When it is evening, you say, "It will be fair weather, for the sky is red." And in the morning, "It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening." You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.

MATTHEW 16:2-3

Our world is changing faster than ever. Digital culture is rapidly accelerating, climate change threatens the future of our planet, racial inequality looms large, sexuality norms are constantly shifting, and forced migration is increasing. Meanwhile, the church is rife with internal conflict and busies itself with growth strategies, running programs, and creating better worship services.

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In Matthew's Gospel, Jesus told the religious leaders that although they could interpret the appearance of the sky, they didn't know how to read the signs of the times. As twenty-first-century disciples and leaders, we must not make the same mistake. We need to understand our cultural red skies and see the coming changes because our response to the issues we face will determine the church's position, posture, and practice for years to come.

With contributions from experts in their fields-including missiologists, pastors, ecclesiologists, entrepreneurs, and prophets-Red Skies explores some of the essential conversations the church must engage with now so we might overcome potential threats and look for opportunities to be good news to both our current and future world.

Why?

Because the skies are red.



Foreword

ALAN HIRSCH 

Introduction: The Signs of Our Times

L. ROWLAND SMITH

1 Red Skies, White Elephants, Gray Rhinos, and Black Swans: A Minyan of Trends, Terrains, and Trajectories

LEONARD SWEET 

2 Get Ready for Disco: Forecasting the Future from the Line and Cycle of Time

BRIAN SANDERS 

3 Contextual Intelligence: Futurefitting the Church for a Blended Ecology

MICHAEL ADAM BECK 

4 Moving Forward on Race: Trading Cheap Reconciliation for Equity and Unity

ONEYA OKUWOBI 

5 Ecological Entanglement: A Preferential Option for Creation

TYLER KLEEBERGER 

6 Human Sexuality: Good News in a Culture of Shifting Boundaries

GREGORY COLES AND DEBRA HIRSCH 

7 The Disconnected Online Age: From Digital Malaise to Embodied Hope

JAY Y. KIM 

8 The Mouth of a Shark: Finding God's Purposes in the Disruption of Migration

LISA RODRIGUEZ-WATSON 

9 The Genius of the Scene: From Solo Heroics to Collective Intelligence

RICH ROBINSON 

10 Disrupting Church Economics: Innovating Sustainable Funding for the Future 

MARK DEYMAZ

Conclusion: Red Sky at Night: Navigating Toward the Future

MICHAEL FROST