Christians, wrote Tertullian in the third century, “are made, not born.”
The African church father, in chapter 18 of his Apology, was reflecting on the Great Commission of the risen Christ, who challenged his followers to “make disciples” by “baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything [he had] commanded” (Matt. 28:19–20).
The challenge of making Christians today is the same as it was ...