Founded in 2006 to provide believers and non-believers alike with the evidence for Christianity, CrossExamined is an inter-denominational, Christian apologetics ministry that reaches high school and college campuses, equips the Church, and “puts a stone in the shoe of skeptics.”
Frank Turek, president and founder of CrossExamined, has devoted his career to defending the essential claims of Christianity and engaging in constructive, thought-provoking dialogue with skeptics. In college, Turek struggled to reconcile his faith with what he knew of science and philosophy. His own experience of wrestling with the truth influenced his approach to apologetics, ultimately leading him to focus on the intense opposition to Christianity within institutions of higher education, which Turek identifies as the most “anti-Christian real estate in the country.”
CrossExamined offers a variety of training resources and forums to equip Christians to defend their faith in the public square and become more effective communicators of the Gospel. These resources include conferences, seminars, online courses, books, and curricula designed to enable Christians to confidently engage with “skeptics, secular audiences, and cultural Christians.”
CrossExamined strives to bring apologetics to the masses, making this important discipline understandable, applicable, and accessible.
“At CrossExamined, we don’t want our apologetics teaching to be a bunch of academic jargon; it’s apologetics for the average person. That’s our goal,” said Turek.
As Turek has observed, Christians can build bridges with those who do not yet believe by appealing to reason and intellect through evidence-based apologetics. Turek also cautions that we “sacrifice” our witness by telling our audiences what they want to hear instead of providing the “unfiltered truth.” Apologetics requires striking a balance between contextualizing the Gospel and preserving its core message. Turek emphasizes the importance of adapting one’s approach to the audience and their worldview, citing the Apostle Paul’s example at Mars Hill in Act 17. Rather than merely quoting Scripture, Paul engaged with the Athenians in their realm of familiarity, drawing from their literature and culture to point to the reality of God. As Turek puts it, “We are giving evidence that truth exists, that God exists, before we ever get to ‘For God so loved the world.'”
Reflecting on Matthew 5:13-16, Turek expressed concern that today’s Christians are not fulfilling their God-given calling to be “salt and light,“ leading to the decline and disintegration of Christianity in the culture. He challenged the cherry-picking approach to truth that is part and parcel of “progressive” Christianity.
“You’re not progressive if you’re regressing away from Jesus, and you’re not Christian if you disagree with Jesus,” Turek added.
“If you truly love people, you want to get them the truth, even if they hate you for it,” Turek continued. “That’s what Jesus did, that’s what the apostles did, and that is what we must do. They didn’t hold their tongues because their goal was to be nice–-their goal was to get people the truth and to ensure that people were not misinformed or deceived.”
Turek identified a common challenge that Christian communicators, ministries, and apologists share: “to get audiences to consume the content produced.” Despite the abundance of quality resources available, Turek said, content is “meaningless” without an audience that receives it.
“The hardest thing is not putting together the material but getting it out there so people can see it,” said Turek. “You could have the best teaching in the world, but if nobody knows about it, what good is it?”
Turek encouraged Christian communicators, broadcasters, and ministries to utilize social media to expand their reach and impact. He emphasized the importance of creating engaging and easily accessible content, such as Instagram reels or comprehensive Twitter threads that link to other relevant content.
Turek credited the late Norman Geisler, a prominent Christian apologist and philosopher, as a significant influence in his own development and founding of CrossExamined. They met as student and teacher at Southern Evangelical Seminary, where Turek earned a Master of Arts in Apologetics. Geisler became a mentor of Turek’s and later co-authored several books with Turek, including “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be an Atheist” and “Legislating Morality: Is it Wise? Is it Legal? Is it Possible?”
Cross Examined offers its apologetics content on a variety of platforms: Turek’s teaching, presentations, and interviews are available on YouTube, CrossExamined’s TV program “I Don’t Have Enough Faith to be an Atheist” is carried by NRBTV, the radio program is available on American Family Radio Network, and the podcast is available on all major platforms and the CrossExamined App. Follow Frank Turek and CrossExamined on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.
Cross Examined has been an NRB member since 2008. To learn more about the ministry’s wealth of resources and training in the art of defending the faith, or to explore the rational basis for Christianity, visit crossexamined.org.
