Lee Patrick Strobel (born January 25, 1952) is an American Christian author and a former investigative journalist. He has written several books, including four that received ECPA Christian Book Awards (1994, 1999, 2001, 2005) and a series which addresses challenges to the veracity of Christianity. He also hosted a television program called '' Faith Under Fire'' on

PAX TV Ion Television (referred to on-air as simply Ion) is an American terrestrial television, broadcast television network and Free ad-supported streaming television, FAST television channel owned by the Scripps Networks subsidiary of the E. W. Scri ...

and runs a video

apologetics Apologetics (from Greek ) is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their f ...

web site.

Early life and education

Strobel was born in

Arlington Heights, Illinois Arlington Heights is a village in Cook County, Illinois, Cook County Illinois, United States. A northwestern Chicago metropolitan area, suburb of Chicago, it lies about northwest of the city's downtown. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ...

. He received a journalism degree from the

University of Missouri The University of Missouri (Mizzou or MU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbia, Missouri, United States. It is Missouri's largest university and the flagship of the four-campus Univers ...

and a Master of Studies in Law degree from

Yale Law School Yale Law School (YLS) is the law school of Yale University, a Private university, private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. It was established in 1824. The 2020–21 acceptance rate was 4%, the lowest of any law school in the United ...

Career

Lee was a journalist for the ''

Chicago Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN (AM), WGN radio and ...

'' and other newspapers for 14 years. In 1980, the UPI Illinois Editors Association newspaper award program gave him a first place for public service (the Len H. Small Memorial award) for his coverage of the

Ford Pinto The Ford Pinto is a subcompact car that was manufactured and marketed by Ford Motor Company in North America from 1970 until 1980. The Pinto was the first subcompact vehicle produced by Ford in North America. The Pinto was marketed in three bo ...

crash trial involving a class-action lawsuit against the Ford Motor Company in Winamac, Indiana. Strobel later became assistant managing editor of the '' Daily Herald'', before leaving journalism in 1987. Strobel was an

atheist Atheism, in the broadest sense, is an absence of belief in the existence of deities. Less broadly, atheism is a rejection of the belief that any deities exist. In an even narrower sense, atheism is specifically the position that there no ...

when he began investigating the biblical claims about

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

after his wife's conversion. Prompted by the results of his investigation, he became a Christian at the age of 29.

Ministry

Strobel was teaching pastor of

Willow Creek Community Church Willow Creek Community Church is an Evangelical nondenominational multisite megachurch based in the northwestern Chicago suburb of South Barrington, Illinois. It was founded on October 12, 1975 by Dave Holmbo and Bill Hybels, who was its longtim ...

in South Barrington, Illinois, from 1987 to 2000. In 2000, he became pastor at Saddleback Church in

Lake Forest, California Lake Forest is a city in Orange County, California, United States. The population was 85,858 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Lake Forest incorporated as a city on December 20, 1991. Prior to incorporation, the community had be ...

. In 2004, he left his post as pastor to host the

Christian apologetics Christian apologetics (, "verbal defense, speech in defense") is a branch of Christian theology that defends Christianity. Christian apologetics have taken many forms over the centuries, starting with Paul the Apostle in the early church and Pa ...

show '' Faith Under Fire''. In 2014, he became a teaching pastor at Woodlands Church in

The Woodlands, Texas The Woodlands is a Special district (United States), special-purpose district and census-designated place (CDP) in the U.S. state of Texas in the Greater Houston, Houston–The Woodlands–Sugar Land metropolitan statistical area. The Woodlands ...

, and a professor of Christian thought at Houston Baptist University.

Recognition

In 2007, he was awarded an honorary doctoral degree by

Southern Evangelical Seminary Southern Evangelical Seminary is a Christian college and seminary that started in Charlotte, North Carolina in 1992, United States. In April of 2025, the schools moved to Rock Hill, SC. History The seminary was established in 1992 by Norman Gei ...

in recognition of his contributions to

Personal life

Strobel and his wife Leslie have two children and several grandchildren. His daughter Alison is a novelist,About Lee Strobel
. Leestrobel.com. Retrieved on November 14, 2011. and his son Kyle is an Assistant Professor of Spiritual Theology and Formation at the Talbot School of Theology.

Film

Strobel appeared in the 2016 film '' God's Not Dead 2''. A film titled ''

The Case for Christ ''The Case for Christ'' is a 2017 American Christian drama film directed by Jon Gunn and written by Brian Bird, based on a true story and inspired by the 1998 book of the same name by Lee Strobel. The film stars Mike Vogel, Erika Christensen, ...

'', based on Strobel's book, had its theatrical release in April 2017. The film was directed by Jonathan M. Gunn and is about an atheist reporter who tries to prove Christianity to be a cult. Retrieved November 2016 The film was produced by Triple Horse Studios and distributed by Pure Flix Entertainment.

Bibliography

* ''Reckless Homicide? Ford's Pinto Trial'' (1980) * ''Inside the Mind of

Unchurched "Unchurched" (alternatively, "The Unchurched" or "unchurched people") means, in the broad sense, people who are Christians but not connected with a church. The term is not well-defined; different people understand it differently. In research on ...

Harry and Mary'' (1993) * ''What Jesus Would Say'' (1994) * ''God's Outrageous Claims'' (1998) * ''Surviving a Spiritual Mismatch in Marriage'' (2002) * ''Experiencing the Passion of Jesus'' (2004), with Garry Poole, Zondervan, * ''Discussing the Da Vinci Code: Exploring the Issues Raised by the Book and Movie'' (2006) * ''The Unexpected Adventure: Taking Everyday Risks to Talk with People about Jesus'' (May 29, 2009), Zondervan, * ''Today's Moment of Truth: Devotions to Deepen Your Faith in Christ'' (July 12, 2016), Zondervan,

"The Case for..." series

* ''The Case for Christ: A Journalist's Personal Investigation of the Evidence for Jesus'' (September 1, 1998),

Zondervan Zondervan is an international Christian media and publishing company located in Grand Rapids, Michigan, United States. Zondervan is a founding member of the Evangelical Christian Publishers Association (ECPA). It is a part of HarperCollins, Ha ...

, * ''The Case for Faith: A Journalist Investigates the Toughest Objections to Christianity'' (October 1, 2000),

, * ''The Case for a Creator: A Journalist Investigates Scientific Evidence That Points Toward God'' (2004), Zondervan, * ''The Case for Easter: Journalist Investigates the Evidence for the Resurrection'' (2004), Zondervan, * ''The Case for Christmas: A Journalist Investigates the Identity of the Child in the Manger'' (2005), Zondervan, * ''The Case for the Real Jesus: A Journalist Investigates Current Attacks on the Identity of Christ'' (September 10, 2007), Zondervan, * ''The Case for Christianity Answer Book'' (July 1, 2014), Zondervan, * ''The Case for Hope: Looking Ahead with Confidence and Courage'' (2015), Zondervan, * ''The Case for Grace: A Journalist Explores the Evidence of Transformed Lives'' (2015), Zondervan, * ''In Defense of Jesus: Investigating Attacks on the Identity of Christ'' (2016) * ''The Case for Miracles: A Journalist Investigates Evidence for the Supernatural'' (2018) * ''The Case for Heaven: A Journalist Investigates Evidence for Life After Death'' (2021)

Children's apologetics series

* ''The Case for Faith for Kids'' (2006), Zonderkidz, * ''The Case for Christ for Kids'' (2006), Zonderkidz, * ''A Case for a Creator for Kids'' (2006), Zonderkidz, * ''Off My Case for Kids: 12 Stories to Help You Defend Your Faith'' (2006), Zonderkidz,

Novels

* ''The Ambition: A Novel'' (May 14, 2011),

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strobel, Lee 1952 births Living people 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century evangelicals 21st-century American clergy 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century evangelicals American Evangelical writers American investigative journalists American male journalists American male non-fiction writers American religious writers Chicago Tribune people Christian apologists Converts to Protestantism from atheism or agnosticism Converts to evangelical Christianity American critics of atheism Evangelical pastors Harvard Law School alumni Intelligent design advocates Journalists from Illinois People from Arlington Heights, Illinois People from South Barrington, Illinois University of Missouri alumni Writers from Illinois Yale University alumni