So you’ve heard the buzz and the jokes.  Harold Camping has predicted that the world will end on Saturday May 21, 2011.  We even have billboards proclaiming that here in Central Ontario.

So will it?  Well, probably not.  In fact, I’ve got Harold Camping’s book 1994 in my library somewhere. That thick manual is his earlier prediction that the world will end in 1994.  Ironically, you can still buy it on Amazon.

I agree with Jesus that no one will know the hour when Christ comes back.  It’s actually a good idea to agree with Jesus on things, especially when it comes to the world ending and all that.

Jesus said while he was on earth he didn’t even know the day or time.  So I figure if Jesus and the angels didn’t know, and I got 27% in grade 12 chemistry, then how would I ever be able to figure it out?

As bizzarre as tomorrow’s prediction is, it leaves me uneasy. Here’s why.  One day Christ will come back.

And that will be an awesome day and a terrible day.  When we finally realize it’s actually happening, we won’t be able to change anything.  I might in fact be late for many people you and I know and love.

Today is not that day.  At least not yet. Which makes what you and I do today so important.

And one day – when we least expect – it really will happen.  And in all likelihood, it will surprise even the people who buy billboards and write books.

So we get ready to celebrate the greatest moment in human history (Easter), and I’m worked up about it. It’s not that I dislike Good Friday, Easter and Christmas themselves.  I love what they’re about.  But as a lead pastor, I find them to be the most difficult services of the year to plan for. That’s what’s got me worked up.

Here’s why:  Most people know the story.  And most don’t care.

It’s like this:  I live an hour north of Toronto but listen to Toronto radio.  I hear all the traffic reports, but I live far enough north of the city that they really don’t bother me.  So instead of hearing the traffic report I hear ‘blah blah blah blah’.  The weather? I tune in like a laser.  Because we pretty much have the same weather patterns as Toronto.  I’ve developed a relevance filter.  I care about what impacts me…not just what happens.  Not saying that’s good…I’m just saying that’s true.

I think every person who walks in our doors this weekend has a filter like that.  Most of us will think we’ve done our job when we tell people what happened (Jesus died…Jesus is alive) and mourn or celebrate appropriately.  Over the years I’ve watched thousands of unchurched people walk out of those services unchanged.  It’s like there saying “Yep, I know.  So what?”  They wanted the weather report.  The way we presented Easter feels to them like a traffic report for another city.

That’s why I get all worked up before Christmas and Easter.  To simply tell them isn’t enough for most unchurched people.  And you can go all spiritual on me and tell me that the word will not return empty (I get that and actually believe it), but the truth is 98% of them won’t be back…at least until the next major holiday or the next tragedy in their life or until someone invites them and helps explain why it’s relevant.

Here’s what I’m trying to focus on more and more as we head into major holidays. I think our job is tell them not only what happened, but why it matters.  I think our goal is to tell them why they can’t just leave and not respond.  When you answer why, you establish relevance. You help people bridge the gap between what they know about and what they care about.

We shot Easter Sunday’s message this year for Connexus in a graveyard and talked about how you can dismiss an idea, a fact or a concept, but it’s pretty hard to dismiss a dead man walking.  When a dead man is walking and making claims about life and God and you, you can’t just sit there.  You have the respond.  You have to react.   And we’re going to give people a chance to respond…we’re going to try to help people get to a decision point.  Everything from the opener in the service, the worship leader’s bridges, to song choice to the message itself and the way we pray can help people understand why what we’re celebrating is relevant.

I don’t think we’ve cracked the code by any stretch of the imagination.  But I think the church has to do better on major holidays.

What do you think?  What’s helped you?

This study profiled by CNN last week suggests religion might be extinct in Canada within 100 years.

More and more people are affiliating themselves with the category called “unaffiliated”, which I think is the technical term for ‘no thanks’ when it comes to Christianity and religion.

The study doesn’t surprise me, but it does distress me.  I thought we’d unpack this on the blog a bit – the implications are huge.

When tough things occur,  I’ve seen church leaders approach the issue from four principal positions.

Blame

Justification

Resignation

Repentance

The blamers deride minor hockey games on Sunday, Sunday shopping, the kids who left who just weren’t loyal, the government, the education system, the growth of the ‘mega-church’ (which is a bit of a misnomer in Canada anyway) – essentially anything and anyone that moves who isn’t them.  The future is rarely built by people who blame.

The justifiers explain why our demise is inevitable.  They sound a lot like the blamers, but they’re not as angry.  It’s not their fault that the church is dying – clearly it’s someone else’s issue.  And there’s a thousand reasons for it (none of which are their fault in case you didn’t catch that).  They’ll tell you all about it.

The resigners are the least passionate of the bunch.  The demise of the church, while regrettable, is almost logical.  In a post-modern, post-Christian, pluralistic world, the church really can’t compete.  Perhaps it’s just best to plan a quiet, dignified funeral.

The repenters are the rarest group.  They see the problems and the cultural shift, but rather than point blame outward, they assign responsibility inward.  They confess the sins not of the culture, but of the church.  Or more specifically, they confess their own sins.  They realize the problem is that when we have a sacred truth that isn’t connecting, the problem isn’t with the sacred truth, but with those who bear it.  They pray, fast, weep and then they do something even more remarkable.  They change.  They reform.  Did you ever notice the Reformation started first with confessing the sins of the existing church? People repented and out of repentance came renewal.

When you adopt the mantra of repentance, anything and everything can change.  If you start with repentance, it never ends there.  Blaming, justifying and resigning yourself to things ends possibilities.  Repenting releases fresh possibilities.  I believe a church that confesses will be around 100 years from.  They might even reverse the trend completely.

What do you think the predominant response of the church has been to our pending demise?  What would it take to move more leaders to repentance?