Pastors' Blog

On March 22, bbc.com released a story that has set the blogosphere abuzz. The headline reads: “Religion may become extinct in nine nations, study says” (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-12811197). Before examining that list of nine countries, here’s the logic behind that conclusion. The American Physical Society (APS), meeting in Dallas recently, released research based on non-linear dynamics, a mathematical model used to analyze data. Examining religious affiliation census data extending back a century for numerous countries, and then correlating that data with known social motives behind being religious or not, the APS concluded that for these nine nations the trends indicate that eventually social motivation for joining a religion will diminish until (mathematically speaking) no one in the country will be religious. “‘The idea is pretty simple,’ said Richard Wiener of the Research Corporation for Science Advancement, and the University of Arizona. ‘It posits that social groups that have more members are going to be more attractive to join . . . For example in languages, there can be greater utility or status in speaking Spanish instead of [the dying language] Quechuan in Peru, and similarly there's some kind of status or utility in being a member of a religion or not.’” The reality that more and more people in these particular nations “are identifying themselves as non-affiliated with religion,” Wiener pointed out, led to this study’s conclusion. In what nine countries is religion predicted to become extinct? Australia, Austria, Canada, the Czech Republic, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and Switzerland. In the Netherlands 40% of those surveyed declare themselves non-affiliated with religion—in the Czech Republic that figure climbs to 60%. And what about the United States? Commenting on the BBC report, theblaze.com indicates that nationwide 15% of Americans now claim no religion, making them the only religious group “growing in all 50 states.” Obviously, no mathematical formula or theory exists that can accurately predict the spiritual realities of the collective human heart. And yet two millennia ago Jesus himself wondered about the spiritual state of humanity just before he returned to earth: “When the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?” (Luke 18:8). Will he? Though Dylan Thomas was not decrying the loss of faith on the earth, his fiery admonition might serve the friends of Christ well, we who must yet move into the gathering darkness to share the promise of light:

Do not go gentle into that good night. Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

“Rage” is hardly an irenic term—but it can depict the fiery passion of the Spirit against the gathering nightfall of faith, can’t it? Yes, the numbers of the non-affiliated are on the rise in nations once considered Christian. But No, the friends of the Son of Man need not “go gentle” into the approaching night. Rather, let the Radicals, this new generation of missionaries, rise up with the fervor of Christ himself and move into these nine nations (and many more) with the faith of the Savior bright in our own hearts and fresh on our own lips. Rather than simply raging “against the dying of the light,” is it not better to light a candle in the dark instead? After all the night belongs to Christ. And it may yet be that with our candles high the Son of Man will find faith on the earth when he comes.

"O God, Japan!" The 9.0 magnitude earthquake and thirty-foot tsunami that decimated northeastern Japan’s coastal cities (just as spring break began here on campus) is not only the sixth strongest quake on global record, but is also the most costly natural disaster in earth’s history. However, it is the human toll that has broken our collective heart. Born to missionary parents in Tokyo and having spent the first 14 years of my life in the Land of the Rising Sun, I have felt the anguish of displaced Japanese who from afar have wept over the numbing television and computer screen images streaming out of the devastation. Haven’t you cried, too? How can we not, when this land of stalwart, industrious, orderly, polite and gracious almost to a fault people collectively cry out to their gods—to anyone who will listen, really—their unabashed pain and sorrow? In California last week with my mother, I stared at the black and white front page newspaper photograph of a Japanese woman sobbing over the lifeless hand of her mother, protruding from the tsunami wreckage of what was once their home. Doesn’t God weep with those who do? What can we do, we who returned rested from our break to face the glory and joys of a new springtime across this campus? We must do something, mustn’t we—if we would not fall victim to what psychologists describe as “frozen emotions,” deep feelings prompted by television images, but never acted upon? You may give on two fronts. ADRA International (the Adventist Development and Relief Agency, now headed by our own Rudi Maier) has mobilized its disaster response team in Japan to the crisis centers. ADRA Japan is coordinating its relief efforts in evacuation centers with the Japanese Department of Social Services. You can make your gift, as I did, at www.adra.org. Just click onto the “Japan Quake” banner when it appears and follow the simple directions. If you prefer to talk with an ADRA representative, you may call 1-800-424-ADRA. A second front of this disaster is the damage sustained by our church in Japan. If you would like to contribute to the church’s rebuilding efforts, you may send your gift to the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventists electronically at https://appeal.nadadventist.org/Japan, or you may make your check payable to: North American Division, Attn: 2011 Japanese Earthquake/Tsunami Fund, 12501 Old Columbia Pike, Silver Spring, MD 20904. But there is a third way we must all respond. It is the simple prayer, “O God, Japan!” One hundred-sixteen million people—who celebrate births and marriages with a Shinto priest (the unique Japanese religion of animism, praying to the spirits of the deceased) and who are buried by a Buddhist priest, but who are otherwise secular and without religion or faith—surely the Savior of this world longs to breakthrough to this people where only one half of 1% are Christians. “O God, Japan!” Won’t you join me in claiming this promise for the Land of the Rising Sun? “But to you who fear My name the Sun of Righteousness shall arise with healing in His wings” (Malachi 4:2). Isn’t that incredible? Could it become a prophecy that one day the Land of the Rising Sun will truly become that—the land upon which the Sun of Righteousness will shine down his healing grace and saving power? “O God, Japan!” We must pray. And we must go.

Several months ago someone sent me the 1577 prayer of “England’s most famous sailor and explorer,” Sir Francis Drake. A quick check of Wikipedia revealed that this swash-buckling privateer (a private ship owner authorized by the government to prey on foreign vessels during a time of war) was never a candidate for Anglican sainthood. Nevertheless his circumnavigation of the world on his vessel The Golden Hind remains one of history’s great records.

But it is his prayer—found in his ship’s diary and composed on the eve of one of his grand ventures—that I find particularly moving, especially on this Sabbath when our pulpit series, “The Radicals,” comes to its conclusion. It seems the right prayer for “this generation” called by God to spiritually conquer every continent and nation of this world for his kingdom.

So brood with me over the prayer—and let your heart be stirred by the intrepid Spirit of Christ himself, who is calling you and me to sail the seas on his behalf for this generation that desperately needs him.

The Prayer of Francis Drake

Disturb us, Lord, when
We are too pleased with ourselves,
When our dreams have come true
Because we dreamed too little,
When we arrived safely
Because we sailed too close to the shore.

Disturb us, Lord, when
with the abundance of things we possess
We have lost our thirst
For the waters of life;
Having fallen in love with life,
We have ceased to dream of eternity
And in our efforts to build a new earth,
We have allowed our vision
Of the new Heaven to dim.

Disturb us, Lord, to dare more boldly,
To venture on wilder seas
Where storms will show Your mastery;
Where losing sight of land,
We shall find the stars.
We ask you to push back
The horizons of our hopes;
And to push back the future
In strength, courage, hope, and love.

http://www.worshipcentral.org/blog/worshipcentral/al-gordon/sir-francis-drakes-prayer

Have you read this survey on teenagers? George Barna, the Christian demographer, released a national survey of 602 teenagers, in which they were asked to describe what they think their lives will be like in ten years. And their responses are intriguing.
Boding well for an academic community like ours, their top-rated priority for the future was finishing a college degree (93% of them declaring that by the age of 25 that would definitely or probably happen). Their next highest ten year life goal was to “have a great paying job” (81% of these teens believe it will definitely or probably happen). Their third highest goal was to “have a job where you can make a difference” (80%). And just behind that was their #4 goal, to have “a close, personal relationship with God” (72% felt such a relationship would definitely or probably be a reality ten years from now).  The rest of their top ten ten-year goals in this survey were: #5, travel to other countries (71%); #6, to be “actively involved in a church or faith community” (63%); #7, to be married (58%); #8, to regularly serve the poor (48%); #9, to have children (40%); and #10, to “be famous or well-known” (26%).
Interestingly, George Barna notes, “Current church attendance appears to be a better predictor of future religious activity than is a teen’s religion affiliation. Among weekly attenders of religious youth groups, 60% said they definitely will be involved in a church in the future, which compares to just 22% of teens who attend less frequently and 14% among teens who never attend such religious functions” (http://www.barna.org/barna-update/article/13-culture/366...).
So how is it with our Pioneer teenagers? Take, for example, this morning’s worship platform filled with our own “tweens” and teens, active members of our Pathfinder Club, the Evergreens.  Take a long, hard look at these kids who are “our own”—bright young Seventh-day Adventist Christian teens.  And then ask yourself the question, How high a priority should it be for this congregation to invest its best energies, its most dedicated leaders, its deepest sacrificial giving to ensure that “our own” survive their own uncharted voyage into the next ten years?
After all, look at the world they’re inheriting—political upheaval dominoing through the Middle East, economic uncertainty East and West, moral confusion in Hollywood and a society practically salivating for our teens’ immersion into its culture. Shouldn’t their church, our church be a safe haven for young hearts?  That’s precisely why I’m so grateful for the men and women who lead our young—in our Pathfinder and Adventurers Clubs, in our Sabbath Schools from nursery to youth, in our church schools at Ruth Murdoch and Andrews Academy.  They remain year after year our unsung heroes in this battle for the heart and soul of every generation!  And to them the rest of us owe a genuine debt of gratitude.
“Remember now your Creator in the days of your youth” (Ecclesiastes 12:1)—if ever there were a divine injunction (and promise) for Creator-worshiping Adventist kids, wouldn’t it be this?  And if ever Creator-loving Adventist grownups needed to seize the moment to support their young with all the time and money and volunteering energy we can muster, wouldn’t this be that time?  Won’t you help us help them?