Speaking Topics

Most Requested Talks

An Evening with an Atheist

What would happen if an atheist challenged your students to defend what they believe? In this unique and interactive presentation, Ryan roleplays an atheist and invites students to persuade him that Christianity is true. Students must think on their feet as they respond to objections, ask questions, and defend their beliefs in a realistic but safe environment. Afterward, Ryan steps out of character and evaluates the conversation, helping students identify what they did well and where their responses could improve. Rather than simply teaching students answers, this experience gives them the opportunity to put their apologetics training into practice and prepares them for real conversations with people who disagree.

If God, Why Evil?

If God is all-powerful and perfectly good, why is there so much evil and suffering in the world? The problem of evil is one of the most difficult intellectual and emotional challenges to Christianity. In this talk, Ryan examines several responses to the problem and shows why the existence of evil is not incompatible with the existence of God. In fact, our recognition that some things are objectively evil may actually point us toward God rather than away from him.

Resurrection: Real? Or Real Dumb?

Christianity stands or falls on one extraordinary claim: Jesus rose from the dead. But is the resurrection supported by historical evidence, or is it simply something Christians accept by faith? In this talk, Ryan examines the historical facts surrounding Jesus’ death, burial, empty tomb, and postmortem appearances and considers the competing explanations for what happened. Students will see that belief in the resurrection is not blind faith but a conclusion that can be investigated and defended with evidence.

Doubting Your Doubts

Doubt is a normal part of the Christian life, but what should we do when questions about our faith begin to shake our confidence in what we believe? Instead of ignoring our doubts or being controlled by them, we can learn to examine them with the same critical thinking we apply to our Christian beliefs. In this talk, Ryan explores where doubts come from, how our emotions and experiences can influence what we believe, and why we should learn to doubt our doubts. Students will walk away with practical tools for facing difficult questions honestly while continuing to pursue truth and trust God in the process.

Navigating Gender Identity

Few cultural issues generate as much confusion and disagreement as gender identity. How should Christians understand the experiences of those who wrestle with their gender, evaluate the competing ideas our culture offers, and respond with both truth and compassion? In this talk, Ryan examines the major ideas shaping contemporary views of gender and considers the consequences of different approaches before presenting a biblical response. Students will be equipped to understand this complex issue, think carefully about the claims they encounter, and engage others with conviction, compassion, and respect.

Following Christ in an Immoral World

How can Christians faithfully follow Jesus in a culture that offers a very different vision of the good life? Simply telling Christians what not to do isn’t enough; following Christ requires more than rules and behavior modification. In this talk, Ryan explores how knowledge, experience, and our deepest desires shape the way we live and shows how the gospel transforms us from the inside out. Rather than viewing Christianity as a list of restrictions, we discover that true freedom is not simply the freedom to do whatever we want, but the freedom to become who God created us to be. Christians can then engage the world around them with conviction, passion, and a way of life that demonstrates the goodness of following Jesus.

Are Science and Faith Compatible?

Science and Christianity are often presented as enemies: science is based on evidence and reason, while religion supposedly requires blind faith. But is that really true? In this talk, Ryan examines the relationship between science and Christianity, challenges the idea that scientific discovery has made belief in God obsolete, and shows how the Christian worldview helped provide a foundation for the rise of modern science. Christians will see that they don’t have to choose between taking science seriously and taking their faith seriously.

Is Christianity Good for the World?

Some people reject Christianity not because they think it is false, but because they believe it is harmful. Christianity has been blamed for violence, oppression, slavery, intolerance, and opposition to science. But does history support that conclusion? In this talk, Ryan examines Christianity’s influence on the world and shows how biblical ideas helped shape human rights, charity, education, science, medicine, and care for the vulnerable. Christianity isn’t merely a worldview that can be defended as true; it offers a vision of human dignity, flourishing, and love that has profoundly shaped our world.

Apologetics & Evidence for Christianity

Is the New Testament Reliable?

Is the New Testament historically reliable, or has the story of Jesus been changed over time? Was it written too late to be trusted? Is it filled with contradictions? Did the disciples simply make it all up? In this talk, Ryan surveys the historical evidence for the reliability of the New Testament and equips Christians to respond to common challenges they will encounter from skeptics.

I Don’t Have Enough Faith to Be An Atheist

Is there a rational case for Christianity? This four-part apologetics seminar builds a cumulative case for the Christian worldview by asking four foundational questions: Does truth exist? Does God exist? Are miracles possible? Is the New Testament reliable? Together, the answers provide a step-by-step case for the truth of Christianity and equip Christians to explain why their faith is grounded in evidence rather than blind belief. The seminar can be presented in its entirety or individual sessions can be selected for an event.

How Can a Loving God Send People to Hell?

How can a loving God send people to hell? For many skeptics—and many Christians—hell seems incompatible with God’s goodness and love. In this talk, Ryan surveys the biblical teaching on hell and examines why God’s justice, human freedom, and the seriousness of sin matter for understanding this difficult doctrine. Rather than avoiding the question, Christians can develop a thoughtful response that helps us better understand both God’s character and the urgency of the gospel.

Worldview & Cultural Engagement

Why Your Morals Are Actually Christian

Christianity is often criticized as intolerant, oppressive, harmful, and morally outdated. But what if the values behind many of these objections are actually rooted in Christianity? Our culture deeply values equality, justice, compassion, consent, progress, and freedom, but it rarely stops to ask where these values come from or what makes them objectively good. In this talk, Ryan examines each of these six values and argues that they make the most sense within a Christian worldview. In fact, when separated from their Christian foundation, these values can begin to conflict with one another. Rather than undermining Christianity, our deepest moral convictions may actually point us back to the Christian worldview that helped give them to us.

How Relativism Undermines Your Faith in Christ

Our culture increasingly tells us that truth is personal: what’s true for you may not be true for me. But what happens when this way of thinking enters the church? If there is no objective truth, what does it mean for Jesus to claim that he is the truth? In this talk, Ryan shows how relativism can quietly undermine a student’s confidence in Christianity and equips students, parents, and leaders to recognize and respond to it.

Redeeming Entertainment Culture

We are careful about what we put into our bodies, but how carefully do we consider what we put into our minds? Movies, music, social media, games, and other forms of entertainment don’t simply entertain us; they can shape what we love, value, and believe. In this talk, Ryan examines four ways our entertainment culture can negatively form us and offers a Christian vision for engaging entertainment with wisdom and intentionality rather than simply consuming it or avoiding it.

Stewarding Artificial Intelligence

Artificial intelligence is rapidly changing how we learn, work, create, and relate to one another. Christians shouldn’t respond by blindly embracing every new technology or simply withdrawing from it. Instead, we need a positive theological vision that begins with God’s design for human beings and asks how our tools help or hinder that design. In this talk, Ryan equips Christians to think biblically about AI and use technology intentionally in ways that honor God and contribute to genuine human flourishing.

Homosexuality: Truth and Compassion

How can Christians remain faithful to biblical teaching on sexuality while genuinely loving people who disagree? In a culture where Christian sexual ethics are often viewed as hateful or harmful, believers need both conviction and compassion. This talk helps students understand the biblical view of sexuality and equips them to engage conversations about homosexuality with clarity, grace, and genuine love for others.

The Value of Human Life

Few issues are as emotionally charged as abortion, but Christians shouldn’t allow the difficulty of the conversation to keep them from engaging it. What makes every human life valuable, and how can we make the case for the unborn in a persuasive and compassionate way? In this talk, Ryan presents the philosophical and scientific case for the pro-life position and equips Christians with practical tools for discussing abortion with clarity, confidence, and grace.

Evangelism & Conversations

Ask Me Anything Q&A

Students have real questions about Christianity, culture, ethics, and competing worldviews, and they need a place where they can ask them honestly. In this interactive session, Ryan invites students to ask any question they want and responds with thoughtful, biblical answers. The goal is not simply to give students answers, but to show them that Christianity is capable of addressing their hardest questions and encourage them to think more deeply about their faith.

Tactics in Defending the Faith

Christians need more than good answers; they need wisdom in knowing how to use them. How can we navigate difficult conversations without becoming defensive, argumentative, or overwhelmed? Drawing from Greg Koukl’s Tactics, Ryan teaches practical strategies for asking good questions, exposing weaknesses in an argument, and keeping conversations moving in a productive direction. Students will leave better equipped to discuss their Christian convictions with confidence, wisdom, and grace.

Spotting Bad Arguments

A confident argument isn’t necessarily a good argument. Christians can easily be caught off guard by objections to their faith without first stopping to ask whether the reasoning behind those objections actually works. In this talk, Ryan teaches three practical tools for identifying bad arguments and evaluating competing explanations. Students will learn to slow down, think critically, and determine whether an argument can stand on its own before trying to respond to it.

What’s Your Bias?

“You’re just biased because you’re a Christian.” Does having a bias mean that your beliefs are false? Everyone approaches questions with assumptions and prior beliefs, so the important question isn’t whether we have a bias, but whether our beliefs are supported by good reasons. In this talk, Ryan helps students recognize their own assumptions, evaluate competing viewpoints fairly, and respond when someone dismisses Christianity simply because Christians are “biased.”

Faith & Christian Living

Everyone Has To Start Somewhere

Why do some students who grow up in Christian homes, attend church every week, and know all the right answers still find Christianity boring? Knowing facts about God is not the same as truly knowing God. In this talk, Ryan explores how relationships grow and applies those principles to our relationship with God. Students will be challenged to move beyond a secondhand faith and develop a deeper, personal, and committed relationship with Christ.

The Authority of Scripture

Who has the final authority to determine what is true and how we should live? Our culture offers many competing authorities, including reason, experience, emotion, personal desire, cultural consensus, and political power. Christianity claims that ultimate authority belongs to God and that Scripture speaks truthfully into every area of life. In this talk, Ryan examines what biblical authority means and challenges Christians to allow God’s Word, rather than the shifting standards of culture, to shape what they believe and how they live.

What Am I Made For?

What were you made for? The answer shapes how we understand our identity, purpose, happiness, and even freedom. Our culture often defines freedom as the ability to become whoever we want to be, but Christianity offers a different vision: true freedom is found in becoming who God created us to be. In this talk, Ryan helps Christians think deeply about their purpose and discover how God’s design leads to genuine freedom and human flourishing.

Science, Philosophy & Faith

Are You Intelligently Designed?

What can science tell us about whether the universe and life are the result of design? From the fine-tuning of the universe to the complexity of life, discoveries in science raise important questions about the best explanation for the world around us. In this talk, Ryan examines several lines of scientific evidence and asks whether they are better explained by an intelligent cause or by unguided natural processes. Students will learn how to think critically about the evidence for design and engage these questions with both scientific and philosophical reasoning.

A Tactical Approach to Creation and Evolution

Few issues create as much perceived tension between Christianity and science as the debate over creation and evolution. But Christians don’t have to choose between taking Scripture seriously and carefully examining the scientific evidence. In this talk, Ryan explores some of the major arguments for evolution and equips students with strategic questions they can ask as they evaluate the evidence. Rather than simply telling students what to think, this presentation teaches them how to think critically about competing explanations of life’s history and diversity.

Do Aliens Exist?

Are we alone in the universe? The enormous size of the cosmos leads many people to wonder whether intelligent extraterrestrial life must exist, while reports of UFOs and unexplained phenomena continue to fuel speculation. In this talk, Ryan examines the major reasons people believe intelligent alien life exists and considers how Christians should evaluate the evidence. Along the way, students will learn how a biblical worldview can help them think carefully about one of our culture’s most fascinating questions.

Zombies and the Soul

What exactly is a soul, and why does it matter? Although the soul is central to a Christian understanding of human beings, many Christians struggle to explain what it is or why we should believe we have one. Using zombies as a memorable thought experiment, Ryan introduces students to the nature of the soul and explores why human beings are more than merely physical bodies. This talk makes an important philosophical and theological question accessible, engaging, and memorable.

World Religions

Is Jesus the Only Way to God?

In a world filled with different religions and beliefs about God, how can Christians claim that Jesus is the only way? Isn’t it arrogant or intolerant to say that one religion is true and the others are mistaken? In this talk, Ryan examines the major competing worldviews and shows why contradictory beliefs about God, salvation, and reality cannot all be true. Christians will be equipped to explain the uniqueness of Jesus while engaging people of other faiths with both conviction and respect.

World Religions: Are They All True?

Our culture often encourages us to view all religions as equally valid paths to spiritual truth. But religions make fundamentally different and sometimes contradictory claims about God, humanity, salvation, and the nature of reality. Can they really all be true? In this talk, Ryan introduces students to three practical ways of evaluating competing religious claims and shows why respecting people of other faiths does not require us to believe that every religion is equally true.

Engaging with Mormons

How should Christians respond when Latter-day Saint missionaries knock on the door or when conversations about Mormonism arise with friends and neighbors? Productive conversations require more than simply knowing where Christianity and Mormonism disagree; they require understanding the beliefs of the person in front of us and knowing how to ask good questions. In this talk, Ryan examines key differences concerning the nature of God, salvation, and truth while providing practical strategies for engaging Latter-day Saints with clarity, confidence, and respect.

Sermons

Psalm 8 – The Majesty of God and the Dignity of Man

Psalm 121 – Where do you look for help?

Psalm 128 – Seek God, Not Happiness

Luke 2:21-40 – Jesus, the Long Awaited Messiah

Romans 12:11 – Slothful or Purposeful?

Romans 12:20-21 – God’s Grace in a Hostile World

Colossians 1:15-23 – Christ, Supreme Over Creation

2 Corinthians 8:9 – Generosity as a Test of Love

Don’t see what you’re looking for?

Email ryan@think-well.org to talk to Ryan about creating a new presentation for your event.