For those of you interested in eschatology (end times study), the Baptist Press website currently has a whole bunch of articles up on Baptists' varying views about the end times. Among the most interesting things the articles address...
1) There is a growing generation gap in end-time theology. Younger evangelicals are trending away from the pre-trib / pre-millennial view of eschatology (i.e. "Left Behind" series) that is so prominent in the older set. (For the record, I am pre-millennial, but not pre-trib.)
2) Only 11 of today's 100 most popular worship songs reference the return of Christ or His eternal reign. In contrast, this is a theme prominent in many of our older hymns. Remember the third verse of "How Great Thou Art?" -- "When Christ shall come with shout of acclamation, and take me home, what joy shall fill my heart!" I'm not opposed to new songs by any means. In fact, most of the time I prefer them. Actually, I tend to like the really old stuff (i.e. "A Mighty Fortress is Our God") and the really new stuff (i.e. "In Christ Alone") but not so much the stuff in between (i.e. Fanny Crosby). Nevertheless, the point is, I would argue that the return of Christ and Judgment Day should be a prominent theme in our worship, regardless of the era.
Good stuff. Check it out.
