As much as anytime in history parents of Christian high school graduates have less certainty about the future for their children. To Know With Certainty was written because of this concern that extends to the direction of our country and the Christian faith. I believe the direction of our country is directly linked to the trend and status of the Christian faith in America.
Reliable surveys suggest that for decades there has been about a 70% loss of Evangelical Christian youth to the church following graduation from high school. Over time this loss translates into a permanent loss of about 30% from the faith. Other surveys show a decline in church attendance and knowledge, understanding and acceptance of faith fundamentals dating from the time of Jesus. Graduates site the reason for opting out is a failure in not having had their most important questions addressed. In other words, a missed opportunity has been taking place for decades. The opportunity for addressing this crisis is while students are in the church and the home. Student questions should be addressed on an intellectual and faith basis so as they enter post high school life Knowing With Certainty where they stand in their beliefs.
To Know With Certainty cites scientific, historical and theological resources to provide need-to-know information and evidence for graduates and parents to strengthen their faith on an intellectual basis. Among the topics for which evidence is provided is the existence of God as sovereign creator of the universe, Jesus’ life, death and resurrection, the reliability and authenticity of the Bible, the origin of man and the weaknesses of the Theory of Evolution. In the understanding, the evidence of these fundamentals the graduate is equipped to not only defend but to contend for the faith on an intellectual basis in any setting including adversarial ones like the college campus and classroom. In addition, the graduate can be a more effective witness to non-believing seekers who require facts and data to support belief.
Dr. Southard is a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and has a Master of Science from George Washington University and a Ph. D. from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. His career consisted of 40 years in the research and development of pharmaceuticals and biotechnology products.
He served in the positions of Board Chairman, CEO, and Chief Science Officer. In a citizen-soldier career, he served as an artillery, chemical, and military intelligence officer that included two commands over his 26 years in the active and reserve U.S. Army, retiring as a Colonel. He has served in youth ministry for 30 years. His goal is for youth to become disciples of Christ and confidently contend and defend their faith in any setting.
He believes that faith coupled with a better intellectual understanding of the faith will achieve that goal. As a result, he wrote the book To Know with Certainty: Answers to Christian Students’ Questions Upon Leaving High School (West Bow Press 2017). In the process, he discovered a catastrophic problem for the church and America unfolding right before our eyes. That problem is the loss of American Christian youth to the faith primarily because of lack of belief. This loss is the reason for the unfolding catastrophe that Christians are decreasing at such a rate that it will lead to Christianity being a minority religion in America by 2039 with accompanying dire consequences for America. As a result, The Battle We Must Not Lose: A Call to Save Our Youth and Restore America as “one Nation Under God”. was written to warn parents, the Church, and the Nation to urgently mobilize for action to reprioritize the spiritual development of our youth if America is to flourish in the future.
With his wife of 51 years, Lee and Marilyn had four boys, six grandchildren, and one great-grandchild before her passing. Remarried to Nancy, they reside in Fort Myers, FL.