What Christmas Means to Me

Frank

Candles burnin’ low,
Lot’s of mistle toe.
Lot’sof snow and ice,
Eveywhere we go.
Choirs singin’ carols,
Right outside my door.

All these things and more
That’s what Christmas means to me my love
-Stevie Wonder, What Christmas Means to Me

One of the motivations for the “keeping Christ in Christmas” campaign is the increased secularization of this holiday. And that’s my common defense against the secular backlash against it. Most Christmas carols are about snowfall, reindeer, Santa, presents or family. A few classic carols are actually about the baby Jesus. If I were to walk up to you in the middle of summer and I mention Christmas, what would be the first thing to pop in your mind? For me it would likely be vacation, family, shopping, what I want, etc. I’m not sure if the birth of Jesus would come as quickly.

And I don’t think I’m alone. But the statistics prove otherwise. In a Rasmussen poll released a week ago, 66% of Americans claim to celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday. The cynic in me thinks this means that most of those feel that way because it’s one of the two times a year they actually attend church. But the numbers suggest there’s more to it. 81% believe Jesus is the Son of God and died for our sins and 82% believe that Jesus Christ is an actual historic figure. These are interesting numbers and consistent with the roughly 80% of Americans who claim to be Christians. The flipside of these numbers show that 20% of Americans celebrate Christmas as a secular holiday (meaning 14% don’t celebrate it at all), and only 3% don’t believe that Jesus Christ is an historical figure.

So don’t be afraid to wish someone a Merry Christmas! The odds are good you’re not going to offend anyone.

The Power of a Word

Frank

You might think all the hullabaloo about the ‘War on Christmas’ is limited to the United States but you’d be wrong. It’s been reported that a principal in Australia was forced to apologize to atheist parents of a child for saying “Christmas” too many times in a school newsletter. Disclaimer: I heard this on the radio but have not seen any credible source online, even while googling the parties involved directly. While this is being widely reported across the blogosphere, the best news link I could find was from 2005. So I have a hunch this is a spam email going around. Even if this is four-year-old news, it still illustrates how sensitive we can be to a single word. The so-called War on Christmas isn’t about singing carols, putting up lights, or buying presents for your children. It is about the word Christmas implying the birth of Christ and therefore endorsing or even proselytizing the Christian faith.

Let’s pretend that the secularists have their way and the word Christmas is abolished because of its religious roots. What other offensive words should we eliminate from our vernacular?

Don’t use ‘Hail Mary’ when describing the last play of a football game. (Luke 1:28)

Don’t use ‘prayer’ when describing a last minute or clutch shot in any sport.

Speaking of sports, I noticed there’s no real “David versus Goliath” match up in any of the BCS bowls this year. (1 Samuel 17)

Don’t use ‘the writing on the wall’ to describe something ominous. (Daniel 5) Or “signs of the times” either. (Luke 12:56)

Don’t use the word excruciating to describe pain. That word was invented to describe the unique pain suffered from crucifixion and if a secularized/commercialized word like Christmas instantly implies Jesus, then any reference to crucifixion should as well.

Don’t say “inspired” or “enthused” which mean spirit-filled and god-filled respectively.

Don’t say ‘baptism by fire’ to describe going through trials. (Matthew 3:11) Actually, better not say ‘baptism’ at all since it’s a specific religious term that’s not derived from any translation (transliteration).

Don’t say ‘holy —‘ as a cuss word or otherwise.

Don’t say ‘damn’ as a curse or otherwise.

And you better not say “Jesus Christ” even if you’re using his name in vain.

I’m sure there are others you could think of, but you get the point. Most of these examples are common phrases used independent from religion but that doesn’t change their meaning or implication. Just like Christmas has become far removed from religion, that does not change its obviously offensive meaning.

The Power of a Word

Frank

You might think all the hullabaloo about the ‘War on Christmas’ is limited to the United States but you’d be wrong. It’s been reported that a principal in Australia was forced to apologize to atheist parents of a child for saying “Christmas” too many times in a school newsletter. Disclaimer: I heard this on the radio but have not seen any credible source online, even while googling the parties involved directly. While this is being widely reported across the blogosphere, the best news link I could find was from 2005. So I have a hunch this is a spam email going around. Even if this is four-year-old news, it still illustrates how sensitive we can be to a single word. The so-called War on Christmas isn’t about singing carols, putting up lights, or buying presents for your children. It is about the word Christmas implying the birth of Christ and therefore endorsing or even proselytizing the Christian faith.

Let’s pretend that the secularists have their way and the word Christmas is abolished because of its religious roots. What other offensive words should we eliminate from our vernacular?

Don’t use ‘Hail Mary’ when describing the last play of a football game. (Luke 1:28)

Don’t use ‘prayer’ when describing a last minute or clutch shot in any sport.

Speaking of sports, I noticed there’s no real “David versus Goliath” match up in any of the BCS bowls this year. (1 Samuel 17)

Don’t use ‘the writing on the wall’ to describe something ominous. (Daniel 5) Or “signs of the times” either. (Luke 12:56)

Don’t use the word excruciating to describe pain. That word was invented to describe the unique pain suffered from crucifixion and if a secularized/commercialized word like Christmas instantly implies Jesus, then any reference to crucifixion should as well.

Don’t say “inspired” or “enthused” which mean spirit-filled and god-filled respectively.

Don’t say ‘baptism by fire’ to describe going through trials. (Matthew 3:11) Actually, better not say ‘baptism’ at all since it’s a specific religious term that’s not derived from any translation (transliteration).

Don’t say ‘holy —‘ as a cuss word or otherwise.

Don’t say ‘damn’ as a curse or otherwise.

And you better not say “Jesus Christ” even if you’re using his name in vain.

I’m sure there are others you could think of, but you get the point. Most of these examples are common phrases used independent from religion but that doesn’t change their meaning or implication. Just like Christmas has become far removed from religion, that does not change its obviously offensive meaning.

What was Old is New Again

Frank

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

We’re at the heart of the Christmas season, which means we’re in the thick of the “War on Christmas” and are inundated by the overreaction to this “war”. For some reason we think our circumstances are unique. We look around and think our culture’s morals are worse than they have ever been. And we are hyper-sensitive to criticism or even just contrary opinions. And for some reason, the image we often portray is that of the 1950’s white picket fence America where ‘Christians were Christians, and non-Christians were too.” But not long after this utopia was the upheaval of the 1960’s. Darn hippies.

Tuesday night ABC aired A Charlie Brown Christmas, the second-longest running Christmas special on Network Television (beat out by only a year by Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer) which first aired in 1965. I’m not ashamed to admit we bought the box set of Charlie Brown holiday specials a year ago and we’ve already practically worn them out. My children are quick to run up and press play after any movie finishes, but sometime the menu screen isn’t the ‘top menu’ but is the menu for Special Features. These Charlie Brown DVDs are an example of this. So they come running in wanting me to fix it, because what 4 and 2 year old wants to watch a “making of…”?

The first time this happened I was surprised as they were talking about the negative backlash they received for having the nerve to quote scripture (Linus’ famous reading of Luke 2). Producer/director/and snoopy actor Bill Melendez tried to talk Peanuts creator Charles Schulz out of including the scripture. CBS executives were hesitant to air it. And the public response was as expected.

This was in 1965. It could be argued we have much greater freedom today when we televangelists can be found on multiple channels, political pundits on both sides of the aisle who aren’t afraid to reference their religion, and movies such as The Passion of the Christ being commercial successes. Yet we still feel this insecurity whenever anyone has a different opinion than what we consider “mainstream Christianity” which some of us believe should dominate our culture and every facet of society.

For those of you fighting in the latest go-around of the War on Christmas, hearken back to 1965 (or 1968) and remember than “nothing is new under the sun.”

What was Old is New Again

Frank

“What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.” (Ecclesiastes 1:9)

We’re at the heart of the Christmas season, which means we’re in the thick of the “War on Christmas” and are inundated by the overreaction to this “war”. For some reason we think our circumstances are unique. We look around and think our culture’s morals are worse than they have ever been. And we are hyper-sensitive to criticism or even just contrary opinions. And for some reason, the image we often portray is that of the 1950’s white picket fence America where ‘Christians were Christians, and non-Christians were too.” But not long after this utopia was the upheaval of the 1960’s. Darn hippies.

Tuesday night ABC aired A Charlie Brown Christmas, the second-longest running Christmas special on Network Television (beat out by only a year by Rudolph the Red-nosed Reindeer) which first aired in 1965. I’m not ashamed to admit we bought the box set of Charlie Brown holiday specials a year ago and we’ve already practically worn them out. My children are quick to run up and press play after any movie finishes, but sometime the menu screen isn’t the ‘top menu’ but is the menu for Special Features. These Charlie Brown DVDs are an example of this. So they come running in wanting me to fix it, because what 4 and 2 year old wants to watch a “making of…”?

The first time this happened I was surprised as they were talking about the negative backlash they received for having the nerve to quote scripture (Linus’ famous reading of Luke 2). Producer/director/and snoopy actor Bill Melendez tried to talk Peanuts creator Charles Schulz out of including the scripture. CBS executives were hesitant to air it. And the public response was as expected.

This was in 1965. It could be argued we have much greater freedom today when we televangelists can be found on multiple channels, political pundits on both sides of the aisle who aren’t afraid to reference their religion, and movies such as The Passion of the Christ being commercial successes. Yet we still feel this insecurity whenever anyone has a different opinion than what we consider “mainstream Christianity” which some of us believe should dominate our culture and every facet of society.

For those of you fighting in the latest go-around of the War on Christmas, hearken back to 1965 (or 1968) and remember than “nothing is new under the sun.”

Tool Shed

Frank
It is that time of year to dust off your Sunday best, wake up a little earlier, and go to church for maybe the second time of the year (the first being Easter). You go to hear Christmas carols, watch a performance, or to satisfy your parents that you’re home visiting. You wish people Marry Christmas and probably have your house decorated with a tree up. You may even be done shopping using the guise of Santa. Why do you go? What do you hope to get from it?

That may sound cynical, but in a country where roughly 80% of Americans call themselves Christians “only 3 out of 10 twentysomethings (31%) attend church in a typical week, compared to 4 out of 10 of those in their 30s (42%) and nearly half of all adults age 40 and older (49%).” (from a 2003 Barna survey) A more frightening way of looking at it is that Barna considers those who only attend church at “Christmas or Easter, or for special events such as a wedding or a funeral” unchurched. This number of adults is a striking 34%. (from a 2004 survey)

So I don’t buy the label “Christian”. Which makes it hard to define “church” in a traditional way. We often define our religion based on how we were raised, and not necessarily our personal doctrine. In fact, doctrine is often secondary as we become a culture where “church shopping” is becoming more and more prevalent. So what is your church and why there? Is it the people you meet (look at how homogeneous your congregation likely is- income level, race, age)? Is it the worship (how relevant are you)? Is it the dynamic preaching (aren’t Jesus’ words the “same yesterday and today and tomorrow“)? Is it the parachurch ministries/activities (are you salt and light)?

But it is usually one of the above that motivates us to attend the church that we do. It should be all the above. But we need to check our expectations at the door. Perhaps you’ve heard the cliche “church isn’t about what you get out of it but what you give to it.” Instead of doctrine, theology, or polity; worship, relevance, or relatability; church is not what it looks like or what it does, but what we do as Christians in its name. For me, church is not a place of worship, it is a tool shed. Full of different tools to suit our different talents for us to use to the glory of God.

It’s too easy to rely on church leaders and think only of what we get out of church. But the Bible does not call us to just show up every weekend (or when it’s convenient). Instead we are called to use the talents we’ve been given to grow Christ’s Church. “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[b]faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” (Romans 12:4-8) and “It was [Jesus] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13)

Note the ends and the means. God gives us talents and Christ appoints us to roles so that the Church may be united and mature. The goal is not church attendance, spirit-filled worship, or dynamic leadership. It is attaining the fullness of Christ.

You can read a diversity of definitions of church through this week’s blog carnival. To each who post, they are using the tools they get through their church to use the internet to bring unity to the Church. Let this motivate you to rummage through the shed and find the tool that fits you.

Tool Shed

Frank
It is that time of year to dust off your Sunday best, wake up a little earlier, and go to church for maybe the second time of the year (the first being Easter). You go to hear Christmas carols, watch a performance, or to satisfy your parents that you’re home visiting. You wish people Marry Christmas and probably have your house decorated with a tree up. You may even be done shopping using the guise of Santa. Why do you go? What do you hope to get from it?

That may sound cynical, but in a country where roughly 80% of Americans call themselves Christians “only 3 out of 10 twentysomethings (31%) attend church in a typical week, compared to 4 out of 10 of those in their 30s (42%) and nearly half of all adults age 40 and older (49%).” (from a 2003 Barna survey) A more frightening way of looking at it is that Barna considers those who only attend church at “Christmas or Easter, or for special events such as a wedding or a funeral” unchurched. This number of adults is a striking 34%. (from a 2004 survey)

So I don’t buy the label “Christian”. Which makes it hard to define “church” in a traditional way. We often define our religion based on how we were raised, and not necessarily our personal doctrine. In fact, doctrine is often secondary as we become a culture where “church shopping” is becoming more and more prevalent. So what is your church and why there? Is it the people you meet (look at how homogeneous your congregation likely is- income level, race, age)? Is it the worship (how relevant are you)? Is it the dynamic preaching (aren’t Jesus’ words the “same yesterday and today and tomorrow“)? Is it the parachurch ministries/activities (are you salt and light)?

But it is usually one of the above that motivates us to attend the church that we do. It should be all the above. But we need to check our expectations at the door. Perhaps you’ve heard the cliche “church isn’t about what you get out of it but what you give to it.” Instead of doctrine, theology, or polity; worship, relevance, or relatability; church is not what it looks like or what it does, but what we do as Christians in its name. For me, church is not a place of worship, it is a tool shed. Full of different tools to suit our different talents for us to use to the glory of God.

It’s too easy to rely on church leaders and think only of what we get out of church. But the Bible does not call us to just show up every weekend (or when it’s convenient). Instead we are called to use the talents we’ve been given to grow Christ’s Church. “Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his[b]faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.” (Romans 12:4-8) and “It was [Jesus] who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.” (Ephesians 4:11-13)

Note the ends and the means. God gives us talents and Christ appoints us to roles so that the Church may be united and mature. The goal is not church attendance, spirit-filled worship, or dynamic leadership. It is attaining the fullness of Christ.

You can read a diversity of definitions of church through this week’s blog carnival. To each who post, they are using the tools they get through their church to use the internet to bring unity to the Church. Let this motivate you to rummage through the shed and find the tool that fits you.

War on Christmas

Frank

With two weeks to go before Christmas, the infamous ‘War on Christmas’ is heating up. This probably won’t be my only post on the subject, though I find following this subject in the media tiresome. I even tried to tackle this last year, but got derailed by Newsweek taking advantage of the holiday season to pontificate about gay-marriage. You can check those posts out here if you so desire.

I read this article the other day and I agree with most of it. It’s hard to argue about “keeping Christ in Christmas” when our biggest concern is having the best decorations on the block or making sure our kids have the latest-greatest toys (or is it we who want the latest-greatest gadget?). At the same time our culture does us no favors and the politics that have worked their way into this debate are frustrating.

So if you really want to keep Christ in Christmas, wear a t-shirt. That’s all it takes!

War on Christmas

Frank

With two weeks to go before Christmas, the infamous ‘War on Christmas’ is heating up. This probably won’t be my only post on the subject, though I find following this subject in the media tiresome. I even tried to tackle this last year, but got derailed by Newsweek taking advantage of the holiday season to pontificate about gay-marriage. You can check those posts out here if you so desire.

I read this article the other day and I agree with most of it. It’s hard to argue about “keeping Christ in Christmas” when our biggest concern is having the best decorations on the block or making sure our kids have the latest-greatest toys (or is it we who want the latest-greatest gadget?). At the same time our culture does us no favors and the politics that have worked their way into this debate are frustrating.

So if you really want to keep Christ in Christmas, wear a t-shirt. That’s all it takes!

Does it Matter Where our Taxes Go?

Frank

The big political debate yesterday was over restricting federal funds for abortions in the latest iteration of the Health Care overhaul. Never mind that there is already a statute that prohibits federal funds from paying for abortions, though I agree with the argument that it’s only a shell game of moving lines on a ledger.

This morning coincidentally, I read Matthew 22:15-22 where the Pharisees and Herodians try to trap Jesus by asking him about taxes. The question seemed to be a slam dunk for the Pharisees since any good Jew would agree that the Romans were oppressors and that these taxes went to a government that supported infanticide, homosexuality, and pagan worship. Jesus replied channeling Lee Corso, “not so fast, my friends! Who does this coin belong to? Then that’s who has a say of where it goes.” In other words, “Give to Caesar what is Caesar’s, and to God what is God’s.” (Mt 22:21)

We let ourselves get into such a fuss over what our government does with our money, but we’ll gladly accept grants for our abstinence-only education program. Relating the two, the onus to reduce the number of abortions is not on the federal government, but on the individuals who choose to be irresponsible sexually. In our hyper-sexualized culture, we need to fight this front of the culture war not through politics, but by our own example of purity. The coin bore the image of Caesar, so it was his. We bear the image of God Almighty, and we are his.