Lee Strobel was an award-winning investigative journalist at the Chicago Tribune, a self-described atheist, and a pretty committed drinker. His wife Leslie was similar — happy, secular, living their best suburban life. Then a neighbour named Linda brought cookies.
The Domino Effect
Linda didn't show up with a Bible. She showed up with baked goods and a genuine friendship. Over time, she invited Leslie to Willow Creek Community Church. Leslie went. And something happened that Lee didn't expect: his wife started changing. She was kinder. More patient. More alive. Lee noticed and was furious.
"I want my old wife back," he told himself. The woman he married wasn't religious. This new version unsettled him.
The Investigation
But Lee Strobel was a journalist. He didn't just get angry — he investigated. If Christianity had stolen his wife, he was going to dismantle it with evidence. He spent nearly two years interviewing experts, examining historical evidence, and applying the same rigour he'd used on criminal investigations at the Tribune.
The problem was: the evidence kept going the wrong way. Eyewitness testimony for the resurrection was stronger than he expected. The manuscript evidence for the New Testament was overwhelming. The experts he interviewed to debunk Christianity kept giving him answers that held up.
In 1981, Lee Strobel became a Christian. Not because someone preached at him, but because the evidence demanded it — and because a neighbour with cookies had started the whole chain reaction by befriending his wife.
The Aftermath
Strobel wrote "The Case for Christ," which sold millions of copies and was adapted into a film. He became one of the most well-known apologists of his generation. But the whole thing started with Linda and a plate of cookies.
What This Means for You
Linda didn't convert Lee Strobel. She didn't even try. She befriended his wife, invited her to church, and let God handle the rest. Sometimes the person you're meant to reach isn't the person you're talking to — it's the person watching from the next room. Bake the cookies. Make the invitation. Trust the process.