Jun 27, 2018
Divergent politics, immigration issues, bullying, re-defining family, racism, terrorism, new ways of categorizing people, and multiple other issues are negatively impacting our communities today. Some feel the country we live in now isn't the same one they lived in twenty years ago. And that scares people. So the typical reaction to all of that is to build silos of self-protection and live motivated by an undercurrent of fear. It’s easy to get sucked into negativity, passivity, and apathy in life, especially when we don’t understand circumstances outside our control. Today, we’re going to unpack all of this, and develop a strategy to live life with true hope for today and the future, with my new friend, author of the popular book, Messy Grace: How a Pastor with Gay Parents Learned to Love Others Without Sacrificing Conviction and the new book God of Tomorrow: How to Overcome the Fears of Today and Renew Your Hope for the Future, Caleb Kaltenbach. And then stay tuned, right after my conversation with Caleb, George Wells, host of Elevate Your Impact, is here with this week’s mentoring minute. Buy Caleb's Books With a voice of reason and grace, pastor Caleb Kaltenbach challenges the church to choose the path of hope in response to polarizing cultural issues that are straight from the front pages of today’s newspapers. Divergent politics, immigration issues, bullying, re-defining family, racism, terrorism, new ways of categorizing people, and multiple other issues are negatively impacting our communities today. Some feel the country we live in now isn't the same one they lived in twenty years ago. Culture is consistently changing, and many Christians are nervous about what tomorrow will bring. However, we don't need to worry, because we serve the God of tomorrow. Culture will always change, but God never changes. God owns tomorrow. He has been in tomorrow, prepared tomorrow, and will walk with us into tomorrow. He will help us handle our ever-shifting culture as we journey forward. Every cultural issue we deal with today is something that Jesus dealt with in his day. The issues are the same, they just look different. Yet Jesus trusted the God of Tomorrow and knew that he was in complete control. Because of his trust in God, Jesus engaged culture in a very intentional way, and we can do likewise. God of Tomorrow: How to Overcome the Fears of Today and Renew Your Hope for the Future includes discussion questions at the end of each chapter, providing a great platform for small groups to dialogue about these culturally-relevant topics. Buy God of Tomorrow: How to Overcome the Fears of Today and Renew Your Hope for the Future now. Caleb Kaltenbach was raised by LGBT parents, marched in gay pride parades as a youngster, and experienced firsthand the hatred and bitterness of some Christians toward his family. But then Caleb surprised everyone, including himself, by becoming a Christian…and a pastor. Very few issues in Christianity are as divisive as the acceptance of the LGBT community in the church. As a pastor and as a person with beloved family members living a gay lifestyle, Caleb had to face this issue with courage and grace. Messy Grace: How a Pastor with Gay Parents Learned to Love Others Without Sacrificing Conviction shows us that Jesus’s command to “love your neighbor as yourself” doesn’t have an exception clause for a gay “neighbor”—or for that matter, any other “neighbor” we might find it hard to relate to. Jesus was able to love these people and yet still hold on to his beliefs. So can you. Even when it’s messy. Buy Messy Grace: How a Pastor with Gay Parents Learned to Love Others Without Sacrificing Conviction now. About Caleb Kaltenbach Caleb Kaltenbach is a pastor and author. His first book "Messy Grace" released in October 2015 and his next book "God of Tomorrow" releases May 2018 (both from WaterBrook Multnomah). He's a graduate of Ozark Christian College,