Friendly Fire in the War on Christmas
This week the Christian blogosphere had a mini coming out party, with Christian bloggers breaking a story in advance of the mainstream media in reporting that some of the nation’s most prominent evangelical megachurches will not be holding services on Christmas Day, which falls on a Sunday this year. These churches, whose roll reads like a who’s who of evangelical movers, consulted with each other before deciding to take the day off. Among the churches closed on Christmas are Willow Creek Community Church (IL), Mars Hill Bible Church (MI), North Point Community Church (GA), and Fellowship Church (TX). Pastors and spokespersons for these churches say that services on Christmas would not be a good use of staff time because in the past their Christmas services had been sparsely attended. Many of these churches are holding multiple services on December 23rd and Christmas Eve instead. Christmas Day, however, would be better spent with family, they say. Critics call the closings a sell out to mainstream culture which regards Christmas as “Toy Day.” David Wells, professor of history and systematic theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, said, “This is a consumer mentality at work: ‘Let’s not impose the church on people. Let’s not make church in any way inconvenient.’ I think what this does is feed into the individualism that is found throughout American culture, where everyone does their own thing.” Prominent Bible scholar Ben Witherington III also has harsh words.
I don’t know if more bothered by the fact that these megachurches will be closed on Christmas, or by the fact that the megachurches consulted with each other before closing, like they were setting policy for evangelicalism as a whole. Anyway, the idea of no church on Christmas is quite foreign to Catholics or liturgical Protestants, for in the liturgical tradition Christmas is not just a random holiday at the end of December, but the culmination of the entire season of Advent. The Bible readings for the season of Advent, from both the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament, are intended to build anticipation for the coming Christ child, finally revealed on December 25th. That Advent roughly corresponds with the Christmas shopping season doubles the anticipation. Canceling services on December 25th would therefore by analogous to reading through a great detective novel and throwing the book away the page before the killer is finally revealed.
Perhaps it is no surprise then that Catholic and liturgical Protestant churches, in contrast to the evangelical megas, usually have their biggest crowds of the year on Christmas Day. Indeed, given the large numbers of non- or nominal Christians that only show up on Christmas and Easter, churches closing their doors on those days would be demonstrating the height of seeker insensitivity.
While I agree with your post in general, I have two minor quibbles: (1) what’s the big deal about the churches consulting on things like this? Don’t the Episcopal, Lutheran, Presbyterian, UCC, and other mainstream churches have central conventions? (2) my experience is that although Christmas Day services are reasonably well attended in mainstream churches, Christmas Eve services are usually much larger. Could be a little different on a Sunday, but I doubt it.
The point isn’t that the megachurches (a term I love to say out loud) confered on the subject, but that after conference they all agreed to abandon the celebration of the birth of their Lord in favor of making a DVD tribute to that Silent, Holy night.
Even Ebeneezer Scrooge would probably kick that Betamax cartridge in his tele.
Having been raised in a Catholic family, I find this whole thing utterly bizarre. I mean, like really far-out-there bizarre. Kind of like using Coca-Cola for the Eucharist.
In Catholic churches, Christmas and Easter are the biggest attendance days of all. It’s one of the few days that priests can reach the relatively uninvolved Catholics, those who only show up once or twice a year.
I’m telling you it’s the Christian blogosphere’s version of the Trent Lott affair. If the megas were as media saavy as they claimed to be, they’d open their doors. Pr. Appel, let these people worship!
Wahoo, re: your (1), the reason these churches collectively making the decision bothers me is that evangelical churches often make a big deal about their independence and how they’re not tied to the silliness that often characterizes denominational politics. Them getting together and deciding to cancelling Christmas services strikes me as one big collective CYA maneuver.
Well, I was also raised Catholic - went to Catholic school, attended weekly, was an altar boy for years, it was very serious. And Christmas Eve midnight mass was always the best attended mass of the year. No matter the weather, that was it. The only Christmas Day mass I ever attended was the one year when I got the short straw as an altar boy and couldn’t do the midnight service. I didn’t know this was such a big deal in some parts of the country.
Personally, I think the megachurches should take every Sunday off. You know - as a day of rest.
The midnight mass would be on Christmas Day.
What strikes me is this: Your church is, ostensibly, your community. Doesn’t it make sense to celebrate the birth of the Lord with your community? The fact that going to church can be seen as an intrusion on Christmas Day just shows how much we’ve gotten away from it all.
Maybe it says something about the fact that the megachurches aren’t really communities (although this criticism wouldn’t be limited to them). I guess I’m thinking of the idyllic medieval village church, to which all the peasants gather at midnight on Christmas Eve to sing hymns. Does that exist anywhere?
“the idyllic medieval village church, to which all the peasants gather at midnight on Christmas Eve to sing hymns. Does that exist anywhere?”
Yes, but there aren’t very many of them. I attended Fort Street Presbyterian Church’s annual performance of Handel’s Messiah, and it was the best sermon I’ve heard in years! Talk about a worshipful environment with hundreds of other people all focused on the message in that music!!
As a member and attender of Fellowship Church in Dallas, I would disagree with “megachurches aren’t really communities.” My closet friends, accoutability group, Bible studies, etc are a big part of my life. While I have friends “outside” of the church, my closet friends are those I go to church with.
I disagree with FC, as well as the other churches - mega or not - who are not holding services on Christmas Day.
Thanks, Karl. But I think within the context of Wahoo’s comments, it doesn’t count as Christmas Day. It’s Christmas Eve.
No one knows exactly when the REAL Christmas day was. Christmas is celebrated around the world on different days or over the course of several days. Actually the 25th was originally a pagan winter solstice holiday…so the church decided that they would make that the official day of Christmas as well. I attend Mars Hill Bible Church. We have a services on the 23rd and 24th. We choose to allow families to celebrate and commemorate Jesus’ birth in their own way on the actual day of. Spending time with one’s family IS a spiritual act, especially when it incorporates family prayer and singing hymns around a piano. Meeting in a building is NOT what “the church” is. The church is the body of Christ, and exists whenever two or more Christians gather to celebrate God. Perhaps this will give people the opportunity to take more repsonsibility for their spiritual connection with God rather than expecting to show up at church and pay your once/twice a year dues to God. As far as measuring a churches spiritual aptitude based petty issues such as this…it kind of reminds me of the pharisees.