Jamie Dew said he never set out to be an academic, but a passion for evangelism changed the direction of his life.

Speaking Jan. 28 at First Baptist Church Pelham during the Sunday evening session of the 2024 Alabama Baptist State Evangelism Conference, Dew said he came to faith after making some poor decisions as a teenager, and what followed his salvation was a deep desire to share Jesus. He learned quickly what others also know: “not everybody is as excited about Jesus as you are. They have questions, criticisms and objections.”

Dew, president of New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and Leavell College, said his desire to answer his own questions and doubts and to respond well to the objections of others led him to apologetics and philosophy.

The Apostle Paul had to face questions and objections as well, in particular conflicting opinions on resurrection generally and the resurrection of Christ specifically, Dew said. And in 1 Corinthians 15, “the great resurrection chapter,” we have “the foundation laid for taking the gospel into the darkness.”

Because Jesus is raised from the dead, “every sermon you preach, every gospel tract you hand out matters,” Dew said.

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This article was originally published at TheAlabamaBaptist.org.