Keeping Christ in Christmas

I have never bought insurance from Al Boenker but Babe’s Chicken is one of our favorite restaurants.  What do these two DFW businesses have in common?  They both have invested money to use media to wish folks at Merry Christmas.  Al Boenker’s usual 1-800-Thanks Al pitch line on television has been replaced by “Jesus is the reason for the season.  In the case of Babe’s Chicken, their billboards around the DFW community proclaim the same message.  No generic “Happy Holidays.”  Al Boenker Insurance and Babe’s Chicken house want the focus to be on the Christ Child.

The Vinyard family, who own Babe’s, and Al Boenker provide me with a glimmer of hope.  It is easy to feel like Christmas is becoming more secular every year, with less and less emphasis on the “Christ” in Christmas.  Unfortunately Christians, and even the church itself, can contribute to the movement.  I recently attend the “Christmas” spectacular at one of the area’s biggest mega-churches.  There were probably 5,000 plus in attendance the performance, which was one of over a dozen the church puts on.  This year, in addition to the soaring angels and live camels, there was flying sleigh and Rudolph.  While the second half of the program told the real Christmas story, the opening section featured a tour of North Pole complete with dancing snowmen and Santa.  I am not opposed to Santa Claus and Frosty the Snowman, but I think the church needs to be careful to keep the secular out of Christmas, keeping the focus on the Babe in the manger.

The above comments come in light of a new report from Pew Research that confirms what I already knew; fewer Americans celebrate Christmas as religious holiday.  According to their research, 55% of U.S. adults say they celebrate Christmas as a religious holiday, including 46% who see it as more of a religious holiday than a cultural holiday.  That is down from 59% in 2013, including 51% who saw Christmas as more religious than cultural. 

The responsibility for keeping Christ in Christmas falls on our shoulders. It starts with the traditions we keep as a family and the stories we tell our children and grandchildren.  While courts debates whether it is appropriate for a manger scene to be exhibited in a public place, the Christ Child should be under our Christmas tree and displayed in our yards.  The message of hope and peace that the Christ Child brings must be ingrained in our conversation and all our activities during this sacred time.  Jesus must be the reason we celebrate the season.

The End of the Homogeneous Church

My first assignment out of college was to be director of youth ministry at Trinity Lutheran Church in Cape Girardeau, Missouri.  Cape Girardeau is located just south of Perry County where the Lutheran Church Missouri Synod traces its roots.  To say that Lutheran tradition ran deep in that area would be an understatement.  It was only months prior to our arrival that Trinity had discontinued having at least one service every Sunday in German.  Rumor has that one older member had questioned the wisdom of the decision by asking in German, “How will God understand us if we are not speaking German?” Like most mainline denominations the LCMS has ethnic roots in addition to the theological ones. 

The reality in today’s world is homogeneous worship communities like the ones we probably grew up with are out of step with our diverse culture.  To expect the people who walk in the door to be like us and share our ethnic and denominational heritage is not realistic.  Thom Rainer, President of Lifeway Resources, recently noted, “Gen Z will not have a majority racial or ethnic group. Those born from 2001 to today are growing up in a generation that has no majority group. For the first time in American history, whites will be a minority. That is the real world. Our churches need to reflect that real world.”

The reality is the traditional church where everyone shares a similar ethnic, as well as religious background, will soon be a thing of the past.  Homogeneous worship communities are out of step in our diverse and changing world.  As a result it can be a challenging time for those of us who grew up enjoying the fellowship and traditions of those who are like us.  What is the long-term future of your church is membership and worship attendance continues to decline?

Jesus” great commission to “Make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28:19-20) calls us to share the Good News of Jesus with people of all cultures and ethnicity.  In the past that required us to travel to other continents.  In today's the world they have come to us.  We are surrounded by individuals who represent different cultures and ethnic groups.  We are called to be Jesus to those people, and to welcome them into our worship communities.