I’m no prophet and make no claims to be. I’m not even a skilled prognosticator. If I was I’d be playing the horses.

However, there is no doubt that there is a coming tidal wave of issues that intellectually honest and sincere Christians will face in the future if not already. And surely many of us are confronting these topics in the here and now.

And these issues will make many of our previous issues look as ridiculous as so many of them are. So this list is not that of issues that will appear out of the blue but will gain steam and momentum in the years to come. In other words, these issues are already among us.

Before I begin the list let me emphasize two points:

First, I am not taking a position on any of these issues. I am merely stating that what might be settled in our minds may not be settled in the minds of people coming after us. In the future I will talk about each of these but not today.

Burying our head in the sand and pretending they aren’t really issues at all will serve no benefit for the kingdom. Nor will drawing our line in the sand and proclaiming that there is no need to deal with these issues because everything is already settled. We must be engaged, honest, questioning and concerned enough with the thoughts of others that we are willing to wrestle with tough issues.

Secondly, these are in no particular order. I make no claims as to which will consume the most of our energy.

Again let me re-state. I’m not taking a position on any of these issues nor am I stating that they should be issues. I am merely stating that we, as Christians, must be prepared to give an answer for the hope that we have. And that means meeting people where they are. In the coming months and years, this is where we will meet them.

10. Evolution and other issues of science. As the evidence seems to mount lending credence to the theory of evolution we must prepare for a greater conversation on such issues. Repackaging Creationism under the designation “Intelligent Design” fools no one and brings the conversation to a grinding halt.

9. The nature of Truth. Must the Bible be viewed solely as Propositional Truth? Is the rejection of PT mean strictly an embrace of Relativism or is there nuance?

8. Fellowship with Mormons and other “fringe” Christian groups. As the LDS gains mainstream respectability and a public backing away from much of their questionable doctrine our working relationship with these groups will come into greater need for discussion.

7. Biblical Inerrancy. The question of whether or not the trustworthiness of Scripture hinges upon its inerrancy will become more central in the coming years.

6. Bio-ethical Questions–Cloning, stem cell, etc. must be wrestled with from a Judeo-Christian perspective.

5. Homosexuality–Studying the issues anew, grappling with how to receive someone who is LGBT, and what Christ commands of us is imperative, regardless of how uncomfortable the topic is for many.

4. Gender Issues–What does the Bible truly say about the role of women? Are they second-class citizens when it comes to areas of service and leadership or is there a more progressive hermeneutic that demands something more egalitarian?

3. The Nature of Salvation–Questions of hell, heaven, and a new earth will become increasingly important as we wrestle anew with some problematic passages of Scripture.

2. What Is Church?–As we see the growth of non-traditional services and meeting places, and as many places of worship become decentralized the question of what it is we are called to do and be will increase.

1. The Atonement–Which is it: penal substitution, Christus Victor, ransom, or some mixture of the above? Or none of the above?

Note: I know that I didn’t include Open Theism which probably should be on this list.

What are your thoughts with these 10? What do you think should be added?