God of Tomorrow: How to Overcome the Fears of Today and Renew Your Hope for the Future - Softcover

Über die Autorin bzw. den Autor

Caleb Kaltenbach is a pastor and the author of God of Tomorrow and Messy Grace, chosen by WORLD Magazine as one of the top books of 2016. An in-demand speaker, he teaches and consults churches widely on issues of faith, leadership, reconciliation, and sexual diversity. He’s a graduate of Talbot School of Theology (Biola University) and has a doctorate from Dallas Theological Seminary. Kaltenbach has been interviewed in dozens of media outlets including The New York Times, Fox News, Christianity Today, Focus on the Family, FamilyLife Today, In the Market with Janet Parshall and the Carey Nieuwhof Leadership Podcast. He and his wife, Amy, and their two children reside in Southern California.

Auszug. © Genehmigter Nachdruck. Alle Rechte vorbehalten.

1

Punched by Tomorrow

It was midmorning on Friday, June 26, 2015, and I was getting ready for the final day of a Christian leadership conference I was attending. I had spent a long week in Cincinnati with friends and ministry colleagues. The days had been filled with meetings and speaking opportunities about my then-upcoming book, Messy Grace, in which I tell my story of growing up with both parents in same-sex relationships, becoming a follower of Jesus, and learning how to relate to both the LGBTQ community and the Christian community. I was looking forward to a less busy weekend and returning to California to be with my wife and kids.

Then the text alert on my phone went off. I was puzzled by the message. A friend had merely sent this line: “God help us.” I wasn’t sure what his text meant but figured maybe it was some awkward spiritual encouragement.

Remembering I wanted to be on time for the morning’s final main session, I set the phone down, turned the volume off, and finished packing and getting ready. Nearly ready to walk out the door with my suitcase, I picked up my wallet and phone. I noticed my phone was displaying text message after text message. Some of them read as follows:

“What are you going to preach on now?”

“God is still in control.”

“You need to celebrate with people on Sunday!”

“This is a chance for you to stand up for what’s right.”

There were many other texts, but one let me know exactly what had happened. A pastor friend texted me: “Bro, I sure wish your book was available now.”

The Supreme Court had been expected to announce its decision on Obergefell v. Hodges (marriage equality). No doubt it had been announced that the court had ruled in favor of same-sex marriage, and thus the wave of text after text.

Just as I was about to check the news, I got a call on my cell phone. It was a number from my home area code, so I answered—I thought it could be my wife or kids using somebody else’s phone. In a glimpse of what was to come this weekend, the call was from a journalist with a Southern California newspaper. “Reverend Kaltenbach, what is your reaction to the Supreme Court ruling?”

I didn’t answer at first. It took me a couple of moments. I hadn’t even seen a news broadcast, read an article, or listened to an interview since the court announcement. The wheels in my mind were still spinning. My mom, her partner (Vera), and my dad had talked about this day for years. They couldn’t wait to celebrate a day like this. But certainly not everyone felt the same. During my week in Cincinnati, I’d had a few conversations with pastors and leaders about the upcoming ruling on marriage equality. Some asked if I believed the Supreme Court would rule in favor of keeping marriage between one man and one woman. My answer to them was simple: “Nope.” This response hadn’t been greeted with universal joy.

As quickly as I could, I ended the call with the journalist, turned off my phone, and headed out of the hotel room to put my luggage in my car. Shortly afterward, as I walked out of the parking garage, I saw that the change in society had already reached downtown Cincinnati. The streets had been lined with rainbow flags during the week, but now there were more. A gay pride parade had been scheduled for downtown later that weekend, but with the ruling now public, the celebration had started early. People were dancing on the sidewalks, cheering, hugging, high-fiving, and shouting, “Victory! Victory!” Loud celebratory music was pumping from cars, and a few people were running through the streets. Meanwhile, a couple of people were waving homemade signs of protest on street corners.

When I walked into the convention center, the doors to the main hall opened and people began walking out as I was walking in. Some pastors had their heads down; some were obviously angry; some were expressing their happiness that there was equality in marriage. A variety of emotions filled the crowd leaving the session.

One new acquaintance came up to me as he exited the main session. Earlier in the week, he had been in a workshop I had taught on the church and the LGBTQ community. I remembered that he’d had a series of questions after I taught the workshop. Today he shook my hand and said, “Well, thank you for trying.” What in the world did that even mean? His next comment puzzled me even more: “I don’t know what tomorrow holds.”

Then he walked away without even giving me a chance to respond. I didn’t know his name, but I knew that he and a lot of people were in a tailspin on this day. Probably most Christians who are conservative or evangelical or who identify as such saw this as a day when everything in America changed. I can understand that (especially from a political standpoint), but for me everything had changed a while ago. Actually, even before I became a Christian as a teenager, I knew that a major shift in society was taking place. Still, my acquaintance’s fearful words bothered me: I don’t know what tomorrow holds.

This book, unlike my last book, is not primarily about some Christian attitudes toward people who identify as LGBTQ. The book you’re about to read examines a much wider range of issues we face. More importantly, it goes to the heart of what we believe about God, ourselves, and the future.

And let’s be honest: it’s not just a Supreme Court decision that some evangelical and conservative Christian leaders fear. It’s not just a conservative takeover of the government that some progressive Christians worry about. Political, social, cultural, economic, and relational fears across a broad spectrum drive our emotions and frame our outlooks. I’ve been trying to figure out why the concept of tomorrow can be so frightening. I think it’s the unknown that drives our fear.

Tomorrow Can Be a Creeper

For many people, the concept of tomorrow is uncertain, alarming, and even terrifying. I mean, tomorrow is not something you can count on, right? It can be full of surprises. Tomorrow almost seems as if it has multiple personalities; sometimes it brings us good news and other times not-so-good news.

Many nights over the course of my life, I have gone to bed not knowing all the wonderful things tomorrow would bring. My tomorrows have given me the first days of new school years, new friends, an invitation to a high school Bible study that would teach me about Jesus, graduations, an exciting job at a church in Southern California, an introduction to the gorgeous woman who would become my wife, the births of my kids, new adventures, and so on. Even when I have my down periods, I have to admit there have been many good days in my life.

But there have also been many tomorrows that have negatively affected the course of my life. One time when I was two years old, I didn’t understand that the next day my parents would decide to divorce. I had no idea as I went to bed one night in December 1996 that I’d wake up to the news that my cousin had been killed in a horrible accident. Not long ago, the next day caught me by surprise when I heard that my wife’s father had had an aortic dissection and aneurysm. I could go on, but you understand that my tomorrows have been filled with lows as well as highs. So have yours.

And not only do we see uncertainty in tomorrow, but the leaders and writers of the Bible saw it too. Verses such as the following remind us of tomorrow’s ambiguity:

Do not boast about tomorrow,

for you do not know what a day may bring. (Proverbs 27:1)

When life is...