It’s good to see that we are not alone and it’s a shame to see that they are not alone.

Apparently, there are many mega churches out there that are not holding services on
Xmas. Check out this article from USA Today: http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-12-06-christmas-churches_x.htm

Here is a quote from the article:

This is a consumer mentality at work: ‘Let’s not impose the church on people. Let’s not make church in any way inconvenient,’" said David Wells, professor of history and systematic theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, a leading evangelical school in Hamilton, Mass. "I think what this does is feed into the individualism that is found throughout American culture, where everyone does their own thing."

This Holiday season more than most has forced me to reflect on many things, some of those things have come as quite a surprise to some of the people I care for the most. I’ve learned recently that like oil and water, my family and communication are relatively similar. I hope to see all of that change here soon, I know that at least the wheels have already been set in motion for that to begin to happen. I’m positive that I’m no "church brat" nor am I in any way "bitter" as I have been so accussed of thus far. In fact, I thought I had some very insightful information on how the modern church in America could more effectively reach this generation. I grossly underestimated how staunch and stubborn one church could be, I guess. Should that stop me from thinking or talking or writing how I believe? No. I’m held accountable for my actions and the church is held accountable for theirs; I can no more control what they do with this insight than they can control what is said here in this web log. Does it surprise me that such common sense be met with great resistance? Again, no. I know for a fact that some church-goers choose their local church based on who has the best worship or the best Christmas program, and CBC is all too aware of that themselves. It doesn’t surprise me that as they unfolded their 4 part plan during the Forward Together program, two of the four items were aimed purely at attracting other Christians from other churches. The other two more practical items on that list, Evangelism and Retiring the Church Deficite, appear to be mere footnotes or selling points to suckers like me. Yes, I pledged! Not much in their economy, but to me it was a sacrifice. What sold me was the order in which the list was pitched: 1) retire the deficite 2) refurbish the campus 3) simulcast 4) evangelism. Now my first clue that they would not deliver on all four points should have been the fact that evangelism, whatever that means to them, came in last. As it turns out, the satellite service was Frank’s baby, it was his way of finally "planting" a church without losing personnel or revenue. All coins now found their way into the same coffer, without him having to lose any control. Believe me, I’ve seen the Extreme Makeover: Sanctuary Edition and it’s sort of tacky and technologically over the top! Just what are those phallic pillars of light? Perhaps a tribute to 9/11, maybe? I guess we’ll see if the other 2 most important items on the list ever reach completion, but it looks unlikely. Lost in all this is the very reason for the church itself. Why do we go? What is our goal? Who is it for? Is it really a social club for us members only, like a religious Red Hat Society? Heavens, no! Church is many things to many people, but at it’s core it is designed equip Christians to go into all the earth and make disciples, baptizing them and teaching them the life of Christ, his teachings, the Gospel! When it becomes about anything other than that, there needs to be a reckoning and then a turning back towards the face of God. I’ll end this entry by telling a story that my pastor recently told us. There was this new pastor of a young church and his worship pastor. The pastor had heard of this church in one of the poorest areas of LA that had the most tremendous and annointed worship. He sent his worship pastor to go check out this fabled church in Englewood to report on what he saw. He saw a church that was uptempo and rockin’, but he discovered when he arrived that the pastor of this church was in the middle of a building project and construction had already begun. He decided to go see this site and catch a glimpse of the vision this church had for this area. What he found shocked him! In the middle of this God-foresaken neighborhood, filled with highrise one-bedroom, one-bathroom apartments with boarded-up windows he saw the framework for a $56 million dollar church facility being erected. It made him weep, then it made him righteously angered and he wondered, with all those needs surrounding them, how could they consider building such an elaborate temple. This is an extreme microcosm of a nationwide epidemic and we as the church of Christ ought to strive for something more. Our city of Portland is dying from the inside out and the answer to it’s problems isn’t more gadgets or programs or conferences focussed on feeding our already fat faces, the answer is simply Christ at work in the heart of the lost. Delivering Christ to those masses requires no overhead whatsoever, it does however require that we occassionally sacrifice lunch plans with friends to live missionally and take Christ from our pew to the outside world. God bless!

I hope everyone is having as wonderfully awkward a Christmas as megachurchsurvivor. I also tend to agree with Mega that "we just scratched the surface". So, I do not think I am done quite yet. I may have one or two more posts in me.

I would like to wish the mole a happy birthday. Today is her birthday and she is 14 years old. If you see her around, please give her your best. Happy Birthday Mole.

I am going out tonight. I have a Christmas Party to attend, and I plan on celebrating by emulating Christ’s first miracle. If I am silent tomorrow, you know the reason why.