Calvin Theological Seminary at the End of History
Walter Lowe once stated that "Christian theology was not supposed to happen. There wasn't supposed to be time. There might be time for theology on the run, perhaps; but not for theology as we now have it, theology with footnotes."[1]
Theology on the Run
You see, in the first generation of Jesus-followers, many believed that they were living at the end of history. There would be no time for theological reflection and tradition, no time for centuries-long debates. Instead, theology would be done "on the run" by those preparing the world for the imminent return of Jesus and the renewal of all things. For many of Jesus' first followers, the mission was urgent.
People needed to hear that Israel's Messiah had come to inaugurate God's kingdom on earth. The Messiah's enemies had killed him, but he had risen from the grave and returned to the heavens to be in the presence of God. His return to the heavens was not final – the Messiah would be back anytime now, and those who aligned themselves with the Messiah's kingdom and committed themselves to its values would be blessed with a share in that kingdom, forever.
If the Messiah's return to the earth was imminent, then the work was pressing. People needed to hear the good news about God's kingdom, but the only way they would hear about it is if God's people bore witness to it. Like the prophets of old, Jesus' first followers warned people about their idols and false kingdoms and called them to repentance.
Imminence and Patience
The imminent anticipation of the Second Coming is more than understandable. The New Testament is replete with passages that give off the impression that the wait for Jesus' return would be short (see Mark 13:30; Matthew 10:23). There are some passages, such as II Peter 3:1-13, that attempt to temper impatience and clarify that God's definition of imminency does not necessarily match the timelines assumed by human beings. In that passage, God's people are reminded that, to the Lord, "one day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years like one day" (II Peter 3:8). Therefore, the Lord is not slow about his promise to return, but is patient because he desires more people to come to repentance.
And yet, while this clarification explains why the Second Coming of Jesus did not happen as quickly as some had hoped, it was not meant to soften their urgency. They were still warned that "the day of the Lord will come like a thief" (II Peter 3:10). Jesus' followers were to remain diligent and commit themselves to the work of holiness and godliness (II Peter 3:11), living at peace and growing in the grace and knowledge of Jesus (II Peter 3:14, 18).
150 Years of Footnotes
If we had asked Jesus' followers in the First Century if it was likely that anyone would be waiting 150 years for the Second Coming of Jesus, most would have said, "no chance." And yet, fast forward to 2026, as Calvin Theological Seminary is celebrating its 150th anniversary. One-hundred and fifty years is a long time to serve God and the Church, and in the broad scope of Church history, Calvin Seminary is relatively new. As it turned out, the Church has had plenty of time to develop a robust theological tradition, footnotes and all.
While celebrating CTS's legacy, the temptation is to dream about the next 150 years. In a sense, this is ok. The Church today is roughly 2,000 years removed from Jesus' first coming, and we have no idea how long it might be until his second. On the other hand, like Jesus' first followers, the Church today is meant to live each day with such a sense of urgency that the Second Coming of Jesus could come at any moment. There is much work to be done. We assume we have time, but how can we be sure? A posture of urgency is coded into the mission of God's people. We are not to be found idle, but rather with our hands to the plow (Luke 9:57-62).
The Urgency Coded into the Mission
It's true, we might have another 150 years. We might have more. We might have less. In my view, this timelessness was intrinsic to Jesus' teaching. When he trained his disciples, this sense of urgency was clear. When Jesus said to them, "If any wish to come after me, let them deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me. For those who want to save their life will lose it, and those who lose their life for my sake will find it," (Matthew 16:24-25), this was not merely about commitment, but commitment in the face of urgent need. Jesus said this as he predicted his own imminent death, and his point was that the work of his followers should also be carried out as though the time is short. The mission is too crucial to be passed off to an uncertain future.
Flourishing in the Present
When faced with Jesus' own imminent death, I imagine that his disciples focused quite a lot on the beatitudes. In Matthew's Gospel, they are Jesus' first recorded teachings (Matthew 5:3-12), and Matthew began there because the beatitudes were guides to flourishing in the midst of hardship and uncertainty. This is why they end with words about how to endure persecution. No matter what's next for Jesus' Church, if his followers imitate Jesus' dispositions of humility, righteousness, peacemaking, etc., they will flourish.
This sort of flourishing is not a distant goal, but one that Jesus meant for his disciples to enter into presently. So, what's next for Calvin Theological Seminary over the next weeks, months, and, possibly, years? Although I do not know how much longer we have to participate in God's mission on this side of the Second Coming, I can say with certainty that we'll continue to see our task as urgently pursuing Christ-like flourishing for the sake of the world.
Notes
[1] Walter Lowe, "Prospects for a Postmodern Christian Theology: Apocalyptic Without Reserve," Modern Theology 15:1 (1999): 17–24, here 18.
