May Newsletter:
What the Future Holds...

It is difficult to make predictions… especially about the future. – Danish Proverb

The Church is dying… Church influence is waning… The Christian message will be more and more marginalized… Christians themselves will be persecuted… These are predictions that I have heard and read more times than I can count. Theologians, sociologists, policy analysts, and pastors: everyone seems to agree that we in America are entering a post-Christian society. I have seen books published and conferences organized to help the church prepare for this inevitable decline.

It's easy to look at the statistics and the predictions and to get a little bummed out… like we’re on the losing side and a slow defeat is inevitable. But to that feeling, may I share two thoughts?

My first observation: experts are bad at predictions. Not just a little bit bad… Colossally bad. Comically bad. This was shown by a study done by a psychologist named John Tetlock. The study lasted 20 years and evaluated over 82,000 predictions from over 280 experts with over 12 years experience in their fields.

“The result: The experts were, by and large, horrific forecasters. Their areas of specialty, years of experience, and (for some) access to classified information made no difference. They were bad at short-term forecasting and bad at long-term forecasting. They were bad at forecasting in every domain. When experts declared that future events were impossible or nearly impossible, 15 percent of them occurred nonetheless. When they declared events to be a sure thing, more than one-quarter of them failed to transpire. As the Danish proverb warns, ‘It is difficult to make predictions, especially about the future.’” (from “The Peculiar Blindness of Experts” by David Epstein, The Atlantic, June 2019)

So all the experts predict that the Christian faith, especially a Biblical, traditional faith, will be marginalized in America? That prediction alone should not cause us much fear or alarm. Experts make mistakes all the time. The same cultural decadence that is marginalizing the church may lead to a backlash, a return to traditional values - it has happened before, both in America and throughout history.

However, the prediction may still be correct. Criticism, marginalization, and even persecution might well be in store for the Church in America. Which leads me to my second thought…

My second observation: God doesn’t have to predict the future… He can see it.

We have just finished our Adult Bible Study of the Book of Revelation… a book that foretells of nasty events, some of them directed at Christians because of our faith. A book that legitimately scared me when I was young. As we studied it, three observations came to the forefront over and over, despite confusing and frightening events: (1) Life this side of heaven can get nasty; (2) God is still in control; and (3) it will all unfold according to God’s plan in Christ.

John’s Revelation was written to churches for whom marginalization and persecution weren’t a future possibility, but a present reality. It was written to encourage them – both by strengthening their resolve and by assuring them of their hope.

Is America headed for a reality like those first-century churches faced? Maybe – though I won’t take the experts’ word for it. But even if we are, we need not fear. We don’t know what our future holds, but we know that Christ is our future.

As we are promised in Revelation 21:3-5 “And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” 5 He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”

With thanks to God for the future He has promised,
Pastor Rob Morris

Pastor Rob Morris

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​Pastor Rob Morris is celebrating his eighth year of serving at Christ the King Lutheran Church. He was ordained into the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod after a colloquy process that involved one semester of classwork at Concordia Theological Seminary in Fort  Wayne, Indiana and a supervised vicarage here at Christ the King.  His previous training included both a Master of Divinity and a Master of Arts in Biblical Languages from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in S. Hamilton, MA, where he also served as a Teacher’s Assistant leading classwork for both the Greek and Hebrew departments.

Before his call to Christ the King, Pastor Morris served as a full-time staff member at Our Savior Lutheran Church in Topsfield, MA, focusing on both the youth and worship ministries. Going even further back, Pastor Rob’s background was in software sales and his undergraduate work was in business and organizational behavior.

Pastor Morris is joyfully married to his high school sweetheart, Christy, and July 2019 marks their 17th wedding anniversary. They have been entrusted with two wonderful boys: Elijah, 13, and Isaiah, 10.  As a family, they love to hike, bike, kayak, explore, read, and play music together. 

In his free time, Pastor Morris loves reading, playing music on a growing number of instruments, biking, camping, woodworking, and working on old trucks – currently an old Ford and an even older Studebaker. 

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