going deeper > cancelling christmas

You may remember that in 2005 Christmas fell on Sunday and many Evangelical churches decided to cancel their services and have “family celebrations” at home. You may also remember that I took a very strong public stand against this practice and NewCov celebrated the birth of the King with an overflow crowd that Christmas Sunday. However, it seems that many high-profile Evangelical churches are continuing the practice of doing “family” home celebrations if a Sunday falls near Christmas.

The irony of this is overpowering. To me, it seems very much like the Chief Priest and Scribes who delicately desired not to crucify Jesus on the Passover (Mark 14:1-2). Evangelicals don’t want to impede their fun, frolic, feasting and family celebrations by having to go to church. By this single act we prove to the world that the “family” is officially more important than gathering on Sunday to worship the Lord in Spirit and in Truth.

But, don’t take my word for it. Believe me... the non-believing world is getting the message about Evangelicalism. Here is part of an article written by a British agnostic that I found to be representative of the growing attitude toward “born again” believers:

US CHURCHES CLOSED AT CHRISTMAS
The Pub Philosopher
To agnostic British people like me the decision seems rather strange. This is the time of year when many who do not usually go to church decide to turn up for a Christmas service. It is the one day of the year when you find more people than usual in the pews. So why would a church cancel its service at what should be one of its holiest and busiest times of year?

Could it be that the evangelical Christian revival in the USA is driven more by the desire for entertainment rather than by belief in God? Do people go to these huge services because of their spiritual conviction or because they like the singing, the music and the charismatic speakers. A mega-church service is similar to a football match or a rock concert. You get some good entertainment, the chance for some rousing communal singing and a sense of belonging, which you can reinforce by buying the t-shirts and associated merchandise to show that you are part of the tribe.

If church is seen as entertainment, the decision not to hold services on Christmas Day starts to make sense. Most people have a quiet family day at Christmas. Just as few people would want to go to a football match or a rock concert, so they would not be in the mood for a mega church service either. That would be saved for after Christmas when life gets back to normal.

Despite their attempts to put a positive spin on it, the decision by the mega-churches to cancel Christmas shows that much of the evangelical revival is hollow. These churches have packaged and marketed religion, turning it into a commodity. At Christmas, there are more distractions for consumers than usual. The mega-church is just another brand trying to compete for consumer attention in a crowded market. The churches are closing because their customers have decided to do something else on Christmas Day.

Read the entire article HERE.

What do you think? You may leave a comment by clicking on the thought bubble below. See you on Sunday!

Image courtesy of Getty Images. Photographer: Karl Weatherly. Image #: 200366370-001

devotion > christmas

Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped, but made himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death - even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:5-8)

THE REAL MEANING OF CHRISTMAS
Christmas is not about Santa, reindeer, presents, or sugarplums dancing in your head. Christmas is about Immanuel, God with us. Without the Incarnation, Christmas becomes a meaningless celebration for celebration’s sake.

By the word Incarnation we mean that the babe in the manger who grew to be Jesus of Nazareth was fully God and fully man. When we read in Scripture that the Lord showed fear, grieved, thirsted, and died we understand this to mean that in his human nature he suffered these things. Then when we read that by his power he healed the sick, raised the dead, commanded nature, drove out demons, forgave sins, and rose from the dead we understand that these reveal his divine nature.

The two great theological mistakes are to depreciate either Christ’s human nature or his divine nature. Both of these mistakes have arisen at different times in history. Currently we are in a time that struggles with the idea of God’s supernatural intervention, so, the tendency is to see Christ as some sort of better-than-normal man. This was the ancient error of the Ebionites and the false teacher Cerinthus. By the way, the gospel of John was written to counter the teaching of Cerinthus.

Basically, these false teachings asserted that Christ only had a human nature and that divinity was in him by some sort of outstanding participation in God’s glory based upon Christ’s personal merit through his own goodness. This, of course, is not just an ancient heresy. Today many people view Christ in this way. The bottom line is that these people doubt that God would assume human flesh to become a man; rather, they believe that it is possible for a man to be so good that he can become godlike. As I mentioned, the gospel of John was written as a rebuke against such notions and it powerfully states that the “Word became flesh” and not that flesh became the Word.

Additionally, the exact opposite moral lesson is taught by the Cerinthian heresy than is taught by the Bible. The Bible teaches that the Son of God humbled himself and was made man. The Cerinthian heresy teaches that a man was glorified to become godlike. One, (Scripture) teaches humility, whereas the other (heresy) teaches exaltation. The heresy appeals to man’s pride and vanity whereby he thinks that by the merit of his good works he can become a god. The gospel teaches that even Almighty God humbles Himself for others. The gospel rebukes man’s pride and vanity which seeks to crown his own efforts with deity by pouring a massive dose of God’s humbling love upon his ego.

PRAYER
Father, this Christmas help me to have the same attitude that Jesus had when he humbled himself for others. Thank you for the peace and joy of the season, but, most importantly I want to thank you for your love. By your grace allow me to be your humble servant during Christmas time.

ONE MORE THING...
Please join us this Sunday, December 30, 2007 at 9:00 am 10:30 am. This week, Pastor Scott will be sharing a message for the New Year entitled, "On the Edge of Greatness."

Blessings...

P.S. I'd also love to get your comments and questions. You can leave a comment or question by clicking on the thought bubble below. See you on Sunday!