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Media today pour forth speech at a nonstop rate. All it takes to make an exposé of biblical history is the money to film someone with a Dr. before his or her name, a few "experts" on ancient Near Eastern history, footage of exotic locales, and pan shots of the history of biblical paintings. Voilà. You have a special that fills the "black holes" of public knowledge about the Bible. It can make for compelling TV viewing, as facts and interpretations are mixed and matched in a way sure to generate water-cooler discussions around the country—quite a change from times when religion was a matter of hushed, private discussion.

This new media reality has introduced what I call "conversation stoppers" for Christians. Conversation stoppers are those questions that nearly everyone on the street knows to ask when the sensitive subject of Jesus comes up. They might say, "Well, what about all those other Gospels that never made it into the Bible?" Or, "Don't you know that history is written by the winners, and now that we can hear the losers, we need to revise the Bible's story?"

As I've traveled the country during the past few years, tackling such questions, I've gotten the sense that the church is not prepared for the opportunities created by media chatter. Whether it's allegations that The Passion of the Christ is anti-Semitic or that Jesus married and had a daughter in France, many of us struggle to know how to respond.

What Christians often do is get angry or talk about the media's attempt to undercut our faith. Neither reaction accomplishes much. The media are simply reporting on the topics being raised and discussed in the public square. In sum, they're doing their job, albeit often with a specific agenda in mind. How should the church respond?

Pastors: Church leaders need to do a better job of teaching not only what is in the Bible, but what is going on around the Bible. How many churchgoers know the history of the Canon? Works by F. F. Bruce and Bruce Metzger tell that story well. How many churchgoers understand the debate swirling around the "lost" Gospels? Books by Ben Witherington (The Gnostic Code), Craig Evans (Fabricating Jesus), Dan Wallace (Reinventing Jesus), and me (The Missing Gospels) address these issues for a popular audience.

Individuals: Rather than seeing new media reports as conspiracies to rail against, why not see them as opportunities to discuss faith with friends and neighbors who will find them intriguing? Only we mustn't do so with an angry or dismissive tone. Rather, we ought to respectfully explain the historic Christian view. Becoming equipped for such discussions may require seminars organized by local churches. Imagine churches working together to help believers contend for the truth in their communities.

Seminaries: Our theological schools need to restructure the way they teach Bible courses. They need to move from a Sergeant Friday "just the facts" approach on authorship and dating of biblical and extra-biblical books to one that puts these issues in historical context and lays them against the backdrop of competing theories. In a day when many schools are neglecting these types of courses, there is an even greater need for church leaders to know the background of each scriptural book, because masses of people are engaging Christianity at this point. It's not only senior pastors who need this training, but youth leaders, as well. How many high school students are prepared for what they will hear about Christianity and the Bible in college classrooms?

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December 2007, Vol. 51, No. 12