Why Missions?

This weekend we had our church’s foreign missions banquet.  We call it “world outreach” these days.  But whatever we call it, it is important to remember why we do it.  

We don’t just do missions because it is cool.   Now, contrary to what many people think,  I do believe mission  is cool.  You learn about lots of countries and cultures.  You are reminded of the power of the gospel.  You hear lots of interesting stories about how God is at work in the world today.   In all these ways missions is cool and refreshing.  But there are better reasons why we “do” missions.   Here are some that come to mind.

1     We do missions, first of all, because God models it.  God is a missionary God.  He not only made the world, but sent his one and only Son—Jesus — into the world on a mission.   Our mission comes from his mission.  Jesus said in  John 17.18 as he prayed to his Father, “As you sent me into the world, so I have sent them into the world.”

2     Second, we do missions because Jesus commanded it.  The “Great Commission” appears  like a drum beat at the beginning of the New Testament—Matthew 2818, Mark 16.15, Luke 24.47, John 20.21 and Acts 1.8..  The church goes because we were commissioned by Jesus himself.

3     Third, we do missions because, according to Scripture, people’s eternal destiny hangs upon it.    Jesus said in John 14.6, “no one comes to the father but by me.”   Acts 4.12 echoes this with the words–“there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”    It is the “whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life” of verses like John 3.16 that compels us.

4     Fourth, we do missions because the future requires it.  Passages like Revelation 5.9 and 10 gives us a picture of heaven where multitudes are gathered around the throne and sing to the Lamb—“you are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, because you were slain, and with your blood you purchased men for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.”   This picture of the future reminds us that we are to make disciples of ALL nations.

5     Finally, we do missions because people’s joy and right worship depends on it.   We know that everyone worships something.   It’s just that they often worship the wrong things.  They pursue dead ends that never satisfy.  As John Piper says, “missions exists because worship (i.e. true worship) doesn’t.”  We do missions for the joy of all peoples.  We echo the prayer of the psalmist—“may the nations be glad and sing for joy.” True joy is found in him alone.

I find that exposure to missionaries and missions events has a lot of positive effects on me and our church. Showing hospitality to missionaries opens the world up to our families.  It exposes our children to the nations.   Short term missions trips expose us to the blessings that come from serving with brothers and sisters from other lands.  Their faith sharpens our faith.  Time with missionaries gives us a reality check by exposing us to the sacrifices they make in their daily lives.  We see what it really means to “seek first the kingdom of God.”

Even a simple missions banquet can be like a trip around the world in an evening.  It’s a kind of “good news tour” exposing us to the stories of God’s work in many cultures.   We hear “the rest of the story,” the news behind the news.    This week we travelled to Ecuador, Central Asia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Germany, and Congo, all in one night.

I often tell our congregation that when we give an offering on Sunday, that gift acts like a kind of mutual fund;  it scatters in many directions.  A significant portion of it is dispersed to mission projects and missionaries all around the world.   

This past year our church hit two missions milestones for which I am grateful.  In our short life we have given over ten million dollars to the cause of world missions.  As a church we have given more money to missions than we have spent on building buildings!  The buildings that we have have been a conduit to missions giving and activity.  We praise God for this!

Remember this.  In a world with 6.8 billion people, only 2.27 billion identify themselves as Christians (33%).  And of those we can assume that there are many nominal Christians (Christians in name only) who do not truly know Christ as savior.  That means of course that there are about 4.6 billion people that are not Christian in any sense of the world.    Something like one in four of the peoples of the earth believe that Mohammed is Lord.  Along with that, of the  approximately 16,302 people groups of the world, there remains some 6,649 people groups that do not have any church of Christian witness (figures come from the Joshua Project)

All of which is to say that there is still an immense missionary task before the church.    While we have more opportunity for cross cultural mission partnerships than ever before, there is still a need for missionaries—especially to the unreached peoples of the earth.

It is my belief that as long as we are faithful in supporting the cause of Christ around the world, God will keep us vibrant as a local church for the glory of his name.

Lisbon and Haiti, God and Earthquakes, Part 1

As Haiti’s mass graves swell, the Haitian government estimates that the death toll will reach 200,000.   If that proves to be true, it will place the 7.0 magnitude quake in the top seven most destructive earthquakes in recorded history.

While the people of Haiti are trying to figure out how to cope, people who watch from a distance are trying to figure out how to process this overwhelming natural disaster.   Why did it happen?   What sense can we make of it?

The explanations are numerous.   Some say, it happened simply because of the moving of geological plates which form a fault line six miles below.  Others blame global warming.  Still others pin the devastation on Haiti’s class system which disfavors the poor, or on unfair international loan policies, or even the absence of the rule of law in Haiti.   Pat Robertson said Haiti was cursed by God because its people swore a pact with the devil over two centuries ago through voodoo rites.   Skeptics say it is a waste of time to search for deeper answers—the quake was simply bad luck.

At first it may seem to be inappropriate to talk about the “why?” of Haiti.  This is a luxury for people who watch from a distance.   Those in the midst of the crisis have less time for reflection.  They need ministries of mercy more than armchair explanations.  But for those of us who are far removed from this crisis, (and eventually for those who have lived through it), we must all eventually take some time to reflect on its meaning.   To do this, it may help to recall the Great Lisbon Earthquake of 1755.

In that year, one of the world’s most beautiful cities was destroyed by a ten minute quake which was estimated to measure a massive 8.0-9.0 on the Richter Scale.  It rocked Portugal and all of Europe.   The fires and tsunamis afterwards brought even more destruction.   The traumatic quake not only resulted in the death of some 70,000 people, but also raised deep questions in many people’s minds about God and the nature of this world.

Some people back then viewed the quake as an act of God which was punishment for Europe’s sins.  Italian Jesuit theologian Gabriel Malagrida wrote that this was not just a natural event, but it was another instance of the wrath of God poured on Europe because of her “abominable sins.”  In light of this event, he said, “it is necessary (for Europe) to devote all (its) strength to the task of repentance,” (AN OPINION ON THE TRUE CAUSE OF THE EARTHQUAKE).   

Protestant preacher John Wesley agreed.  “Is there indeed a God that judges the world” he asked.   Wesley was convinced that God was not pleased with the “covetousness, ambition, injustice, luxury and falsehood” that had infected every rank of Europe’s people.  He also mentioned the bloodshed from the Portuguese Inquisition, along with its plundering the new world’s inhabitants for stores of gold.  

In a tract called, SOME SERIOUS THOUGHTS OCCASIONED BY THE LATE EQARTHQUAKE AT LISBON IN 1755, Wesley said, “it is not chance which governs the world.”    He asked “does not God work by natural causes?” “Has his providence nothing to do with it?”   He was convinced the Bible says that all things serve him.  Even natural causes are under the direction of the Lord of nature.

Other people in Europe were not so sure.   Deists insisted that God is not involved in the world in this way.   He does not intervene in the physical world, they said.  The Enlightenment’s concept of nature as an intelligible, machine-like world precluded any kind of divine intervention in the physical world—be it miracle or divinely ordered judgments.   Baron d’Holbach, in his book THE SYSTEM OF NATURE (1770) wrote that the world is an “uninterrupted succession of causes and effects.”   Nature is “entirely destitute of goodness or malice.”

Still others took a more skeptical line.  The French satirist Voltaire (Francois Marie Arouet) claimed that such disasters are not the result of eternal laws, nor are they judgments on people.  In his book, CANDIDE, among other things, he attacked the idea that an earthquake could have any theological explanation whatsoever.  Voltaire ridiculed the theologians and preachers who spoke of an earthquake being a divine judgment on a society because of its sins.

In the wake of the earthquake in Haiti, I am struck by the fact that some things never change.  We are still having earthquakes.   And we are still hearing all kinds of explanations about what might be going on.   Many in the press and the blogosphere are savaging Pat Robertson for his comments.   Some are even invoking Voltaire—saying that theological explanations are out of bounds when it comes to assessing the ruins because there are no ultimate explanations of what is going on.    

Even if Robertson’s wisdom and time are questionable, I for one am not ready to accept that.

Lisbon and Haiti, God and Earthquakes, Part 2

In response to the earthquake in Haiti, quite a number of people have seemed to settle for keeping God out of the explanation.  “There is no meaning in this event or any like it,” they tell us.   They are convinced that nature has no meaning and this disaster is a random, albeit terribly unlucky, event.  

In the aftermath of the Lisbon earthquake, especially due to the Enlightenment influence of people like Voltaire, the God-factor was largely banished from public explanations for “natural” disasters.   The only proper response to such inexplicable events, people tell us, is not debate but action.   So forget the “why” question.  It cannot be answered.  Just focus on the “what” question (i.e. what should we do next).   Just bury the bodies, help those in trouble and get on with life.

Of course, in the wake of any disaster like Haiti, action should be high on the list of any Christian.  We are called to love our neighbor, feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and give a cup of cold water to the thirsty.   But is that all?   Is there no Biblical wisdom that sheds light on catastrophes in Lisbon or Haiti?

When it comes to so-called natural disasters, the Bible is not silent.   It gives, not a simplistic, but a multi-layered yet incomplete explanation for such events.    What help does it offer?

Let’s begin with this.   The Bible affirms that there is much we don’t know, either because we “see in part” or because we do not fully understand the ways of the Lord.   This was Job’s problem.  It is our problem as well.  While there is much we can know about God, due to his revelation, there is also much we cannot know, due to God’s incomprehensibility and our finiteness.   If nothing else, this should prompt some humility in any Christian who claims to clearly know the reason for events like Haiti.   And that’s my problem with Pat Robertson.

Having said that, the Bible also affirms that God is both sovereign and good.   His goodness is seen in the fact that he created the world in a perfect and unbroken state.  According to the Bible narrative, it was human sin that spoiled everything—even creation.  

God’s sovereignty is also seen through Scripture. He is not just the creator, but the all- governing creator.   He rules over nature and history.   Because of this, I believe that a Christian who wants to be Biblical cannot shrink back from saying that God in his sovereignty, for his own reasons, allowed Lisbon and Haiti. 

I cannot go down the path of the Openness of God theologians who deny that God ordained or even permitted this.  There is too much in the Bible affirming both God’s sovereignty and foreknowledge for me to concede this point.  Besides that, if God has nothing to do with this tragedy, and if he was as surprised by it as we were, then we end up with a God who is not in control of the universe.

But the Bible says he is the Lord of heaven and earth.  He reigns over the earth and its movements, over the rising and falling of sparrows and nations, and yes, even over the upheavals of nature.

Of course, to say God is sovereign, does not mean he necessarily likes all that goes on.   Clearly  he does not.   He opposes proud kings.   He brings judgment on sin.   He also grieves over our deep losses.

The God of the Bible is not pictured as a distant God.  Rather, he enters human suffering.   He sends his only son into the world to share and carry our sorrows.    Through Christ, he offers people who suffer immense consolation and hope.

His incarnate birth reminds us that God is with us.  He knows our condition.   His cross reminds us that he is not immune to suffering.  He knows about losing a son.  In fact, he knows the deepest kind of suffering of all.   His resurrection reminds us that he is stronger than the forces of death.   He can bring great good out of suffering.    It can have a redemptive purpose.   The promise of his second coming reminds us that his plans are yet unfinished—there awaits a renewed creation.

While the Bible never gives us full explanations of our suffering in this world, it gives us many partial explanations.   Of these, perhaps the most important is that creation itself fell with Adam when Adam and Eve defied God in the garden (Gen.3.51).  Their “cosmic treason” had cosmic consequences.   All nature has been affected.   Everything sin touched became broken—the human heart, relationships, and nature itself all need to be healed.

Beyond this we are told that suffering can come from the natural consequences of wrong doing (Rom 1.27), from God’s fatherly discipline (Hebrews 12.4-11), from the sins of other people (Psalm 42.43), from the cost of following Jesus (John 15.18-20), from Satanic opposition (Job 1, 2), from serving others (2 Cor. 1.3-7), from God’s desire to display his glory in our lives  (2 Cor. 12.9), from his intent to cause us to grow in Christ and prepare for heaven (Hebrews and James), and from God’s direct judgment for wrong doing   (Gen 6.5ff; Acts 12.20-23; I Cor. 11.28-30).

Let’s think about this last one.   Make no mistake about it.   Sin does bring judgment.   And in the Bible, judgment sometimes involves stuff like earthquakes.  Upheavals in nature are sometimes an outpouring of His wrath.  The Lord sometimes visits with earthquake, tempest, and devouring fire (Isaiah 29.6).

Which is not to say we know have the final explanation for Haiti.   But we do know about a day of judgment that is yet to come.   We are called to be ready for that day.    According to Jesus, local catastrophes are to be a wake-up call, prompting us to repentance, so we are ready for that final day (Luke 13.1-5). 

This world is under judgment.   Every episode of judgment depicted in the Bible is a reminder of that great Day of the Lord yet to come.   For just as God answered the evil of Noah’s day,  and of Sodom’s day, and of Jerusalem’s day, he will answer the evil of our day.  Even nations are accountable to the Lord.

The book of Revelation describes great earthquakes at the end of time.  In Revelation 16.11 it speaks of “a great earthquake as never before” where the cities of the nations will fall.  Jesus himself once said that earthquakes are the “beginning of the birth pains” which will precede his coming deliverance (Matthew 24.7).

Meanwhile, all creation groans as it waits to be set free from its bondage to corruption” (Romans 8.21).   It looks forward to its liberation and the glory of the promised new heaven and earth.

So before we completely mock Robertson and side with Voltaire, realize the disbelief that drove Voltaire to deny so many realities that the Bible affirms.   God is sovereign over earthquakes.  He does judge nations.  He hates sin and will one day judge the world in righteousness.

And before we conclude with Robertson that we know exactly why the earthquake came to Haiti, let’s exert a little humility.    I certainly have not been given insights into the reason why Haiti was struck and not Los Angeles or Tehran.

Meanwhile, I can tell you this for sure.   There will be more earthquakes in the days ahead.   When they come we should have, like Isaiah, a ministry of warning of the judgment to come, and of extending hope in the name of the messiah.  

In other words, we should care about both the “what” and the “why” of Haiti or any other disaster that befalls us.

Helping in Haiti: Responding in the Aftermath of the Earthquake

There is much I do not know about Haiti.    My knowledge of that country is small.    I know that it is a country wracked with a combination of problems due to geography, poverty, government corruption and weather.  From missionaries I have heard that it is a spiritually dark country.  I know that it has had something like 15 major disasters since 2001—including killer storms and floods.

But now we all know that a magnitude 7 earthquake has devastated this country and it could in fact be the deadliest earthquake on record.   Death toll estimates range from tens of thousands to near 100,000, but right now nobody knows for sure. 

We also know that Haiti is our neighbor and that Biblically we have a responsibility to love our neighbors, especially in a time of need.

While President Obama has promised an “all our rescue and humanitarian effort including military and civilian emergency teams from across the U.S,” I want to encourage you to support especially Christian humanitarian agencies which are on the ground and can minister in the name of Christ. 

Numerous organizations are mobilizing to lend a hand.   Authorities rightly caution people to beware of scammers.  But in your caution, do not fail to help those who are active providing relief and hope.  Encourage your church to send a gift as well that can be given in the name of Jesus.  Here is an incomplete list of agencies that are trying to help.

Food for the Hungry International  www.fhi.org
World Concern    www.worldconcern.org
World Relief         www.worldrelief.org
World Vision        www.worldvision.org

We will never know immediately why these disasters happen, except that we live in a fallen, broken world, where, according to the Bible,  creation itself is groaning and waiting its day of redemption (Romans 8.18ff).  Apart from that, the “why” question in “natural” disasters remains elusive.  But we can address the “what” question. 

Once Jesus heard about a tower that fell on people.  Some were second guessing why it fell on this group and not that group.   Jesus did not try to explain the “why” but immediately moved to the “what” and said, “I tell you, …unless you repent, you too will all perish.” (Luke 13.1-5). 

So besides sharing resources with those in need, pray that this terrible event would remind many people in Haiti and around the world to repent of their sins and turn to God.   For a far more sobering day awaits the world—a day of judgment when everyone will give account to their maker.   According to Jesus, every disaster should be a wake-up call for us to make sure that we are right with God and have reckoned with his Son in whom there is eternal life.

Meanwhile, realize the immensity of what is before us.  Pray for the people of that Haiti.  And help those who are on the front lines serving in the name of Christ.

The RTS Press Release

I share this announcement with thankfulness to God  for his grace in my life,  with gratefulness and love  for my current church–Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church,  with long-time admiration for the ministry of Reformed Theological Seminary, and with excitement about ministry with the RTS team in the days ahead.
 

01/11/2010   RTS Orlando Announces a New President 
Reformed Theological Seminary would like to announce the appointment of Dr. Don Sweeting as president of the Orlando Campus and as professor of church history by unanimous vote of the RTS Board of Directors. He will begin serving in this role by June 1, 2010. Don is ordained in the Evangelical Presbyterian Church (EPC).  He has been the senior pastor of Cherry Creek Presbyterian Church in Englewood, Colorado since 1998.  Previously he served as a church planter and senior pastor of  Chain of Lakes Community Bible Church in northern Illinois for 11 years.

He is originally from New Jersey and was raised in northern Illinois.  He earned a B.A. in history from Lawrence University, an M.A. from Oxford University in England, studied at Regent College in Vancouver, B.C., and received  a doctorate in church history from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.

Don has a passion for the gospel and proclaiming God’s Word.   While pastoring, Don has taught church history at Denver Seminary, served as chairman of the theology committee for the EPC, and  has been a trustee on the board of Colorado Christian University.  Don’s father was an educator-pastor, serving for many years as the president of Moody Bible Institute in Chicago.
 
Don is married to Christina and they have four children: James, Jonathan, Joshua and Julianna.  Don enjoys writing, reading, and baseball.  He plays guitar and is learning the bagpipes.  He and his family enjoy climbing 14ers  in the Rocky Mountains.   Don maintains a regular blog (The Chief End of Man) at www.donsweeting.wordpress.com.

Dr. Mike Milton, president of RTS/Charlotte has been serving as the interim president of RTS/Orlando and we appreciate his service to the Orlando campus during this interim period.

We look forward to serving with Dr. Sweeting and welcoming his family to the Orlando campus as we continue to prepare men and women for various forms of ministry around the world leading multitudes to faith in Jesus Christ and building His Church.

Avatar: A Visually Stunning and Expensive Tract For Paganism

Expensive?  Yes.   The New York Times pegs the price tag at around $500 million, which makes it the most expensive movie ever produced.   As of January 3^rd, it is now the 4^th-highest grossing movie of all time and has broken the $1billion revenue mark.   This alone makes it a significant movie.  But so do its effects.

James Cameron’s film is also technically brilliant and visually stunning.  Cameron’s last film, the Titanic, the 1997 epic, became the highest grossing film of all time.   Avatar, is bigger and bolder.   It has been in the making for the past 15 years.   It has been described as a gigantic, special effects-watershed opus.  It uses 3-D technology to create a realistic and beautiful world on another planet.   Even the flies of the jungle stand out and look close enough to touch.

But more interesting than the expense or the ground breaking technologies is the story-line.

My college aged son Jonathan described it to me saying it was “like Pocahontas, the Last Samurai, Lord of the Rings and Blue Aliens.”   One reviewer described it as a “science fiction-like revenge of the Native Americans,” or “Dances With Wolves in space.”

It is a story about a space colony from earth on a moon called Pandora in the year 2154.   The decaying, oil-depleted earth has prompted space exploration for new resources.  The challenge is that this pristine, forest covered world is not only alive with all kinds of deadly fauna and strange creatures, it is also populated by a ten foot tall blue-skinned humanoid race called the Na’vi.   There is an inevitable clash between the miners, botanists, engineers and soldiers who want to take the resources of Pandora with little regard for its natural inhabitants. 

The plot centers around an ex-Marine paraplegic Jake Sully who signs up with the security arm of a mining company on Pandora.   Sully is used by a group of scientists for their Avatar project. 

The project involves bioengineering Na’vi like bodies, and putting a human mind into their bodies.  Sully, and the chief scientist, Dr. Grace Augustine, enter the world of the Na’vi, first to make contact with them.  However, in time, they become attracted to them.

In the film, the bad guys are the humans who spoil everything they touch.   They have wrecked their own planet and are now about to spoil another, even if it means decimating an indigenous population in the process.  

The good guys are the Na’vi.  While they are looked upon by the colonial explorers as animals, they are a native American-like people who are romanticized as being enlightened, virtuous, in touch with nature, and deeply spiritual.  

The Na’vi hold to a blend of native American spirituality, new age mysticism, ancestor worship, pantheism, nature worship and Wicca. They have a harmonious relationship with the environment.  The Navi’s holiest place is The Tree of Souls, where they gather to worship chanting ecstatically before the Great Mother goddess Eywa. 

Enlightenment  comes to Sully and Augustine when they realize they’ve had it all wrong.   It is not they, but the Na’vi who are the truly enlightened ones.   As Grace Augustine discovers—“(Eywa) is real.”  Sully too concludes, the world of the Na’vi is the true world, the world of the humans is a dream.   Humans should leave indigenous people as they are.

Leave this romantic view of paganism and native American religion aside, the movie does ask the right questions.   The questions are—“what have we made of the world and what is the way forward.”  This is a relevant question for our time.  But then the movie gives the wrong answer.  It commends the path of nature worship.   

From a Christian perspective, this answer is not only wrong, it is a dead end.  Why?  Because nature is radically broken and not worthy of our worship.   It is a gift from our creator, but it is not the creator.   There is a distinction between the creator and the created.  

Not only that, but the old nature gods enslaved people in deep darkness.  We revert to such a world view at our own spiritual peril.   These forces are not neutral.

I find it fascinating that Avatar has the Na’vi worship at a tree.   It was common among pagans to worship trees.   You see this in Bible passages like—Jeremiah 10.1-10.  Why did they do it?  Not by chance.

It seems that many pagan peoples had some knowledge of a powerful tree that gave life.  Was this faded memories of the tree of life described in Genesis that God barred humanity from touching after the first sin?    The dream of paradise and the tree of life is a good dream.  The problem is that throughout history, humanity has been trying to get back to paradise on its own terms, not God’s.

Not surprisingly, the film oversimplifies when it presents only two options.  You are either a tree destroyer or a tree hugger.   Or, better put, you are either an earth destroyer or an earth worshipper. 

Of course the Bible commends neither view.   It views the worship of trees and natural forces as a huge mistake.   We are not to worship any created thing but God alone.   Nor are we to make God in our own image and blur the line between God and nature. 

But the Bible also views the ruin of the environment as a denial of stewardship and a slap in the face of our creator.   We are called to celebrate nature and protect it.

One leaves this blockbuster movie with the message that the way of our world is a grave mistake and enlightenment is found through imitating the Na’vi.    Of course, this is Hollywood preaching again, which is why I call this film an evangelistic tract for paganism.   It is not just entertainment—though entertaining it is.  A world view is being commended, and someone is going to great expense to get it across.   As brilliant and powerful as this film is, its message is not only deeply flawed but also incredibly incomplete.

Yes our world is broken.  Yes we need to get back to paradise.  Yes we need to get back to the tree of life.   But we cannot get to it on our own.  The only one who can open the way back is the redeemer that God sent into the world—the Son of  God made flesh at Bethlehem.    As the old Easter hymn puts it, “Christ has opened Paradise.” He does so by his incarnation, atonement, resurrection and ultimately by his re-creation of the world.

Is it any wonder that the last chapter of the Bible shows us a new heaven and earth, with a prominent tree—the tree of life, whose leaves are for the healing of the nations?

Forecast 2010: Looking Ahead at the New Year

At the end of every year, I make it a habit of reading a special edition of THE ECONOMIST which attempts to forecast what the world will be like in the coming year.   This year’s edition is called THE WORLD IN 2010.  I also peruse National Geographic’s STATE OF THE EARTH 2010,  NEWSWEEK’S trend lists, and a few other studies.   I admit, it’s a hodge-podge approach, but it helps me get a feel for what is coming.  I am curious as a ministry leader about what is ahead.   Aren’t you?

What will the year bring?  Are there things we can anticipate?  Often there are.  Are there surprises?  Always.  Still, I want to be wise as I approach the year, and I want to think about some of the things that will happen BEFORE they happen.   For example, we know that certain things are coming–and not just Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.  

For instance, the president gives his state of the union address in January, the 44^th Super Bowl will take place in February, Chopin’s 200^th Birthday is in March, the US Census is coming in April, China hosts the World Expo (‘the economic Olympics”) in May,  Britain has a momentous general election in May or June, a conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Iran could erupt sometime in 2010,  in August the deadline arrives for American combat troops to leave Iraq, midterm elections will intensify debate in the US from September to November, Google announces the most searched items of the year in December, and the space shuttle retires late in 2010 or early in 2011. 

A  new decade
But let’s start with what  we call this new decade.  When we look back on it we will say we lived in the….what?  The tens?  The teens?   The twenty-tens?  The two thousand tens?  The decas?   No one is sure yet.

The world’s population continues to grow rapidly
There are now 6.8 billion people on the planet.   The earth’s population has quadrupled since the 1930s.   It has doubled since the 1960s.  India and China now have populations over 1 billion each. By all projections, the birth boom will continue. The UN projects earth’s human population to reach 9.2 billion by mid of this century.  This has lots of ministry implications. It means that there are more people to reach with the gospel.  Evangelization and missions remains as relevant as ever.   

As populations grow, we will see a corresponding hunger for everything.  Demand for food, energy, fresh water will increase.   Competition for resources will intensify.  More people want more and better food, basic goods and luxuries. 

World hunger has increased
Speaking of hunger…… 2009 was a devastating year for the world’s hungry.  Hunger is the most extreme form of poverty, manifesting itself in malnutrition, starvation and famine.  According to the UN—1.02 billion people across the world are hungry, a sizeable increase from its 2006 estimate.  This is due to neglect of local agriculture, the impact of the worldwide economic crisis, and the related increase in food prices.  When it comes to our national debt, our newspapers rightly ask the question—“how much is enough?”   For Christians, the same question should be asked about world hunger. 

The pace toward urbanization quickens 
Recently the world has shifted to an urban majority.  We now have not just great cities, but megacities.  The world’s three fastest growing megacities are Delhi, Dhaka, and Karachi.   By 2040, about two thirds of the world’s population will live in urban areas.   If nothing else this means that we have to learn more about urban ministry and intensify church planting in cities. 

We continue to grow more connected than ever before
The next time you call to talk to someone about your Visa bill, ask where the service representative is from.  Chances are they will be talking to you from outside of the US.   The outsourcing of such services reminds us how interconnected we are.  Supply chains for computers, clothing, MP3 players and cars are global.  More than ever, we are connected through trade, travel, telecommunications, internet, and global finance.  We are truly a world of connected consumers.   The US is no longer the sole key player either.  We are watching emerging economies flatten the marketplace.  This year India will mark an historic transition where manufacturing will outweigh farming.  This year China will overtake Japan as the world’s second largest economy.  As we grow more connected economically, churches and para-church groups will become more inter-connected.  We will see more cross cultural ministry partnerships that will bring both greater appreciation for the worldwide body of Christ and new challenges about how to work together for our common Lord. 

Humanity’s footprint on the earth is heavier than ever
As earth’s human population grows, so does the impact we have on the environment.   With a global economy growing at an unprecedented rate, and with hundreds of millions joining the middle class, a culture of consumption is growing.   It calls for more cars, more industry, more raw materials, and this means more factories and more environmental impact.   However you come down on the global warming debate, no one can dispute that we are putting new stress on the ocean and the atmosphere.  Christians cannot deny the Biblical call to be good stewards of the earth, even as we ultimately hope for a new heaven and earth. 

Economic recovery will come slow
THE ECONOMIST predicts the world will emerge from recession this year.  But it adds that the West, burdened by heavy public debt and high unemployment, faces a long hard road ahead.  Its economy is artificially propped up by governmental supports as deficits rocket skywards on unsustainable trajectories.   Many businesses had to make cuts last year.   The lag time on the recent crisis will hit non-profits this year.  Many will respond accordingly.   

Will interest rates rise or fall in 2010?  Opinions differ.   Will the DJIA  go up or fall into another slump?  Opinions differ.  Is inflation coming?  Most think it is.  Will taxes be going up after 2010, again, most think they will.  Will unemployment stay high?  Most think it will.   And because of this, some predict 2010 will be a year of social unrest with many more unemployed world-wide.   THE ECONOMIST predicts that around the world, 2010 will be a year for anger management!

The trend toward bigger government and more regulation continues in America
The expansion of government in the last year has been dramatic.   Much of it has come in the form of emergency measures to prevent economic collapse.  With the economic crisis has come expansion.  With the expansion more regulation.  And with more regulation, ultimately more intrusion into our lives and into the affairs of the church.  

Politics will become more heated than in 2009
People are angry that a culture of irresponsibility reigns in the US.   Some corporate leaders and politicians have adopted a IBGYBE attitude (“I’ll be gone, you’ll be gone”).  This must be replaced with a stewardship outlook that encourages long term, not just short term, thinking. 

In Britain, Conservatives are predicted to win in order to clean up the Labor Party’s financial mess.  In America, many expect a backlash against the Democratic stronghold in Congress.  Amidst the stridency, Christians have a great opportunity to not only proclaim the gospel and truth, but also to exemplify civic mindedness and grace.

The tech revolution continues apace
This year you will see more downloading movies.  Some 20 films will be released in 3D format.  The phone will start replacing the wallet.   Private space travel is supposed to take off.  Nano technology and genome research will yield fresh marvels.  Social media will continue to attract millions.  At the same time, the need for real community, friendship and mentoring by the new student generation will only intensify. 

E-books are going mainstream.   Some are saying that the year 2009 was to electronic books what 2001 was to music when Apple launched iPod.   It was the tipping point year. Time will tell, but the trend is picking up, much to my chagrin.   Still a niagara of information fills our daily life and shows no sign of stopping.   In fact, the information deluge is only picking up.   As we are flooded with more words and texts, Christians dare not ignore God’s ultimate text message and its centrality in their lives, or they will quickly lose their identity and drift.  

Christian faith is as relevant as ever, even if opposed 
Many have spent the year talking about the demise of religion in America, or the coming collapse of evangelicalism.  While there are real challenges from an increasingly secular culture, Christianity’s demise is greatly exaggerated. Nevertheless, it is true that European and American popular culture is becoming not just post Christian, but anti-Christian.    While the West’s movement away from its Christian heritage is akin to the Biblical “selling your birthright for a mess of pottage,” it is largely blind to its self destructive path.   Popular culture’s challenges to the Christian faith and world view (as seen in everything from Dan Brown’s novels to Avatar) will not let up.   Along with this comes an astonishing blindness to the dangers of Islam and Islamic radicalism, all in the name of pluralistic multiculturalism. 

Don’t be surprised by wild cards
Of course there are wild cards that could be revealed in 2010.   We don’t know what they will be.  What will come of the looming showdown in the Middle East?  Will a coup take place in Pakistan and put nuclear weapons in the hands of radical Islamists?   Might some flu virus morph and become even more deadly?   Will there be some new society changing technological breakthrough that we can hardly imagine now? 

Don’t ignore the precious certainties
We just do not know what 2010 holds.   But the good news is that we do know who holds 2010.   Change will be certain.  But there is one who is changeless, who can be trusted, who can be leaned upon, and who is faithful.   He is the sovereign Lord of heaven and earth.  In the Old Testament book of Lamentations, 3.21-26, we read these powerful words which provide a fitting reminder for believers in the new year. 

Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:  Because of the Lord’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail.   They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.  I say to myself, “The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him.”   The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;  it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Blessings in the Decade From Hell (2000-2009)

What would you call the years from 2000-2009?   TIME MAGAZINE wrestled with a number of possible titles—“the Lost Decade,” “the Decade of Reckoning,” “The Decade of Broken Dreams.”  But for one cover story in December 2009  it settled on calling the past ten years the “Decade from Hell.”   “Whatever you call it,” said TIME’S editors, “just give thanks it is over.”

According to TIME, the first ten years of the century will be remembered as “the most dispiriting and disillusioning decade Americans have lived through in the post-World War II era.”  The decade was bookended by 9/11 at the start and financial wipe out at the end.

Think of it.  The last ten years brought  Y2K scares,  the closest election in US history, the September 11^th attacks, war in Afghanistan and Iraq, the West’s on-going struggle against radical Islam, two market crashes, a wave of Wall Street scandals highlighted by Enron and WorldCom, the  Asian Tsunami of 2004, Hurricane Katrina in 2005 (the largest natural disaster in our nation’s history), the burst of the housing bubble which put the economy on the brink of collapse, Bernie Madoff orchestrating the biggest Ponzi scheme in history, a stock market slide of 26% since 2000 (to  make it the worst decade for stocks), a record number of corporate bankruptcies, the  tripling of the price of oil, mass shootings from Columbine to Fort Hood, color coded terror alerts, numerous attempts to blow up US planes, home grown suicide bombers, World Health Organization alerts on SARS (2003) and H1N! (2009), a rapidly  ballooning budget and national debt, the spread of nuclear weapons to North Korea and soon Iran, the erosion of US global dominance and the rise of China,  and leaders that let us down from Martha Stewart to Tiger Woods.   Once we were “the sunniest and most optimistic of nations.  No longer,” said TIME.  At the end of the decade the American Dream was dimming. 

It’s not that there was no good news in the decade.  Of course there was some.  Scientists mapped the human genome, water was found on the Moon and Mars, the iPod was unveiled, then came ITunes, Google, Facebook, YouTube, iPhones, etc.. But more than these, I’d like to point out some of the forgotten blessings in the so-called Decade from Hell.  Let me list a few. 

The blessing of deflating misplaced hopes 
If nothing else, this decade punctured misplaced hopes in markets, technology, and human achievement.  In the late 1980s after the fall of the Berlin wall with the defeat of Communism, some intellectuals spoke optimistically about this being “the end of history” when large scale conflict would go away.  The last decade proved that history did not die, but came back with a vengeance.  We had not “transcended history” on our own.   We were immersed in a new chapter with new horrors and miseries and still in great need of a savoir. 

The blessing of awaking to the reality of evil
After slipping into a post modern stupor where many were denying the reality of good and evil, reality slapped us in the face.  The intellectual folly of the modern and post modern assault on reality got a dose of objectivity that caused the NEW YORK TIMES to declare on its front page after the crumbling of the twin towers—“we saw evil.” For a few moments at least, we were pulled out of the swamp of subjectivity and confronted with the obvious. 

The blessing of huge spiritual opportunities to share our faith
In response to disasters like Columbine and 9/11, this decade has afforded many of us with extraordinary opportunities to publically name the name of Jesus on the airwaves and give reason for the hope within us.  

The blessing of being thrown back on true securities 
Let’s face it, the recent financial crisis has shown that many of our so-called securities have shown themselves to be very insecure (stocks, house values, the dollar).  In such a climate people realize that, not only is prosperity fleeting, but there is sense to what the Bible says about storing up treasures in heaven that cannot be destroyed. 

The blessing of community 
With the fragmentation of our culture, the insecurity of a post 9/11 world, and the loss of assets, many have come to value the importance of community as never before.   Family bonds, good relationships, a place to belong, have gained new appeal.   The church has had a great opportunity to demonstrate the blessing of true Christian community.

The blessing of the gospel of Jesus Christ
With all the disappointments and misplaced hopes of the decade—economic and political, of the right and the left –some are waking up to the need for deeper answers.  They are beginning to see that all religions are not the same.  2000 years after the birth of Christ, some have rediscovered that Jesus is unlike any other figure in history—that there is life in his name, that he satisfies our deepest human thirsts, that the key to meaning in life and history is found in his one of a kind birth, his righteous life, his atoning death, and his life-giving resurrection.    He remains more attractive than ever, and his gospel has proved to be the best news on earth.

Of course, TIME did not mention any of these blessings.  It simply offered the vague hope that the next decade has to be better than the one we’ve just gone through.   Of course, I hope it is better, but if it isn’t, it will only make these blessings shine all the more, and cause us to long for that better eternal city which the New Testament says is from above.

So, let the “decade of broken dreams” highlight the hope of Christ, and don’t forget to take the opportunity to “give ‘em heaven” at the end of the “decade from hell.”

The Four Days of Christmas: How One Pastor Copes With the Rush of Christmas

Last night it started.  We call it The Four Days of Christmas.   Four—not twelve?  I know it sounds odd.  Hear me out.

One of the nutty things we did in the early years of our family with four young children, was to try to cram too much Christmas into one Christmas Day.   The kids would get up early and tumble down the stairs head first.  They opened stockings.   By the time we got to the gifts, a numbness had already set in.  They were over-saturated.  When our cousins gathered for dinner, if they happened to bring gifts, I knew we were in trouble.   My kids were glassy eyed, over-stimulated and ungrateful.   The next day, we went through the morning after Christmas syndrome like everyone else, and we couldn’t believe how quickly the whole thing was over.

Of course, all this is complicated for a pastor’s family because you have to prepare a message and be at church on Christmas Eve.    Throw in multiple services on December 24th and there is no time for much of anything on that day but church.   For instance, this year we have four Christmas Eve services:  4.00, 5.30, 7.30 and 9.30.  For our family, it is even more complex still, because my wife is a violinist, and musicians play a lot in December—including Christmas Eve.

Granted. Most people don’t have to deal with ministry obligations like this.  But I am convinced that for those who do, there are wiser, more sane, ways to “do Christmas” than we typically do.   What we did was to stretch out Christmas to four days!

There is good precedent for this.  After all, in the history of the church Christmas is a season, not just a day.   The Feast of the Nativity of Jesus Christ, as the 25^th has been sometimes called, is part of the larger season of Christmastide, which for some last twelve days.  You’ve heard of The Twelve Days of Christmas, haven’t you?

So how did we cope with the rush of Christmas?   We stretched it out for four days.   We have a special dinner with just our family on the eve of Christmas Eve.  What we used to do on the evening of the 24^th we do now on the evening of December 23^rd.  Often we will watch a Christmas movie afterwards.   

The 24^th for our family is church day.  We encourage everyone to be active in services on Christmas Eve.   When they were younger, some  of the children sang.  These days, they sometimes do a public reading of Scripture.   But they all know mom and dad have lots of responsibilities that day.  We encourage them to participate as well.   This has the wonderful effect of putting the focus on Christ.

On Christmas Day, our kids get  their stockings only.   In the afternoon, we usually have dinner with grandparents and cousins. 

It is the day after Christmas, (known as Boxing Day in England) that we all open our presents.

Now, you may think that this is cruel and unusual punishment to children—i.e. that we do not allow them to open their gifts on Christmas Day.   Truth is, they got used to it quickly.  Now our kids prefer it this way.  They like that mom and dad have slowed Christmas down, without cutting church out, and actually have more time celebrating the holiday than we used to.

I’ll admit, for those who are not in ministry, this plan may sound rather strange.  But for those who are, you will recognize it not only as one person’s creative road out of Christmas chaos, but also as a wonderful way to distress the day.  It actually gives us more Christmas in Christmas.

True, it’s not The Twelve Days of Christmas, but it’s moving in the right direction. 

May I commend a similar creative wisdom to you if you find your Christmases too chaotic?

Christmas Notes to Copenhagen

This week the U.N. climate-change conference in Copenhagen comes to an end.   The world leaders have gathered to consider man-made threats to the climate and to commit to aggressive emission reduction targets in their resolve to fight global warming.

As the conference went on, demonstrations and debates seemed to intensify.  Some have wondered how accurate the science is behind global warming.  Others who are sure we are on the brink of disaster, want to take drastic action now.  Poor nations are wondering how much money rich nations will “pony up.”  Western nations wonder how much China, India and developing nations will go along.  Some on the left see this as an opportunity to bad mouth capitalism and enact vast transfers of wealth from the West to the developing world.  Some on the right see this as a pro-socialist movement to dramatically re-order the world economy.

According to a Fox News Poll this week, a majority of Americans believe global warming is happening (63%).  But fewer see it as a dire crisis (only 17%).  About half of Americans believe that global warming is a man made crisis.   Some think it is just a matter of normal weather patterns, while some think that global warming is caused by both climate patterns and people.

I have some opinions on this, but before I share them, I want to note how intrigued I am that conference participants are using Biblical language to describe what is going on.  Listen to them.  People are talking about salvation, redemption,  the coming great tribulation, and the end of the world.  Some climate scientists speak of the “grim truths” of climate change and warn that “the future of humanity lies in the balance.”  They call us to “wake up before it is too late” (turn or burn!).  They describe forbidding world scenarios of multiple global crises related to food, fuel, fresh water and finance, all influenced by climate change.

In an evangelistic-like speech, Prince Charles of Britain told world leaders at the summit that “we have seven years to save the world.”  Britain’s Prime Minister, Gordon Brown said that money will be the key to “saving the planet” from these catastrophic changes.  Thomas Hayden, writing in National Geographic’s, “State of the Earth 2010” says that because of all this it is our mission “to preserve and redeem our planet.”

Such talk is extraordinary for a culture that is turning away from a Christian world view.   They continue to use “the language of Zion” but in new ways so that salvation is no longer “of the Lord.”  Now, we are our own redeemers.  This is an odd twist on the old Westminster catechism question “Who is the redeemer of God’s elect?”  In Copenhagen, some are answering—“we are!”   In the catechism, the only redeemer is “the Lord Jesus Christ.”

May I remind you that the message of Christmas is that this broken world desperately does need a redeemer, but we are simply not up for the job.  We are too weak, too broken, too internally compromised to be our own saviors.   We desperately need help from heaven.  Which is why the coming of the promised Son of God at Bethlehem, and his promised second coming, is “good news of great joy.”

In saying this, I am not against those who want to take responsibility for building a cleaner environment and living in ways with less impact on the earth.  How can Christians be against that?   Don’t we have a Biblical duty to be stewards of the earth?  I am sometimes puzzled by Christians who dismiss the entire environmental movement as nuttiness.  To be sure, there is some nuttiness in this movement. It is on display in Copenhagen!  But the Bible is very clear in Genesis that we have a creation mandate to care for the earth. Adam and Eve, who represent us, are called to rule over the garden and take care of it (Genesis 2.15).  This is our God given home.   We are under assignment by the Creator himself to be earth-keepers.

Here is where the challenge comes.  There are now 6.8 billion people on the earth.   The human population has nearly quadrupled since the 1930s.  It will swell to 9 billion by mid century.   As population grows, so does the global economy.  People are hungering for more of everything.  This increases industry, trade and wealth.   It means more cars, factories, airplanes, mines and demands for energy.  It results in more pollution and emissions.  

How resilient is the earth and its atmosphere?  We are still finding out.  Is it far-fetched to think that man is having an influence on the climate?  I don’t think so.  Satellites show we are leaving an imprint on the landscape and waterscape.  As we pump more carbon-dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, it will also have an impact.   Bottom line:  it is good stewardship to think seriously about limiting emissions and building a clean power economy.  How fast we move on this is a question I leave to the politicians.

But while we should be supremely responsible in how we care for this world, make no mistake about it, we are not the world’s redeemers.   As time goes on, our planet will wear out.   In Romans 8, Scripture says that creation “groans” and waits to be liberated from its bondage to decay. It waits for the glorious freedom of its redemption.  But this redemption will not be brought about by us.  It will be brought about by God’s redeemer, Jesus Christ, and God’s promised work of a new heaven and earth (Isaiah 65.17; Revelation 21.1).  It is in this hope that we are saved.

I suspect many of those people in Copenhagen would lighten up a bit, if they stopped to consider that their big conference comes during the season of Advent and Christmas!