I visited a really great mega-church in a major city. I enjoyed it a lot, actually, despite some of my personal reservations about mega-churches in general. It was a warm summer night, a mid-week service packed with more than 2,000 people and afterward they announced water baptism in a cluster of large above ground pools outside on the expansive grounds. It was appropriately celebratory and exciting to see almost 100 people baptized. They served ice cream treats and canned soft drinks to all in attendance — impressive!
When I emptied my can of soda I looked around for recycle bins and was surprised to find none. Thousands of recyclable aluminum cans were simply being tossed into garbage bags, bound for the dumpsters. The church demographic is diverse, but heavily weighted toward white, upper-middle-class professionals… people from whom I expected more environmental awareness and social conscience, but when I asked about recycle bins I got looks that made me feel as if I had asked a really stupid question.
In Hawaii, where I live, each of those estimated 3,000± aluminum cans would have been worth 5¢ at a recycling center, for a total of $150. Perhaps the church was just too upscale for $150 to be a sum worth the trouble, but — more than that — there just seemed to be a total indifference to the unspoken message sent by trashing recyclable cans.
How did this happen? How did the church, the embodiment of Christ on earth, become indifferent to and even hostile to environmentalism? You might be surprised to learn that the whole idea of celebrating an Earth Day was not born in a marijuana-fueled, Gaia-worshipping commune, but was initiated by a pentecostal minister, a descendent of one of the founders of the Assembly of God.
John McConnell, Jr., the Pentecostal founder of Earth Day, says, “If there had been no Christian experience in my life there would be no Earth Day – or at least I would not have initiated it. We love God… [and therefore should] have an appreciation for His creation.” In McConnell’s view, such an annual day of awareness provides an opportunity for Christians “to show the power of prayer, the validity of their charity and their practical concern for Earth’s life and people.”
Rather than dismissing Earth Day because some have co-opted it to advance a political agenda, we (the church) should be at the forefront redeeming the day for the glory of the creator! In practical terms, our churches should be leaders in reducing waste, reusing and recycling as part of our dominion over the earth. Dominion is not only control, but also protection and responsible governance. We are reaching out toward an environmentally conscious generation, and they are looking for leadership and example from us in the area of being good stewards of the earth.
More info?
Pentecostal Origins of Earth Day
http://www.halfwaytoconcord.com/earth-days-pentecostal-origins/
I originally posted this on April 19, 2011. For some balance, I refer you to this:
http://reason.com/archives/2014/04/16/earth-daze-and-environmental-hysteria