Anticipating the End: 2000 years later...

There has been a lot of attention focused on a former Civil Engineer, Sunday School teacher and Elder in the Christian Reformed Church named Harold Camping.  His broadcasting company, Family Radio, broadcasts his Bible program by radio, television, short wave and Internet, and recently spent over $100 million on an information campaign announcing the end of the world on May 21, 2011.

  As you and I now know, it did not happen. Many have cited the words of Mark 13:32 (as well as Matthew 24:36): “But about that day or hour no one knows, neither the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Yet, as it has happened in the past, many were convinced of Camping’s interpretation, selling their possessions, preparing themselves for the inevitable “rapture” that was bound to happen. It happened in 1843, when William Miller, a Baptist layman and amateur student of the Bible, predicted the return of Jesus. When it did not happen, he predicted another date, October 22, 1844, a date which later became known as the Great Disappointment. Part of Miller’s movement actually survives to this day; Seventh-Day Adventists. Another group made “famous” from predicting the end of days are Jehovah’s Witnesses.

  The concept of a rapture of the saints before a tribulation is actually a rather recent development in Biblical interpretation, developing only about 200 years ago and the popular Darby study bible.  The Scofield Reference Bible is based on Darby’s interpretation of different time periods being marked by God’s changing relationship with humanity.  1 Thessalonians 4:15-17 and Matthew 24:29-31 are commonly cited as “evidence” of this plan for the chosen in Christ to be removed prior to the end of the world.

  The Book of Revelation (not Revelations) is often interpreted through the lens of predicting the future. Revelation is first a collection of letters to churches under the charge of the writer as their bishop; secondly it is a series of “visions,” understood fully only by those within those churches, that encourages the faithful to endure hostility and torture in the name of Christ until Christ condemns those hostile to the faith, with the faithful rewarded for their endurance. In other words, Revelation is a love letter to those who are faithful. One day I will teach Revelation as the love letter it actually is.

  Too many times, it is a poor or limited interpretation of a scripture passage that causes a problem. Taking passages from Thessalonians and adding them to Matthew may create a compelling concept, but it was not what Paul intended when he wrote to Thessalonica, nor what “Matthew” was intending when he wrote 24:29-31.  What the Bible says is not the problem; poor interpretation on what it actually means is the issue.

  What about the end of the world? I’m not sure we really are called to be that worried about it. It would have been nice if Camping had gave thought about Jesus’ words in Matthew 25: feeding the hungry, giving drinks to those who thirst, welcoming the stranger, clothing the naked, caring the sick, visiting the imprisoned instead of spending $100 million on billboards, trucks, and broadcasting “his prediction.” Perhaps the truth is that the end of the world has already come, and it came through Jesus Christ. The world was judged by God 2000 years ago by a Roman criminal. He came not to condemn but to save. We can already know the world’s future; it will be fully in God’s presence someday.

  Together, lets focus on the hungry, thirsty, strangers, naked, sick, and imprisoned and let the end of the world happen whenever God chooses. We already know what is expected to those who believe in Jesus Christ. If we are already involved in heaven’s work on earth, why would we be anxious to leave it?

A Letter From Generation X to the Institutional Church

A Letter From Generation X to the Institutional Church:

Dear “Church,”

First of all, you probably do not know me very well. I was born after 1965 and before 1983. We ended the Post WWII baby boom, but that may be about all you can really know about us. Many of us are still not married, especially since many of us suffered through our own parents’ “mid-life” crisis and come from a divorce situation. Our parents’ spent most of their lives working hard and gaining very little for the effort. Spending most of our afternoons, evenings, and weekends growing up alone, we really hesitate to bring children into a world of deadlines, dead-ends, and absent parents. Perhaps that is why we are so restless; nothing in our lives was ever a total comfort.

We have been accused of having a short attention span, perhaps because we were the first generation that was baby-sat by the TV set. Our homes have an endless array of electronic gadgets never seen in human history. And we discard last year’s gadget for only the newest, the best, the most current. We do not have our own style; our musical tastes wander to whatever works for us at the time.

And that seems to be how we approach religion, if we ever consider it. Whatever works for us at the time. Our own personal experience is almost always how we find "truth." We think that one truth is as good as another, and we dabble and seek to find something greater than ourselves.

Let me be clear, you probably don’t see us at your “church.” Since we have mostly lived with the results of our “if it feels good, do it” parents that felt so good enough to walk away from their own commitments to each other, we like more conviction than what we typically find in your churches. Most of us simply will not even come to your doors; you give us no convincing reason for us to be involved anyway.

If you can convince us that we need to be involved, please let us know

GEN X

Responding Without Compensation

Over the past week, I was contacted by someone in the Clokey Park neighborhood needing assistance in the mowing of her lawn. Two years ago, she received assistance on our Decatur Miracle Day with windows that needed to be scrapped and painted. As it is with every Miracle Day project we do, work and supplies are provided to the homeowner at no cost.

I thought about this recent request and decided to simply contact her, show up with my lawn mower, and mow her lawn, without charge or compensation. When I arrived, she was surprised at my offer, since she had tried all possible agencies to find a youth or group who would mow, and had previously paid a neighbor to trim down her "hay field."  I finished the yard (including the hay field), and only asked for a glass of water and a few minutes in her air conditioning. She gladly provided sweet iced tea and I was able to recouperate and have a nice conversation with another "neighbor."

During our conversation, she commented how limited it is that people help others without expecting some cash for services.  I certainly agreed, but felt my assistance to her also helped me in my faith journey. I do not recall a single episode in the Gospels where Jesus asked for compensation following a healing, a feeding, or other miracle. Certainly it was a different time, but I have come to discover two truths in life: it is not always going to be like it is, and it was not always the way it is now. Some things continue, some things fade away.

What would it be for a church to respond in service without expecting any kind of "compensation?" Whether it is appearance in a worship service, becoming a "member," or sending money, there is still this idea of some kind of exchange. I must admit it was refreshing to do something without one thought of compensation.

And I will continue to help her and her lawn without compensation. Yard work can be therapeutic. For Jesus, only one (and a SAMARITAN) leper returned to thank him for the healing. Why should I expect anything more?

Ponder Points

• How often do we serve only to get paid?
• How often does the church "bait and switch" in order to gain "members"?
• How much should we extend "no obligation" to the strangers among us?