My husband, Jim, and I were on our daily walk last summer when he told me he thought he had written his most important book. I asked him why.

The title of his book, The Coming Tsunami, surprised me, and we started there. 

I’m usually the one in our relationship who gets the most “worked up” over the evening news. There are days Jim walks in the back door and I warn him, “Caution . . . I’ve been watching Fox News for two hours.” (Yes, I confess, FOX is my network of choice these days.) 

Jim is the most objective Christian “thinker” I know. That’s why the title of his book surprised me. 

Why does Jim think there is a coming cultural tsunami? 

Who is the tsunami headed for? 

What is a cultural tsunami?

A tsunami is a massive wave caused by earthquakes far beneath the ocean floor. You probably remember the devastating tsunami in the Indian Ocean that occurred on December 26, 2004. 

The underwater earthquake registered an estimated magnitude of 9.1 and created waves more than one hundred feet high. Those waves reached the shores of more than fourteen countries, killing an estimated 227,898 people. That tsunami was one of the deadliest natural disasters in recorded history. 

Why does Jim believe we should expect a cultural tsunami in America?

He believes some significant happenings are going unnoticed or unreported that will create waves our culture is unprepared to escape. 

I asked Jim, “Do you think you might be acting a bit dramatic?” 

His answer: “Sadly, no.” 

He had my attention

I wanted to know what Jim believed was going to cause the incoming waves. He has prepared a press kit for those who will interview him about his book. This is how Jim summarizes the four earthquakes and the coming impact of the cultural tsunami: 

Caused by four cultural “earthquakes,” the cultural acceptance of four specific ideologies has seismically shifted our world. With the rise of a “post-truth” culture, the expansion of the sexual revolution, the attraction of Critical Theory, and the advance of secular religion, Christians are increasingly labeled as intolerant, irrelevant, oppressive, and dangerous—the antithesis of the life Jesus calls Christians to live. These tidal waves are threatening to submerge Christians in America and the biblical morality they proclaim. And the ultimate repercussions of these issues—the coming tsunami—have yet to be fully experienced.

What is our Christian response?

Jim gives those answers in his book. My point today is this: Are we, the body of Christ, ready for this? 

The most common question we have received from Spring 2020 until now is this: “Is the virus a sign of the end times, the last days? 

If you have read my blog for a while, you know I don’t spend much time speculating on the things Scripture has made clear already. Jesus told his disciples, “Therefore, stay awake, for you do not know on what day your Lord is coming” (Matthew 24:42). The only people I’m certain are wrong about the timing of Christ’s return are the people who think they know when it will be. The point Jesus was making was to live “awake” to the reality it will happen. 

A lot of talk is going around about who and what is “woke” in our culture today. They are borrowing an idea from Jesus at that point, but not usually borrowing his message. 

I can honestly say, “Christians should be the most woke people in our culture, but not in the way that term is commonly defined.”  

A passage to ponder today

Paul, knowing he would soon die, sent Timothy a letter. He wanted his young protégé to be prepared. Paul’s words to Timothy should be God’s word to us today. 

He said, “But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people” (2 Timothy 3:1–5).  

The sobering truth of those words is that Paul wrote them about the false teachers in the church. 

False teaching was impacting the early Christians and threatened the advance of the truth of Christ, the gospel message. False teaching has always been the greatest threat, and it still is. 

If we don’t stand firm in the truth, the waves in the culture will knock us down and destroy our witness. 

How “woke” are you today?

Jesus’ words to his disciples hit home today. We own God’s word, his perfect direction, and you can probably glance at a copy from where you are sitting. You are reading a blog post that teaches God’s word. You obviously want to live “awake” to what God is doing and allowing in our culture. 

Is Jesus’ return imminent? 

Quite possibly. 

And my grandma, my great-grandma, and my great-great-grandma could have said the same. That really isn’t the point. The point is: 

• Are we ready?
• Are those we love ready?
• Have we done all we can to help people get ready?

How “woke” are we, according to Jesus’ message? 

A book worth reading

Jim writes a LOT of books. I will be straight-up honest and tell you I have read a lot of what my husband has written. (I only wish right now I could have said “all.”) 

I’ve known since that walk last summer that I will read The Coming Tsunami. Jim has never before said, “I think this is my most important book.” Jim and I have been married forty-one years and I know that if he said that, he means it. 

You can pre-order the book here, or on Amazon, if you want to read it as well. Also, if you provide evidence of your pre-order at TheComingTsunami.com, you’ll be invited to Jim’s live digital book launch event on January 25 at 7 p.m. where he’ll discuss one of our culture’s hot topics: Is CRT biblical?

For all of us, let’s stay awake to all that God is doing and allowing in our culture so that we can do our part in this world. The last request Jesus made of his disciples before his ascension was to “go and make disciples” of others.  

To live a “woke” life as a Christian is to live aware of God’s presence in your life so that you are able to live your kingdom purpose in this world. The waves are coming, and some are already here. Let’s stay awake and stay prepared.  

We should be “about the Father’s business” until Jesus returns.