teenagers address their doubts and questions, consider the Bible鈥檚 truth claims and witness to biblical truth, with speakers trained in theology, philosophy, apologetics, sociology and youth ministry.
Other speakers included Jay Barbier, youth ministry specialist with the TBMB; Justin Barnard, professor of philosophy at Union; and Phil Davignon, associate professor of sociology at Union.
About 230 attended the event, according to Gregory Poore, the conference organizer and Union鈥檚 associate professor of philosophy, apologetics and ethics.
Alex Williams, the high school pastor at Whiteflag Church in St. Louis, Mo., and a 2020 Union graduate, brought a group of six students from his church to the conference.
鈥淭he thing they appreciated the most and enjoyed the most from the conference was how much Scripture was used,鈥� Williams said. 鈥淚t wasn鈥檛 just opinion-based or emotionally charged, but every point that somebody had, every thought that somebody had, they backed it up with Scripture.鈥�
In his address, Pruitt answered four basic questions that he said everyone asks: 鈥淲here did I come from?鈥� 鈥淲hy am I here?鈥� 鈥淲hat鈥檚 wrong with me?鈥� and 鈥淲hat鈥檚 the solution?鈥�
鈥淓verything starts with God,鈥� Pruitt said. 鈥淪o that means you are not from some primordial ooze. You did not start out as pond scum that began to grow legs. Apes are not your great-uncles and your great-ancestors. You come from a holy, on-purpose, creator God.鈥�
Human beings are either male or female because God said so, and saying that is not hateful, Pruitt said. In fact, he said it鈥檚 more unloving to celebrate or affirm that God made a mistake on someone.
If God is the creator and designer of the universe, Pruitt argued, then he also gets to be the definer. The Bible speaks with clarity on issues such as when life begins, what marriage is and who determines sex and gender.
鈥淚t鈥檚 very arrogant for us as a culture to think we get to redefine what God has already defined,鈥� he said.
The purpose of life is for people to know and worship their creator, Pruitt said, and he told students they would always feel like something in their lives is missing if God himself is missing.
Sin is the universal problem for all of humanity that results in separation from God, but Pruitt said Jesus Christ is the answer to the problem of sin and brokenness that plagues every single person.
鈥淣o one is too lost for Jesus to find,鈥� Pruitt said. 鈥淣o one is too dirty for Jesus to cleanse. No one is too broken for Jesus to fix. No one鈥檚 too wounded for Jesus to heal. No one鈥檚 too far gone for Jesus to reach. No one鈥檚 too guilty for Jesus to forgive. And no one is too sinful for Jesus to save.鈥�
Next year鈥檚 EQUIP Youth Apologetics Conference is scheduled for Sept. 6, 2025.