Author Lee Strobel to speak at La Croix Church

Lee Strobel was an award-winning investigative journalist for the Chicago Tribune. But in addition to his passion for good journalism with a focus on legal issues, he was also committed to something else: Strobel was an atheist.

It was Leslie Strobel who would start the process of her husband's conversion — one built on extensive research of Scripture and interviews with many biblical scholars.

Following his wife's conversion, Strobel set out to disprove Christianity. Ultimately, his research led him to become a committed follower of Christ and one of the faith's great writers of apologetics. His seminal work, for which this research was conducted, was published as "The Case for Christ." The book was made into a movie by the same title in 2017 and features Strobel's life story, research and path to salvation. He is the author of more than 20 books.

This weekend, Strobel will be in Cape Girardeau to kick off a sermon series at La Croix Church on the topic of grace. His message will be based on his book "The Case for Grace" which documents compelling stories of individuals who have experienced God's free gift in profound ways.

Strobel told me in a recent interview the theme is really the story of his own life. Though he had much success in his early journalism career, others didn't know what else was going on in his life.

"People didn't see the other side, which was me literally drunk in the snow in an alley on Saturday night," Strobel said. "So I was headed down a dark path."

Still, he didn't like that his wife had converted to the Christian faith. Strobel decided if he could use his journalism training to debunk Christianity, he could get his wife back — the Leslie he knew before she converted. Ultimately, the research led him to the opposite conclusion — that Christ was real and he needed a Savior.

On Nov. 8, 1981, he came to faith in Jesus.

"My life, my values, my character, my morality, my attitudes, my relationship, my marriage — I mean, everything began to change for the better as a result. And so it was God's grace that changed my life."

Strobel cited 2 Corinthians 5:17 that talks about the free gift of God's grace that rescues us from our sins and provides eternal life.

"When we do receive this free gift of God's gracious gift of forgiveness and eternal life, the old is gone [and] the new is come. We're transformed. We're different in our outlook and in our morality. And I wanted to tell stories along those lines."

Strobel said in the book he tells stories of individuals who have gone down dark paths and how God has rescued them. One individual had killed 17,000 people but ultimately received God's grace in prison, becoming a fully devoted follower of Christ. He also tells a story about what some might consider a "nice guy," noting that even those who haven't committed the most heinous of crimes still need grace of the Savior.

Grace, Strobel said, is unique to Christianity when compared to all other religions. All others require that you do something to earn your way to the next life or salvation. Strobel referred to it as the "do plan."

"But Christianity is unique because it's spelled D-O-N-E," he said. "Jesus said on the cross, 'It's finished.' He paid he paid the penalty we deserved for the wrongdoings that we've committed. And he offers forgiveness and eternal life as a free gift of His grace. So that that makes Christianity stand out among all the other world religions, and I think that's powerful."

One of the themes that stuck out to Strobel as he wrote "The Case for Grace" was that no one is beyond hope.

"When I came to faith here, I was a hardheaded, hardhearted journalist," he said. "My wife thought, 'He's never going to come to faith. If he does, it's going to be a deathbed experience.' And she actually met some women at church when she was a new Christian and said, 'I don't have any hope for my husband. He's a hardheaded, hardhearted, legal editor of the Chicago Tribune. He's never going to bend his knee to Jesus.' And one elderly Saint put her arm around Les and pulled her to the side and said, 'Oh, Leslie, no one is beyond hope.'"

Strobel said the lady told his wife an Old Testament verse that says, "Moreover, I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit within you. I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh."

"And so my wife prayed that verse for me for the two years that I was on this investigative journey checking out Christianity and ultimately coming to faith. And then that verse coming true, my values and character were transformed. As a result, God gave me a new heart, a new spirit, new attitudes, new worldview, new philosophy. And I'll never forget when she told me that she said, 'I almost gave up on you 1,000 times. But then I was told no one is beyond hope.' And I hope people who read that book or come hear me speak on the topic will say that about themselves, that even though they may have thought they were beyond hope that they're not."

Strobel will speak at all three services this weekend at La Croix: 5:30 p.m. Saturday and 9:15 a.m. and 11 a.m. Sunday. His latest book is titled "The Case for Heaven." A movie by the same title is scheduled to come to theaters April 4-6.

Lucas Presson is assistant publisher of the Southeast Missourian.