christian standard
DECEMBER 2018
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letter publisher FROM THE
“The Times They Are A-Changin’” was the title of a 1964 Bob Dylan song addressing his belief in a need for social justice. If you were 16 when that song was released, you’re 70 years old today. In 1964, Christian Standard, The Lookout, and Standard Publishing were the gold standard for Christian education, leadership, and discipleship. Two years later, in 1966, the little entity that started in Cleveland, Ohio, celebrated 100 years in business; by then it was a major company housed in a factory with 7 acres under roof and hundreds of employees. That was before computers, the Internet, and social media changed the landscape of communication and education forever. Today, although print magazines have their place, podcasts, downloads, audio books, and virtual conferencing have dramatically changed the way information is shared and absorbed. When I took over as publisher in March 2017, I recognized the need to take these two precious magazines into the 21st century. We began by addressing content and quality and released new magazine formats that July (Christian Standard) and November (The Lookout). Over the past year, we have been working to bring this content to our movement and the world through basically the same means as were used in 1964 . . . or 1904 . . . or 1874! But all that time C H RIS TIA N STA N DAR D
we have asked ourselves, Is there an outsidethe-box means of expanding our readership and improving our communication? The first step was to apply more up-to-date thinking to determine who is in our tribe in order to be more unified in communication than ever before. That idea led to our partnership with Center for Church Leadership to create an updated digital database directory of our movement, a free resource that is now up and running, which allows us to connect like never before. The second, more radical step we have now undertaken is to make both Christian Standard and The Lookout available as free digital magazines to all who would subscribe! Our goal is for the magazines’ content to be read and used by as many people as possible, and to educate and strengthen our movement with the very best leadership and discipleship tools available. We believe this is the best way we can fulfill our mission to leverage the power of our unity to build the kingdom. We wish to do this using all the tools that this age provides—not just the tools of the past. So while the print magazines will continue to be available for a modest price, they will also be available to download online absolutely free! Subscribers are free to print pages from the magazines’ online - 2 -
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Statement of Ownership, Management, and Circulation (Required by 39 USC 3685)
versions, and The Lookout will actually be interactive so that readers who use it in discipleship and small-group studies can write notes, prayers, and answers. A trip to our websites (ChristianStandard.com and Lookoutmag.com) will reveal that much more is also available for free. Not only is there the new database of churches and ministries, and two free magazines, but also a brand-new version of What Kind of Church Is This? that includes a free downloadable booklet, sermons, and sermon series media. There are plenty of other helps too. So, you are probably wondering, How is Christian Standard Media able to do all this for free? We believe our greatly increased exposure will create a desire among advertisers to advertise on all of our platforms, and thus subsidize the costs of creating our content. Remember, we’re a notfor-profit ministry now. A new media kit is available on our website to show you how to advertise. It’s totally possible that with our new content, our new free formats, and all of our resources, that Christian Standard Media could once again be a gold standard in Christian education, leadership, and discipleship, reaching out and touching more people than ever before! It’s true, “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” but we are changing with them, and all of us can benefit together!
Jerry Harris is publisher of Christian Standard Media and senior pastor of The Crossing, a multisite church located in three states across the Midwest. @_jerryharris /jerrydharris
1. Publication Title: Christian Standard 2. Publication Number: 958-520 3. Filing Date: August 25, 2018. 4. Issue Frequency: Monthly 5. Number of Issues Published Annually: 12 6. Annual Subscription Price: $25.99 7. Complete Mailing Address of Known Office of Publication (Not printer): 16965 Pine Lane, Suite 202, Parker, CO 80134 8. Complete Mailing Address of Headquarters or General Business Office of Publisher (Not printer): 16965 Pine Lane, Suite 202, Parker, CO 80134 9. Full Names and Complete Mailing Addresses of Publisher, Editor, and Managing Editor: Publisher, Jerry Harris, 16965 Pine Lane, Suite 202, Parker, CO 80134; Editor, Michael Mack, 16965 Pine Lane, Suite 202, Parker, CO 80134; Managing Editor, Jim Nieman, 16965 Pine Lane, Suite 202, Parker, CO 80134. 10. Owner (if the publication is owned by a corporation, give the name and address of the corporation immediately followed by the names and addresses of all stockholders owning or holding 1 percent or more of the total amount of stock. If not owned by a corporation, give the names and addresses of the individual owners. If owned by a partnership or other unincorporated firm, give its name and address as well as those of each individual owner. If the publication is published by a nonprofit organization, give its name and address): Restoration Movement Media dba Christian Standard Media, 16965 Pine Lane, Suite 202, Parker, CO 80134. 11. Known bondholders, mortgagees, and other security holders owning or holding 1 percent or more of the total amount of bonds, mortgages, or other securities (if there are none, so state): The Solomon Foundation, Renee Little, Vice President, 16965 Pine Lane, Suite 202, Parker, CO 80134. 12. Tax Status (for completion by nonprofit organizations authorized to mail at nonprofit rates) 13. Publication Title: Christian Standard 14. Issue Date for Circulation Data Below: October 2018 15. Extent and Nature of Circulation: Copies of Average Single Issue Number Published Copies Each Nearest to Issue During Preceding 12 Filing Date Months a. Total Number of Copies (Net press run) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,600 11,200 b. Paid Circulation (By Mail and Outside the Mail) 1. Mailed Outside-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . 12,600 11,200 2. Mailed In-County Paid Subscriptions Stated on PS Form 3541 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 3. Paid Distribution Outside the Mails Including Sales Through Dealers and Carriers, Street Vendors, Counter Sales, and Other Paid Distribution Outside USPS® . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 4. Paid Distribution by Other Classes of Mail Through the USPS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 c. Total Paid Distribution (Sum of 15b. (1),(2),(3), and (4)) . . . . . . . . . . . .12,600 11,200 d. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (By Mail and Outside the Mail) 1. Free or Nominal Rate Outside-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541 . . . . . . . . . . 50 50 2. Free or Nominal Rate In-County Copies Included on PS Form 3541 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 3. Free or Nominal Rate Copies Mailed at Other Classes Through the USPS . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 4. Free or Nominal Rate Distribution Outside the Mail . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 e. Total Free or Nominal Rate Distribution (Sum of 15d (1), (2), (3), and (4) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 50 f. Total Distribution (Sum of 15c and 15e) . . . . . . . . 12,650 11,250 g. Copies Not Distributed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 0 0 h. Total (Sum of 15f and g) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,650 11,250 i. Percent Paid (15c divided by 15f times 100) . . . . . . 99.6% 99.6% 16. Electronic Copy Circulation: a. Paid Electronic Copies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 377 377 b. Total Paid Print Copies (Line 15c) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12,977 11,577 c. Total Print Distribution (Line 15f) + Paid Electronic Copies (Line 16a) . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13,027 11,627 d. Percent Paid (Both Print and Electronic Copies) (16b divided by 16c x 100) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99.6% 99.6% Publisher certifies that 50% of all distributed copies (electronic and print) are paid above a nominal price. 17. Publication of Statement of Ownership will be printed in the December 2018 issue of this publication. 18. I certify that all information furnished on this form is true and complete. I understand that anyone who furnishes false or misleading information on this form or who omits material or information requested on the form may be subject to criminal sanctions (including fines and imprisonment) and/or civil sanctions (including civil penalties). (Signature and Title.) Renee Little
CHRISTIAN STANDARD —
FOUNDED 1866 BY ISAAC ERRETT Devoted to the restoration of New Testament Christianity, its doctrine, its ordinances, and its fruits.
The Staff Jerry Harris, Publisher Michael C. Mack, Editor Jim Nieman, Managing Editor Shawn McMullen, Contributing Editor Megan Kempf, Designer Abby Wittler, Designer Renee Little, Operations
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Volume CLIII. Number 12. Christian Standard (ISSN 0009-5656) is published monthly by Christian Standard Media at 16965 Pine Lane, Suite 202, Parker, CO 80134. Periodicals postage paid at Parker, CO, and additional offices. All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to Christian Standard Media, 16965 Pine Lane, Suite 202, Parker, CO 80134. Phone: 1-800543-1353. SUBSCRIBERS: Send address changes to Christian Standard, 16965 Pine Lane, Suite 202, Parker, CO 80134. Send old and new addresses, complete with zip codes, at least six weeks before delivery date.
Christian Standard is published by Christian Standard Media, www.christianstandardmedia.com.
Copyright ©2018 by Christian Standard Media Email: cs@christianstandardmedia.com Website: www.christianstandard.com Printed in USA
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FEA T U R E CHRISTMAS AT THE MOVIES: A Christmas Carol
by Jerry Harris CHRISTMAS AT THE MOVIES: It's a Wonderful Life
by Dick Alexander
TABLE OF CONTENTS —
I N E V E RY I S S UE 2-3 | L E TTE R F RO M THE P UB L ISH E R Jerry Harris
6-7 | L E TTE R F RO M THE E DITO R Michael C. Mack
CHRISTMAS AT THE MOVIES: A Christmas Story
by Caleb Kaltenbach
THE GOSPEL comes with a HOUSE KEY
by matt proctor
Silent Night
by bj krug
10 GIFTS that GIVE MORE
by carla williams
8-9 | MOVE ME N T Three Greats David Dummitt
10-12 | E 2 : E F F E C TIVE EL D ER S An Elde r ’s Gr e a test Pr ior ity David Roadcup
13-15 | IMAG INE
Re stor ing Histo r ic The a te r fo r Chur ch and Co mmunity Mel McGowan
16-17 | H O RIZO N S
Give Your Church an International Flair This Christmas Emily Drayne
18-19 | MINISTRY L IF E
The Chr istma s Vision Daniel Schantz
20-25 | ME TRIC S
Ho w Cha nging Shopping Tr e nds Affe c t the Church Kent Fillinger
J OY to the CHURCH LEADERS
compiled by justin horey
The 'PERFECT' Christmas Tree
by Max Lucado
28-35 | F E ATURE ARTI CL E
Chr istma s a t the Movies: A Chr istma s Ca r ol Jerry Harris
78-79 | IN TE RAC T 80 | B IB L ITIC AL LY C OR R ECT The Chur c h of Christ Na tivity He ist After Class Podcast
letter editor FROM THE
What do you do when everyone around you is singing about joy and glad tidings and peace on earth . . . but your life reflects none of it? How do you get through “the most wonderful time of year” when your season is anything but merry and bright? And let me ask leaders, how do you lead others to experience Immanuel, God with us, when God feels far away this Christmas? Let’s face it, we are surrounded by people who are experiencing sadness, depression, sorrow, discouragement, and pain this December. Perhaps you are among them. In the Bible, leaders and “ordinary people” had these same struggles. Jeremiah, King David, Martha and Mary, and others felt as if God were distant or had forsaken them when they needed him most. Then there’s Asaph. The story of this Old Testament man—one of King David’s chief musicians who had 12 psalms attributed to him—may not seem to have any connection to the Christmas story, but he, like many others, was looking forward to the arrival of the Messiah (e.g., Psalm 80:17). And his life mirrors many of ours at
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this time of year. He experienced struggles and questions and doubts: “I cried out to God for help; I cried out to God to hear me. When I was in distress, I sought the Lord; at night I stretched out untiring hands, and I would not be comforted” (Psalm 77:1, 2). “Will the Lord reject forever? Will he never show his favor again? Has his unfailing love vanished forever? Has his promise failed for all time? Has God forgotten to be merciful? Has he in anger withheld his compassion?” (vv. 7-9). Asaph believed and trusted in God, but he questioned where God was in the occasion of his pain. Like Asaph, when God’s people today—even his leaders—are lonely or hurting, and we cry out to God and hear nothing, the experience can be even more painful and confusing . . . especially at Christmas. We may feel ignored or neglected even while we seek his presence or power. We are filled with questions: Why? Where are you, Lord? What’s going on? We just want to understand and know he’s still there for us. And yet, inexplicably . . . nothing.
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Later—perhaps days, weeks, months, even years—we will be able to look back and see how God was moving. Later, we understand God’s sovereignty and timing. But in our moments of despair and darkness, we can’t see it. I know all of this firsthand. I was walking in a dark valley through this season of light six years ago. In early December I came to Psalm 77 in my Bible reading, and I felt a deep connection to Asaph. I wrote in my journal, God, I don't understand. I don't know how this is all going to work out and I can’t see how you are working in this. What are you doing? How are you going to work all this out? Please, Lord, show me just a sliver of your plan and purpose. Regardless, God, help me hang on and continue to trust in you and your timing. So, what do we do when we are in a season of life when God feels far away—when he does not seem to be Immanuel, God with us? We can try to remember. Asaph said, “Then I thought, ‘To this I will appeal: the years when the Most High stretched out his right hand. I will remember the deeds of the Lord; yes, I will remember your miracles of long ago. I will consider all your works and meditate on all your mighty deeds’” (Psalm 77:10-12). It’s vital for us to be in God’s Word every day. The stories remind us of his faithfulness, strength, and love. They give us perspective. They lift us up out of our current circumstances to help us see God is, indeed, in control. We can also look back at our own lives and remember how he has worked in more personal ways.
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Remembering God’s greatness and sovereignty naturally leads to worship: an acknowledgement of God’s nature and his power. Worship is vital in the darkness of the valley. And, by the way, so is community with some friends; don’t go through this alone! I wrote in my journal six years ago, All I can say in the midst of this is, “I will continue to trust the Lord, no matter how I feel.” I’ve come to a place where I know I must worship God even though I don’t feel like it, and don’t even necessarily sense his presence with me as I call out to him in praise for who he is. It’s an act of the will at this point. With Asaph, we cry out, even in the midst of our questions, “Your ways, God, are holy. What god is as great as our God?” (v. 13). It’s impossible for me to know your circumstances, leader. But I’m praying for anyone who is struggling, and I’m asking all godly leaders to join me in that prayer today. I ask God to encourage you and simply, if nothing else, allow you to sense his holy, loving presence with you in the valley. That’s his promise in Psalm 23, that he walks through the valley with you—as your Good Shepherd, as Immanuel.
@michaelcmack @michaelcmack @michaelcmack /AuthorMichaelCMack
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move ment BY DAVID DUMMITT
Th ree
G re at s // A Humble Reminder of Our King and Our Calling
In all honesty, sometimes I just want to get through the Christmas season. As a pastor, Christmas usually means work. Lots more work. I can start to allow productivity and busyness for God’s kingdom to outweigh sacred wonder and worship of the King who has come for us. Earlier this year at a leadership retreat, my friend and fellow pastor Patrick O’Connell, the global leader of NewThing, led a devotional for a group of ministry leaders from all over the United States. He shared three “greats” that Jesus gave to us, and as he spoke, I watched a room full of reputable pastors experience a paradigm shift. This Christmas, I am considering these three “greats” of Jesus as a humble reminder of our King and our calling:
David Dummitt is the lead pastor and planter of 2|42 Community Church in Michigan, one of the largest and fastest-growing churches in the country. He is also on the lead team of NewThing, a catalyst for reproducing churches worldwide. /DavidDummitt
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The Great Commission If you’re a ministry leader, it’s likely you’re familiar with the Great Commission found in Matthew 28. The Great Commission may be a reason many of us entered vocational ministry, and it is certainly a foundational mandate for church planting. Jesus, after having overcome death itself, looked at his disciples and said, “I came to you, now you go and make disciples.” He blessed them and then sent them out. To follow Jesus is to be sent by him on a rescue When we are divided, when we battle one another mission everywhere that people live and and cause dissension within the church, we not breathe. We are called to go. only impede Jesus’ mission, we destroy it. The world ignores our message when we can’t even The Great Commandment get along. Conversely, when we unite together, Jesus gave us the Great Commission: We are to when we are unified across race, gender, and go. Jesus also gave the Great Commandment: We socioeconomic lines—and even some theological are to love. lines, as Jesus modeled—then people are attracted to Christ in us and among us. In Mark 12, when Jesus was asked to define the greatest commandment, he recited the We are to be on the same team, have each other’s known-by-every-Jew Shema: “The Lord is one. backs, champion each other’s best, and hold each Love the Lord your God with all your heart other accountable. We are to break down silos and with all your soul and with all your mind and focus on God’s kingdom, and not just our and with all your strength” (vv. 29, 30). But individual castles. then Jesus expounded upon this command This is one of the biggest reasons I value network and declared that equally important is his church planting. I believe that reaching out to new commandment: to love our neighbors as other local pastors, strengthening those ties, and ourselves. saying, “We can’t do this alone; let’s lock arms,” To follow Jesus is to grow in love for God and for brings a smile to Jesus’ face. people. We are called to go in love. Church planting is a critical part of Jesus’ mission, and choosing to unite as a network is a powerful The Great Collaboration way to build relational bridges. It also allows each And here is the crux—the pivotal paradigm of us to have a place at the church-planting table, shift we must embrace if we are to be the most effective emissaries of God’s kingdom we can be. no matter the size or budget of the church we lead. Our engagement means furthering the mission Jesus told us to go in love with a very clear desire of Jesus, while simultaneously being united, that his people would go in love . . . together. sharpened, strengthened, and encouraged by In John 17, as Jesus was preparing to go to the other church leaders. cross, he prayed for us to be unified. He prayed To follow Jesus is to be united with his people. We that his kingdom, his family, would be whole. are called to go in love . . . together. Jesus called us to the “great collaboration.” I find it interesting that in John 17:20, 21, Jesus repeatedly prayed that we would be unified; and then he added, “Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (v. 23). It is our unity—our “oneness”—that will be the means to seeing the Great Commission fulfilled. C H RIS TIA N STA N DAR D
This Christmas, I hope you will join me in pulling back from the hustle and bustle of the season to reflect on the King who came to us with great love and built a team—a family on mission—to reconcile the world to God. And Jesus has called us to do the same. Merry Christmas, and may God bless you with his presence and peace. - 9 -
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e2:
effective elders BY DAVID ROADCUP
An Elder’s Greatest Priority
Luke reveals the grand priority to which we are called as shepherds of the flock. Two sisters and a brother loved Jesus deeply. Mary, Martha, and Lazarus had an abiding relationship with him. They entertained him and his traveling entourage; they provided a place to stay, meals, and no doubt made contributions to his ministry. Luke 10:3842 records a meaningful exchange between Jesus and his hostess. Martha is busy fixing a meal and is frustrated that Mary, “who was seated at the Lord’s feet, listening to his word” (v. 39, New American Standard Bible), was not helping her.
David Roadcup is cofounder and outreach director for E2: Effective Elders. He also serves as professor of discipleship and global outreach representative with TCM International Institute. He is also on the board of directors of Christian Arabic Services. / e2elders @e2elders
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A frustrated Martha interrupts Jesus’ teaching and (in the Greek) commands Jesus to make Mary help her. Jesus responds with one of the few criticisms in their relationship. He says, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about so many things; but only one thing is necessary, for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her” (vv. 41, 42, NASB).
The Grand Priority of Our Lives This is one of Jesus’ most impactful teaching moments. When he says, “only one thing is necessary,” he means we should have one great priority over all else. Mary was seeking Jesus. She was drawing near to him and connecting with him. She was spending time with him. She was being nurtured and fed through listening intently to his word, and no doubt, hiding it in her heart. As elders, our main priority should be to connect with Jesus daily. This is foundational for any leader of the church. It is the most necessary thing. It may mean closely examining our personal priorities and readjusting our schedules to allow for more time to be with him. It should lead us to spend more time with Jesus and focus our attention directly on him. We should connect with him, talk to him, listen to him, and read and internalize his Word until it becomes part of our inner core. When we fast, we should approach a level of love and fellowship that takes us to a C H RIS TIA N STA N DAR D
new spiritual awareness. We should grow in him and our understanding of who he is. As we prioritize our time with Jesus, our roots will grow deeper, our discernment will be sharpened, and we will become like him. This needs to be the grand priority of our lives if we are to lead the church as Jesus wants it led—with prayer, purpose, power, and unity. Leaders must have deep roots. We must lead with great discernment and from a surrendered heart and mind. Jesus leads his church through us. We will become more like him as we spend quality time with him.
The Key to Our Ministry A growing and healthy spiritual life is key to the ministry of elders. Shepherds of the church must be men of depth! We must learn how to dig deep wells and irrigate widely. We must be men of wisdom and spiritual discernment. Jesus’ spirit must truly be part of who we are. We must earnestly seek Jesus when we are alone during our quiet time. We must ask him to build his fire within us. In his excellent book Spiritual Leadership, Henry Blackaby writes, “Spiritual leadership flows out of a person’s vibrant intimate relationship with God. You cannot be a spiritual leader if you are not meeting with God in profound, lifechanging ways.” In The Pursuit of God, A. W. Tozer writes, O God, I have tasted Your goodness, and it has both satisfied me and made me thirsty for more. I am painfully conscious of my need for further grace. I am ashamed of my lack of desire. O God, the Triune God, I want to want You; I long to be filled with longing; I thirst to be made more thirsty still. Show me Your glory, I pray, that so I may know You indeed. Begin in mercy a new work of love within me. - 11 -
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- E2: EFFECTIVE ELDERS -
Three Ways to Stoke the Passion Here are three proven ways leaders who are growing in God stoke the passion fires: 1. Eat from the Banquet Table. Leaders find a way to make the milk and the meat of the Word part of daily life. We read Scripture, listen to it, meditate on it, and memorize it. We make God’s Word the compass for our daily spiritual journeys. As leaders, we discipline ourselves to nurture the Word of God in our lives in impacting ways. 2. Drink Deeply from the Fountain. Communication is key to relationships. This is why regular, focused, personal prayer, offered from a seeking heart, is so important for us as church leaders. Our Father loves to connect with us through prayer. “The sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to the Lord, but the prayer of the upright is His delight” (Proverbs 15:8, NASB). If you struggle to develop a prayer life, keep struggling. Don’t be discouraged or give up. Prayer is work. This discipline takes time and consistency to grow. 3. Live as a Band of Brothers. Fellowship and community are fundamental to a deep spiritual life—an absolute must. We should not be independent of one another; God’s plan is that we be interdependent with one another. Being deeply connected with other brothers— spiritually, mentally and emotionally— is a foundational value for leadership development. C H RIS TIA N STA N DAR D
The Critical Link to Healthy Churches The spiritual health and growth of an elder is critical for two reasons. It is critical for the elder personally because a close relationship with the Lord enriches the elder spiritually. And it is critical for the elder’s congregation because spiritually healthy elders make good spiritual shepherds. Healthy elders can produce healthy churches, families, and individual believers. It is impossible to spiritually lead others where we have never personally been. We cannot spiritually feed our members if we ourselves are starving to death. We cannot empower those for whom we are spiritually responsible if our lives lack spiritual power. Jesus told Martha, “Only one thing is necessary.” The most important thing. As effective elders, let us stand back in awe of him. Let us love him with great passion. Let us lead from a deep well of adoration and praise. In doing so, as shepherds and examples to the flock, we will lead well. - 12 -
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imag ine New Vintage Church Restores Historic Theater for Church and Community How’s this for a metaphor? An old movie theater sits abandoned and crumbling on a street corner. It was originally built to bring joy and entertainment to the people of a town. But the years haven’t been kind. Fire and poor upkeep stole its luster. Big cinemas down the street killed its business. For a while, it survived as an adult movie house. Thirty years passed, and apart from the rats, nobody wanted anything to do with The Ritz. Sound familiar? This story could be the illustration for any sinner’s life. Yours? Mine? But it’s also the true story of a real building that’s about to get what most every sinner hopes for: redemption. C H RIS TIA N STA N DAR D
BY MEL MCGOWAN
Mel McGowan is cofounder and chief creative principal of PlainJoe Studios. He is a leading master planner and designer of churches in America. @visioneer /visioneer
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New Vintage and The Ritz
What Once Was: “The Ritz” had a beautiful facade in the 1950s, but a fire and a changing economy left the theater abandoned and forgotten. Photos courtesy the City of Escondido
When pastor Tim Spivey of New Vintage Church in Escondido, California, reached out to me with the idea of buying The Ritz, the city’s historic art deco movie house, and restoring it as the church’s new worship venue, I couldn’t help getting excited. There’s so much beauty and potential in the building and, from a designer’s perspective, I could see very quickly where we could recapture the original character and class of the space while renovating it for its modern purpose. It’s one of the most ambitious projects I’ve participated in with a local church. But Spivey and his leadership team at New Vintage are eager to proceed. That’s because they approach each new ministry opportunity with a readiness to follow where God is leading and take the new routes he reveals. “For whatever reason, God did not choose the standard models or approaches for starting or growing this church,” Spivey said. “Nevertheless, we’ve always tried to keep a ‘ready posture,’ so when God opens a door of opportunity, we are positioned to walk forward in faith.”
The Jewel of Grand Avenue
Hope for a Future: Although it’s unimpressive today, some of its original Art Deco structures are still visible and ready for a design intervention.
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The theater is situated on a corner near the end of the historic part of Escondido, a charming downtown shopping and dining district. Although the area has a fun vibe, many businesses in the area struggle to stay afloat. This location will allow the church to make an impact right at the cultural heart of a city that values gathering together. Every Friday night, tens of thousands of people flood Grand Avenue for a vintage car show. The city’s weekly Farmers Market is also located on the corner directly across the street. But when those events aren’t happening, the street can sometimes seem like a ghost town. When it reopens as “The Grand,” the theater will operate as the anchor tenant for the district drawing pedestrians and shoppers - 14 -
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- IMAGINE A Look at What Could Be: When “The Grand” is restored, it will become both a worship center for New Vintage and a performing arts center for the community. Artist’s renderings by PlainJoe Studios
further up the street past neighboring businesses that could definitely use a boost of foot traffic. “The space we are renovating is highly visible and we believe will become the jewel of Grand Avenue in architectural beauty, purpose, and activity,” Spivey said.
Radical Generosity More exciting than the location and beauty of this historic renovation, however, is the generous manner in which New Vintage plans to use the space during the week. The church will offer the building as an arts and performance center for the community. The children’s worship room can become a dance studio during the week. Classrooms will become space for art or music lessons. The theater will be the church’s primary worship space on the weekends, and it will also be used for film festivals and as rehearsal and performance space for theater groups and musical acts. “It gives us a chance to flip the paradigm,” Spivey said, “from one where the church occupies a building and tries to convince the community to come inside, to building something for the community to occupy, and inviting the church in.” Spivey sees the church body rallying around this idea because they know what it will mean for their neighbors and those who are far from God to see a church participating side-by-side with the community. “It’s an opportunity to be the church in a way that gains the favor of those around us and lifts up the reputation of Christ and his followers with those in our city—while clearly maintaining our firm roots in the historic Christian faith.” C H RIS TIA N STA N DAR D
Challenges Ahead As this is being written, we are working hard to convince city planners and the historical society to come out in support of New Vintage’s plans. There are challenges against the building being used for religious purposes, which we’ve come to expect. But Spivey and the church are prepared to go the distance. “It will stretch us, I’m sure,” Spivey said, “but I can’t imagine a church better prepared to embrace its community for Christ.” To me, this is the most encouraging and motivating aspect of the project. Returning to our theater metaphor: When The Grand reopens, it will stand as a shining light that the community will see and be irresistibly drawn to. “We believe that the gospel of Jesus restores not only individual lives, but communities, and cities,” Spivey said. “The idea that the gospel can restore life, beauty, art, culture, education, and community back into this prominent and visible historical corner is part of what we believe God is calling us to do. - 15 -
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hori zons BY EMILY DRAYNE
G i v e Yo ur C h ur ch a n International F l ai r th i s C h r i stm a s Have you ever wondered how Christmas is celebrated in other countries? Do they bake cookies and set them out for Santa? Do they hang stockings from mantles and have Christmas trees full of ornaments and lights? Many Americans could benefit from learning the traditions of other countries. Incorporating an international flair into your end-of-year services is easy. Here are five ways to expose your church family to missions during “the most wonderful time of the year.�
Emily Drayne lives in North Carolina and has served with the International Conference On Missions since 2011. /emilydrayne @edrayne0530 @edrayne0530 www.theicom.org
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Host an “International Christmas Week” at your church December is not a normal time for a missions emphasis, but many missionaries are home from November through the New Year visiting family and meeting with donors and churches. Invite one or more of the missionaries you support to share at some of your services throughout December. Raise awareness within your church family that not every country celebrates Christmas the way we do in the United States. Ask your missionaries to come prepared to share fun facts about how they celebrate Christmas where they serve.
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involve the kids It’s important for our children to become better aware of the world. I can’t wait to show my 6-month-old daughter that the world is bigger than the town in which we live. Assign each class or grade in your church a missionary and have the kids write letters of encouragement to them. Ask the kids to draw pictures, tell the missionaries what they want to be when they grow up, explain why they are excited for Christmas, describe their favorite tradition— you get the idea. Mail those letters to your missionaries in time for Christmas. It will mean a lot to them.
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Invite international students into your churches and homes Did you know that most international students will never set foot inside an American home during their time in the U.S.? The holidays are a perfect time to challenge your church to welcome such students to your church services and host them in their homes. Show the love of Christ by sharing Christmas dinner together. Have your international guest share what they do at Christmas in their family; consider adopting one of their traditions to make them feel more at home. Your hospitality will make an impact and create an open door to talk about the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ. C H RIS TIA N STA N DAR D
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Take up a special missions offering I know this idea might be unpopular, since many churches encourage end-of-year giving to meet their budgets. But think of the blessing you’d give a missionary with a year-end gift. Consider sending it to the missionary as a Christmas surprise. Sending such a gift shows your church family and visitors that world missions is a priority—and it says a lot about your church, too. Asking guests of your church for money can be a big deterrent, but taking up a special offering for folks in another country is a bit different. If your church can’t do a special offering, consider tithing a certain portion of an offering and sending it to a missionary in need. Who knows how God will use your sacrifice?
5
Encourage your church family to get creative with Christmas gifts
According to Forbes, Americans spent $1 trillion on Christmas in 2016. That’s an insane amount of money! Let’s harness that over-the-top enthusiasm for gift-giving this Christmas. Many organizations sell goods and provide opportunities to bless the people they serve via their websites. Through Kendi’s Cows (www.kendiscows.org), for example, you can buy an animal for a farmer or family in another country. A cow is a gift of sustainable living, for it can provide milk throughout its life, and ultimately, meat. KORE (www.korefoundation.org) helps people in certain countries become small-business owners by establishing them with egg-laying chickens. (For additional ideas, see Carla Williams’s article “10 Christmas Gift Ideas that Support Ministry and Mission” on p. 60.) Challenge your church—small groups and Sunday school classes included—to get involved! During this Christmas season, remember that your church has the potential to bless not only their families, but also families all over the world.
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mini stry life BY DANIEL SCHANTZ
The Christmas Vision I was a high school freshman in 1957 when the Russians stunned the world by launching Sputnik, the first artificial Earth satellite. I was living in the little town of Sabina, Ohio, where my father was minister of the church of Christ. My brother Tommy and I were like the rocket boys in the movie October Sky. After school we would stuff homemade propellant into cardboard tubes and fire our miniature missiles high into the air, where they would disappear, never to be found. But we wanted to go higher, farther into space, so one evening my brother announced, “I’m going to make a telescope.” He showed me the plans he found in Sky & Telescope magazine. “The hard part is the mirror,” he explained. “It has to be perfect or the stars will be blurry.”
Daniel Schantz is a professor emeritus of Central Christian College of the Bible, Moberly, Missouri. C H RIS TIA N STA N DAR D
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He set up shop in the parsonage basement, better known as “The Dungeon.” For days we took turns grinding the mirror by hand, using finer and finer grades of Carborundum, until it had just the right concave surface. Then Tommy mailed the mirror to a laboratory to have it silvered, while he assembled the rest of the telescope. One December night, just before Christmas, he set up the finished instrument in the church parking lot. The air was crisp and the sky was clear, as Tommy pointed his telescope at Jupiter. With trembling hands he focused the eyepiece. “Oh, wow!” he gasped. “I can see three moons circling around Jupiter!” “Let me see, let me see,” I begged. Tommy finally relented. As I ogled the planet Saturn, with its mysterious rings, Tommy read to me from his guidebook: “That’s Andromeda Galaxy,” he said, pointing to the east. “It’s two million light years away. And that dark spot is the Coalsack, where there are no stars for trillions of miles.” It was an inspiring experience, but as the evening wore on, my sense of awe was crowded out by growing anxiety. How could God possibly be interested in us humans? I wondered. We are so small, just a speck of dust in an infinite universe. I lay in bed that Christmas Eve pondering my smallness and thinking of the Scripture, “What is man, that thou art mindful of him?” (Psalm 8:4, King James Version). My mother had a knack for knowing what gifts to get each of us kids. On Christmas morning, we opened our small presents first, then she handed me my “big” present. I ripped off the wrappings to find a blue metal chest printed with the words, “Gilbert Microscope and Lab Set.” Inside was a black, metal microscope with three powers of magnification: 60, 90, and 250. The kit included tweezers, glass slides, and C H RIS TIA N STA N DAR D
specimens of fish scales, insect wings, and feathers for viewing. “A microscope is kinda like a nearsighted telescope,” Tommy explained, “but instead of making faraway things look close, it makes small things look big.” Within minutes I had the microscope set up on the dining room table, where I could catch some window light in the microscope’s mirror. All day long, I peered at a world of miniature wonders. A hair from my forearm was a bullwhip. A drop of blood was a city of red houses (“blood cells,” my brother explained). A drop of water from a mud puddle teemed with wriggly worms. A fly looked like a gossamer angel with a monster’s face. Grains of salt were ice cubes with rainbows in them, and sugar looked like pearls. The detail was astounding: precise patterns and shapes in sparkling colors, as if someone had carved and painted each piece. By evening I was tired and ready to put away my microscope, but on a whim I swiped a dust ball from the floor to examine it. When I peered through the lens, I stopped breathing. Ordinary dust, when greatly magnified, looked just like the universe I saw through the telescope, complete with stars and planets, comets and nebulae. It was the Milky Way in miniature. That evening, as I lay in bed, I no longer felt so small. “I’m not the biggest thing in the universe,” I said to myself, “but I’m not the smallest, either. I guess maybe I am somewhere in the middle of creation.” I slept well, knowing that God is here with us, even in the dust beneath our feet. Submit your own 500- to 700-word essay telling of an experience through which you learned a vital ministry principle by emailing it to cs@christianstandardmedia.com with “MinistryLife” in the subject line. See more information at www.christianstandard.com/contact-us/submit-articles. - 19 -
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met rics BY KENT FILLINGER
How Changing Shopping Trends Affect the Church Eight of the 10 biggest shopping days of the year occur in December. The other two take place in November. Sales spike in December at retail stores, online stores, and even grocery stores. Based on my research, church attendance also spikes during December due to special events and Christmas Eve services that attract more people than any other time but Easter. Despite a strong economy and low unemployment, the retail industry is undergoing a major repositioning as legacy stores and brands that were once customer favorites fall victim to shifting consumer demands. Stores like Nine West, Toys R Us, Claire’s, Macy’s, Aerosoles, Payless, and countless others have either filed for bankruptcy, closed hundreds of stores, or simply pulled the plug on their whole operation.
Kent E. Fillinger serves as president of 3:STRANDS Consulting, Indianapolis, Indiana. /3strandsconsulting www.3strandsconsulting.com
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A primary contributor to the shift in consumer behavior is the rise of online shopping, but there’s more to the story. Brand loyalty is also changing as younger customers care less about once-trendy logos and popular brand names. Shifting consumer tastes and new shopping trends are impacting more than retail stores. The spillover also affects churches, contributing to declining attendance. Church leaders are left to figure out how best to serve and engage today’s cultural Christians and nonreligious consumers. Church shopping and consumer Christianity have been popular for the last several decades. The entrepreneurial, innovative church leaders who seized on this trend created church models that appealed to “church shoppers.” These models were sometimes called “seeker-driven” or “seeker-sensitive,” and they gave birth to the attractional church model that is still popular. Many of the more successful attractional churches experienced exponential growth over the last quarter century. A Pew Research Center report called “The Religious Typology” (August 29) indicated that only 17 percent of Americans qualify as “Sunday Stalwarts.” Pew defines this group as “highly religious” because they hold traditional beliefs, are engaged in their faith, and show up to religious services. An additional 23 percent of Americans also qualify as “highly religious,” but for these “God-and-Country Believers” and “Diversely Devout,” their “beliefs” don’t translate into regular church attendance or engagement in traditional beliefs and practices. C H RIS TIA N STA N DAR D
Lessons from a Bookstore— Adapt or Die Let’s examine a once-popular brick-andmortar store to see what we can learn about shifting consumer patterns, and then apply some lessons we learn to the church today. How does a store go from being a positive disruptor in the marketplace to a dinosaur that might be nearing the end? Barnes & Noble bookstores provide a prime example. When Barnes & Noble burst onto the scene with their big-box stores with Starbucks coffee shops inside, they brought about the demise of many independent booksellers. Now, according to the Wall Street Journal (September 7), the big-box chain is considered a dinosaur, struggling to survive in a rapidly changing retail environment. - 21 -
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Barbara Kahn, marketing professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and the author of The Shopping Revolution, said, “The problem is they’re not the best at anything” (see “Can Barnes & Noble Survive?” http://knowledge.wharton.upenn.edu). Ray Whitmer, retail practice professor at Syracuse University, added, “The problem with Barnes & Noble is that with consumers changing their shopping habits, it hasn’t found a strategy that can connect with those customers.” Some might conclude the success of Amazon is to blame for Barnes & Noble’s struggles, but Peter Fader, professor of marketing at the Wharton School, isn’t convinced. “I don’t think that’s true,” Fader said. “I think it’s Barnes & Noble that will drive itself out of business by not adapting to the times and moving with its customers.” Over the past several years, I’ve heard many small-church leaders blame their lack of growth or numerical decline on a nearby megachurch. But I’d echo Fader’s words by saying that for most churches that haven’t grown, it’s because they’ve not adapted to the times and, therefore, they’re not relevant in today’s culture. “At Southeast Christian Church,” I heard Bob Russell say years ago, “we don’t steal sheep, but we do water the grass.” When was the last time your church watered its grass, applied some fertilizer, and pulled the weeds so that it was positioned for growth? C H RIS TIA N STA N DAR D
Reaching Younger Generations— Think ‘Boutique,’ Not Big Box Mark Cohen, director of retail studies at Columbia University Graduate School of Business, said: There is a tremendous resurgence of local bookstores that’s underway, but these have relevance because they’re coming up out of the ground as green shoots in the communities in which they are appearing and they’re not trying to be all things to all people as Barnes & Noble has tried to be. They’re either picking on a genre or trying to curate an assortment of books that appeals to a local, devoted customer. Barnes & Noble increasingly looks like the dinosaur who hangs from the ceiling of the Natural History Museum (my emphasis). Americans today are still interested in spiritual pursuits. They’re just less likely than ever to seek out those experiences in a local church. Therefore, churches today need to stop believing that “one size fits all” and instead focus on a niche or specific tribe, - 22 -
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4 Questions
to Help Your Church’s Leadership Team Explore Changing Trends and Apply Them in Your Context
1. who is our mission field? If you’re trying to reach everyone, you’ll end up reaching no one. Define your target audience and then figure out how best to reach them with the gospel. A great example of this focus is the Love Thy Nerd (LTN) ministry (www.lovethynerd.com). Here’s LTN’s defined mission field: Whether you are a gamer, a Trekkie, a comic nerd, a Whovian, an otaku, a brony, a roleplayer, a LARPer, or any other flavor of nerd, we think you are valuable and wonderful. Unfortunately, Christians haven’t always done a great job of loving their nerdy neighbors. We want to change that. LTN wants to speak redemption, hope, truth, and love into the parts of nerd culture that have often been alienated, demonized, dismissed, or simply ignored by Christians. I’ll admit, I don’t even know what most of those words mean or who they refer to, but this is a prime example of defining a targeted niche audience and meeting people where they are to share the gospel.
2. where do we need to stop digging? The fastest way to get out of a hole is to put down the shovel. Identify which of your church’s ministries aren’t reaching new, unchurched people. In many cases, these need to end so you can focus your energies and time on reaching new “customers” instead of just placating existing ones. When you say no to one thing, it enables you to say yes to something new. What changes must be made now for your church to fulfill your vision?
3. How can we become a Destination point and a launching pad? What about your church makes someone want to get out of bed and come to it . . . and to drive by dozens of other churches in the process? In the retail industry, this is called your “unique selling point.” What is it about your church that differentiates it from other churches? Once you determine your unique vision, you’re more likely to become a destination point for people. But remember, the real goal is to draw people in so you can train them up and launch them back out to be “brand evangelists” who tell others about the God who changed them.
4. what equipment do our team members need? People need more tools and support to accomplish the task. List the pieces of equipment you currently provide your church members to help them live out the mission of the church. Create another list of what you should be providing to them but currently aren’t. Try to personalize the training and equipment needs to match each of your volunteer leaders and key influencers to get the best results. C H RIS TIA N STA N DAR D
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Learning from Barneys— Experiment with New Methods
much like how a boutique store zeroes in on a specific product line or one particular tribe of customers. The big-box model of trying to offer everything under one roof is going by the wayside, especially for younger generations (think millennials and gen Z, those who are younger than age 40). Wharton marketing professor Thomas Robertson said an important factor Barnes & Noble or any other retailer could consider is this: “You have to find ways to reach out to the millennial generation, and it is about being omni-channel—it has to be a seamless experience. Also, if you’re going to reach gen Z or gen X, it is all about mobile.” Barbara Kahn said, “If you don’t have a seamless shopping experience that goes across physical stores, mobile and online, gen Z is just going to go somewhere else.” How would you describe your church’s online presence? Does your church have a functional, mobile-friendly website? Is your church leveraging social media to communicate your message and ministries on multiple channels? How well does your church’s onsite experience match your online experience for a potential guest or spiritual seeker? C H RIS TIA N STA N DAR D
Retailers are asking, “What will get people out of their house and into a physical store?” Likewise, evangelism-focused church leaders should ask, “What will get people out of their house and into a physical church location?” Twenty years ago, customers had very little choice. They had to shop local. Today, customers can shop anywhere in the world with ease. Likewise, 20 years ago, people who wanted to find a spiritual community had to find it locally. Today, they can listen to podcasts, watch live streaming worship services, and access spiritual content from any source online in an instant and connect with like-minded tribesmen from all over the world. Because of these shifting realities, brickand-mortar retailers are experimenting with different models such as pop-up stores and creating stores-within-a-store. “Retailers with physical stores need to think about touch, feel, sight and sound,” Kahn said. “It’s got to be something about experience.” The same is true for churches. Leaders need to experiment and try new approaches while considering all the senses in the overall spiritual experience. Church members also need to extend grace to their leaders as they try new models; give church leaders the freedom to fail as they seek to engage today’s younger, unchurched generations. Here is a great maxim to keep in mind: “Methods are many, principles are few. Methods should always change, but principles never do.” Be - 24 -
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Americans today are still interested in spiritual pursuits. They’re just less likely than ever to seek out those experiences in a local church.
sure not to confuse ministry methods for spiritual principles! A great example of this experimentation mind-set in the retail industry comes from luxury brand Barneys New York. Last fall, Barneys’ Madison Avenue store created a two-day event called “the Drop,” which included tattoo artists and piercers, custom sneaker and T-shirt bars, and street brands that catered to younger shoppers. The event drew 12,000 shoppers into the store, 55 percent of whom were there for the first time. Revenues were up 30 percent from those same two days a year earlier. Daniella Vitale, Barneys’ chief executive, said she realized their old model didn’t work anymore. She told the Wall Street Journal, We’re not really in the retail business anymore. We’re in the entertainment business. We’re in the personalization business. We’re in the services business. We’re in the food business. We also know the customer does want that social connection, and it takes place in actual environments and physical spaces. . . . The challenge is in serving the younger consumer without alienating our existing customers. Aren’t you glad that we, as leaders, don’t face this same challenge when it comes to making changes in the church to reach the unreached, younger generations? I’m grateful for mature believers (existing customers) who are willing to flex and bend to support new ministry methods to reach more people for Christ!
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C H R I S T M A S AT T H E MOVI E S:
A C hristmC as arol by
Jer ry Har r is
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- FEATURE -
Besides
the actual Christmas story from the Bible, one could argue that the most significant written expression of Christmas is A Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens. It’s actually an unlikely story about Christmas. The nightmarish tale features ghosts who haunt a cold-hearted moneylender, making it wholly different from the circumstances of a conventional Christmas. It’s a story about a miserly man who is the master of his own destiny—a curmudgeon with money, position, and reputation. It’s also a story of that same man alone, isolated, dried up, and hateful . . . a man dismissive of his past, blind to his present circumstances, and unconcerned with his future. Only a nightmare of epic proportions, it seems, has the potential of breaking this man loose from his personal chains and into the freedom of repentance. It’s actually a nearly perfect Christmas story, especially if we apply it to ourselves. Ebenezer Scrooge is a reflection of all of us. Although we might think of him as a caricature, he’s actually a very believable person. While it might be easier to point the finger, as the Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come would, it would do us well to take that introspective journey ourselves, allowing it to produce the fruit of repentance we desperately need. So let’s review the events of this well-known story and see if it might cause us to reassess our lives (as it did Scrooge).
The First Visitor
The first visitor was personal . . . he had a proper name: Jacob Marley. Marley was a forgotten man. He was forgotten by everyone when he was alive, and remembered only by Scrooge when prompted. Scrooge was the only one who attended his former business partner’s funeral seven years before, and Marley’s death made Scrooge all the richer. The two had made a fortune together in banking, money changing, and trading at the stock exchange, but in death, Marley found that his greedy and selfish earthly pursuits had enchained and cursed him to roam the earth and witness the missed opportunities of his life. Marley haunts his only friend to spare him this pitiful eternity. We too have personal apparitions with names. What might they say if given the opportunity to haunt us? Would they remind us of the truth about ourselves, the things we don’t want to remember, the incidents that might indict us? Marley is actually the twisted hero of the story, the one who arranges the process that leads to Scrooge’s repentance. Think about the people from your past and imagine what counsel they could provide to you. The apostle Paul no doubt was haunted by the images of the people he had persecuted, jailed, or even killed. The faces of people he separated from their families, the memory of Stephen and the words he spoke as he was martyred may have robbed him of his sleep were it not for the Holy Spirit’s transforming work. We too might have “ghosts” from our past. And there might even be people whose words haunt our thoughts right now—voices of reason and perspective that we’ve heard but not heeded. We need only to listen.
The Ghost of Christmas Past Marley sends the first of the three ghosts—the Ghost of Christmas Past—to his old friend. The spirit showed Scrooge the unvarnished truth of the decisions he’d made that shaped his past. Eventually, Scrooge had seen enough and pulled a hat down over the ghost’s head to extinguish the memories it was revealing. We can’t change the past. The only thing we can do is come to terms with it, redeem it with the things we do today or tomorrow, and place ourselves under the lordship of Christ. Rather than learning from the past and making changes to better shape our future, many of us would do the same as Scrooge—do our best to leave it behind or attempt to forget it. But when we leave the past unattended, we miss the opportunity to grow from it. By contrast, when our past failures inform our present, we can change. And if we can change, there is hope that others can change, as well. As Paul said in 2 Corinthians 5:16, 17, “So from now on we regard no one from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, we do so no longer. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!” While Paul definitely had a past, he put it in perspective with the choices he made after choosing to follow Christ. What are you doing with your past right now?
The Ghost of ChristmaS Present The second of three ghosts to visit Scrooge was the Ghost of Christmas Present. This ghost was portrayed much like Santa Claus, only his robe was green, not red. This ghost was a jolly giant with a wreath on his head and bare feet. This spirit showed Scrooge what was happening around him at that very moment. Scrooge heard how people felt about him, the realities of his uncaring heart for the people closest to him . . . in particular a child named Tiny Tim. Through the interactions with the second ghost, we begin to discover what motivated Dickens to write A Christmas Carol. The 1843 novella was an allegory commenting on the cultural state of England at that time, particularly the starvation, sickness, and poverty brought on by the ignorance of child labor laws. Tiny Tim and the Cratchit family were representative of that reality. (As a child, Dickens was subjected to the harsh child labor practices of the time, which the culture accepted.) Scrooge’s response to the two men who appealed for money to help these children was to ask if the workhouses, prisons, and orphanages were still operating. When the men shared that the situation was dire, Scrooge responded that the poor should get to dying and “decrease the surplus population.” That was actually a direct quote from a preacher of that time, Thomas Malthus. Beneath the robes of the spirit were two gaunt children, a boy and a girl. The boy was called Ignorance and the girl, Want. Scrooge was told to beware both of them, but especially the boy. Dickens was referring to potential revolution were the conditions to persist. In the mind of Dickens, Scrooge was the collective conscience of his culture to these realities. It’s when Scrooge saw Tiny Tim as a human being that his heart began to soften. How might we be like Scrooge today? How do we see the world around us? Marley stated that mankind was his business, but he had turned a blind eye to it. It’s one thing to hear about a refugee crisis as we watch our flat-screen TV and eat our dinner, but it’s quite another to personally witness such a crisis. It could move us from standing on a political plank to taking passionate action. The apostle refers to this in 1 John 3:17: “If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?” In order to see things with our own eyes, we must first open them. This is Scrooge’s first hope . . . he can’t change the past but he could join the present. So can we!
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The photographs featured in this article and on the front cover were taken by Lewis Hine. He toured American factories from 1908 to 1924, documenting child labor in the United States. While Charles Dickens had written A Christmas Carol in Europe more than 60 years earlier, it was a concern for children's welfare that helped inspire him to write the novella. The two children in his story, Ignorance and Want, were meant to represent children like those shown in these pages. More photos are available through the Library of Congress.
It’s one thing to hear about a refugee crisis as we watch our flat-screen TV and eat our dinner, but it’s quite another to personally witness such a crisis.
The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come The Ghost of Christmas Yet to Come was Scrooge’s final visitor. This particularly frightening phantom was hooded and completely shrouded in black except for a single outstretched hand. The apparition was tall and stately, exuding a solemn dread. He did not speak. This spirit delivered the bitterest part of Marley’s message. The ghost showed Scrooge where the road of his past and the circumstances of his present would shortly lead. It led Scrooge to a realization that for all his wealth, he was still a pitiful, lonely, frightened man. He saw that even the poorest around him were far happier than him. In viewing those who were stealing bed curtains and disrespecting a dead body, he realized he had mistaken his good fortune for his worth, and that even with all his wealth, he was living in poverty. He saw the future of Tiny Tim and the Cratchit family in mourning, and ultimately he saw a neglected gravestone in a weed-ridden cemetery with his name on it. In the end, he realized his life had been all about choices. There were choices of the past that he couldn’t change. There were choices he was making presently to keep his heart as tightly shut as his eyes. And he was seeing the inevitable future that those choices had produced for him. In this crisis of belief, he begged the silent spirit to know if there could be one more choice. “Are these things that will be or that might be?” Scrooge pleaded. In his begging, he clutched at the spirit’s shroud, only to find himself in his own bed holding on to his bed curtains. It’s here we see the undeniable beauty and splendor of repentance and how the future changes based on new choices that honor Christmas . . . and God!
Dickens’ work struck a chord in the collective English heart. The story first was published as a pamphlet entitled An Appeal to the People of England on Behalf of the Poor Man’s Child. It then evolved into one of the greatest stories of all time, A Christmas Carol. It was responsible for changing the customary English greeting of “Happy Christmas” to “Merry Christmas.” I think there is a bit of Scrooge in each of us. Our past informs our present and the decisions we make, and we fail to see that the choices of today can lead us into a future that we definitely should avoid. Maybe we need to let these ghosts haunt us a bit until we reach the place that Paul described in Philippians 3:7-9: But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith. Merry Christmas and, as Tiny Tim said, “God bless us, every one!”
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C H R I S T M A S AT T H E MOVI E S:
It 's a Wonderful Life by
Dick Alexander
Why
would you bother to watch this movie? There are no motorcycle chases. No buildings blow up. Nobody dies or gets killed. There’s only one minor car accident, and that with no injuries. Everyone is fully dressed. The plot is straightforward—it’s clear who are the good guys and bad guys, and nobody switches sides. Yet, in spite of what at face value is an oldschool, out-of-date movie, year after year we watch It’s a Wonderful Life. Maybe we’re hopeful the title will come true. And maybe part of the allure is a nostalgic longing for the simpler days of yesteryear depicted on the screen. And maybe it’s the happy ending of the story. But for whatever combination of reasons, a 70-year-old movie draws us back every December. It’s a Wonderful Life is one of the genre of movies inspired by Christmas—positive films that, while not specifically Biblecentered, are infused with values consistent with Christianity. Just watching this one brings smiles—the clothing, automobiles, furnishings, and ways of speaking are from a long-gone era. And, of course, all true fans reject the modern, colorized version in favor of the original black and white—the way God meant this movie to be viewed. Yet, while so much about this film is amusingly dated, it raises and speaks to a critical question: Does my life matter?
The Intriguing Journey of George Bailey It’s a Wonderful Life is the story of George Bailey, a frustrated businessman from the small town of Bedford Falls. As a young man, he set his sights on the bright lights of the big city. But when a crisis struck the family-owned building and loan, he stayed home to help rescue it—consistent with the responsible decisions he’d made beginning as a young boy. But doing what was right for others wasn’t always easy. Young Bailey suppressed his own aspirations to meet the needs of others instead. In the meantime, his brother, whose life he had saved years earlier, went on to be a war hero, graduate from college, and be highly successful. Pouring salt in his wound was a ruthless businessman in the town whose empire grew while George struggled to help ordinary people survive. The combination of unfulfilled dreams, seeing the bad guys win while the good guys struggled, and the normal frustrations of raising a house full of kids pushed George to the brink. Standing on a bridge on a snowy Christmas Eve, the water below looked like an easy out—less painful than continuing his frustrating, meaningless existence. Then, enter an angel! The angel not only saved George physically, but took him on an intriguing journey. It was a journey back through George’s life, but without him in it. This was the journey’s theme: What would Bedford Falls have been like without George Bailey? Scene after scene was filled with surprises— and not happy ones. It was a town far less prosperous, far less optimistic, far less good than Bedford Falls actually was because of George Bailey’s influence.
The Influence of 'Ordinary ' Lives Fast forward to the present—for you, does life ever seem short on meaning? Does life feel mundane? Are the wheels spinning? Are days humdrum? On any given day, the answer could easily be yes. In a 15-minutes-of-fame, American Idol, Instagram, YouTube world, “ordinary” lives easily pale by comparison. It’s so easy to think, My life is just . . . But just is the devil’s word. I saw one of those ordinary lives recently. At Iona’s funeral, person after person spoke of how much they will miss her. She wasn’t a leader. In the years I knew her, she didn’t “do” a lot. Except smile and encourage. She showed up every chance she got, and life was always better when she was present. The obituary notice wasn’t long, but the line at the guest book at her memorial service was out the door, and the appreciation went on and on. Bob was another one of those “ordinary” people. He was never up-front— speaking to groups wasn’t his gift. He wasn’t a strategist or an organizer. But I kept hearing story after story of Bob showing up at somebody’s house to help. Ralph needed to walk regularly after his heart surgery, so Bob walked with him till he recovered. Judy needed a car, and didn’t know how to buy one without someone taking advantage of her. Bob negotiated for her. Jim’s finances were a mess, so Bob sat down and walked him through a budget. I never heard those stories from Bob—just from the people he helped. We’d invited Connie to serve on an interview team for a staff member because we knew she had the pulse of the congregation. In our meeting with the candidate, each person on the team was asked to briefly introduce themselves, including mentioning their ministry within the church. When Connie’s turn came, she gave her name and then said, “Well, I guess I don’t have a ministry.” Here’s the reality: Connie didn’t have a title or a slot on the org chart, but she could have starred in the training video for ministry. When a staff person or elder went to the hospital to visit a sick person, it was common for Connie to already be there. She was so connected into the life of the church, she learned of needs before church leaders did, and she responded. Consistently. Compassionately. Churches are filled with the George Baileys and Ionas and Bobs and Connies of the world—people who live their lives day to day looking to put others’ needs ahead of their own and help people the best way they can. While this rarely results in spectacular or newsworthy events, it is the goodness of which life is made.
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One day in glory,
God will pull back the curtain and, in a way far greater
than George Bailey 's experience, allow us to see the lives touched through words and actions we'd long since forgotten.
The Final Scene So if these day-to-day acts of kindness matter that much, why don’t we see that in our own efforts and find more satisfaction in the good we’re doing? In the best case, we don’t think about it. It’s not a big decision for a Christ follower to care about others. Over the years, it becomes one’s nature. Servanthood is an identity, which is part of what makes it beautiful in action. But if it becomes disappointing or discouraging to seemingly not ever be recognized as some others are, why doesn’t God point out the value of a life well-lived? Occasionally he does. Every now and then there’s a genuine word of thanks from someone who has been blessed. It’s probably a good thing that it’s every now and then, not every time we do something good. If we were always thanked or praised for kindness, we’d likely depend on that for satisfaction, rather than on Jesus. And if most Christ followers knew how much good God is actually accomplishing through their lives, they would be so swelled with pride they would immediately become useless. One day in glory, when what the apostle Paul called the “flesh” is no longer an issue, God will pull back the curtain and, in a way far greater than George Bailey’s experience, allow us to see the lives touched through words and actions we’d long since forgotten. Les Christie says he thinks judgment for the Christian will be like Jesus taking us into a movie theater with only two seats. The film playing is the movie of our lives, showing the good we did and the honor Jesus received as a result. It will be our personal version of It’s a Wonderful Life. So in the meantime, just live. Live well! Live as compassionately and selflessly as possible. Trust God for the results. Trust God that he will use your life day by day to benefit others and bring glory to him. One day it will all be clear. After a half century in local church ministry, Dick Alexander now serves as an international consultant for Christian Missionary Fellowship. /dick.alexander.758
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C H R I S T M A S AT T H E MOVI E S:
A Christmas Story by
Caleb Kalt enbac h
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I triple -dog dare ya! Randy . . . show me how the piggies eat. Fra-gee-leh . It must be Italian!
You'll shoot your eye out!
If you randomly heard any of those quotes, you’d probably know the movie they come from. I mean, who doesn’t love A Christmas Story? I’m sure there are a few lost souls who don’t, but it’s a Christmas favorite for many of us. With a creative soundtrack, solid acting, and a nice plot, it puts us in the “Christmas mood.” Also, who didn’t want an “official Red Ryder, carbine-action, 200-shot, Range Model air rifle” after seeing the movie? And let us never forget the movie’s valuable life lessons: • Do not press your tongue against a pole on a cold winter day. • Think twice before wearing winter coats that won’t let you put your arms down. • Use caution when ordering Little Orphan Annie’s decoder devices. • Not every lamp is suitable for the front window. • Soap in the mouth causes blindness. • You can hide under the sink. • Beware of the Bumpuses’ dogs. When I was growing up, my dad watched the movie repeatedly as Christmas Day approached. I always wondered why he loved the movie so much. Maybe he appreciated the movie’s mythical setting (Hohman, Indiana) because he lived in the Midwest. My dad grew up close to the movie’s decade (late 1930s to early 1940s), so perhaps he understood the cultural references. Maybe he liked how the movie ended.
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To this day, I still wonder why this movie has developed a “cult following.” Let’s be honest, it isn’t a total “feel-good movie” and doesn’t shy away from life’s problems. The dad has a temper, invents new four-letter-words, and seems uninvolved or unaware of his family’s needs; the mom is the family’s moral compass; Ralphie gets bullied, and his friends can be jerks; no extended family or friends visit the family; and their house gets trashed on Christmas Day. Despite these problems, most people still love this movie. Again . . . why? Recently, I realized a new reason why I’ve connected with A Christmas Story: By the end of the movie, Ralphie felt he had been heard.
Is No One Listening? Think about it. Throughout the movie, Ralphie tells everyone about the air rifle he wanted. He goes to great lengths to broadcast it— hiding an air rifle advertisement in his mom’s magazine, writing about the air rifle in his class essay, waiting in a long line to see Santa, and even climbing up a slide to make sure Santa knows his Christmas wish. Whether it’s Ralphie’s dad, mom, teacher, or Santa, he’s ignored or told the now famous line, “You’ll shoot your eye out!” He even gets a “C+” on that school essay because his teacher didn’t like his air rifle wish. The kid just can’t catch a break! He probably felt like no one was listening to him. On Christmas morning, Ralphie and Randy rip into their presents. To Ralphie’s dismay, the air rifle isn’t among his countless gifts under the tree. After opening the gifts, Ralphie reclines on the couch between his parents. He’s quiet and has resigned himself to not getting an air rifle. His dad then leans forward on the couch and tells Ralphie to check out something hidden behind the desk in the living room. Ralphie investigates, discovers one final present, and unwraps his Christmas wish—the air rifle! As he was holding the air rifle for the first time, I wonder if he thought, Someone listened! Unfortunately, Ralphie does shoot himself (under the eye), dogs eat the family’s Christmas turkey, and the family goes to a restaurant where the server decapitates their cooked Christmas duck in front of them. However, the movie concludes by showing a smiling Ralphie asleep in his bed while clutching the air rifle. Ralphie felt heard. He received his Christmas wish.
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The Vitality of Being Valued This movie perhaps reminds us of that one special Christmas gift we asked for. Maybe we never received the present we really desired. But some of us opened our gifts on Christmas Eve or Christmas Day and—lo and behold—there was the gift we wanted. Now, I’m not saying that if people don’t get their Christmas wish, no one listened to them. I asked for plenty of Christmas presents, and in hindsight, it’s probably good I didn’t find all of them under the tree. I know my parents listened to me, but because I didn’t receive the gift, I felt like I wasn’t heard. Here’s the deal, if we’ve been heard, then we feel validated, cared for, and valued. Listening to others is an investment in their dreams, hopes, and feelings. This Christmas season, some around you are struggling through countless problems. In 2018, they’ve suffered the death of family and friends. In the preceding months, they’ve lost jobs and received bad health reports. Just as Ralphie wanted everyone to know about his Christmas wish, many people in your context are crying out for help. They need to know we’re listening. It can help them immeasurably to sit down with them, make eye contact, put aside our phones, refrain from giving unsolicited advice, and just acknowledge their frustration. It feels good when people listen, right? But it feels amazing when people try to help. Are there ways we can help others besides listening? Can we pay a bill, bring a meal, take them out, provide Christmas gifts, become a friend, meet with them regularly for a season, visit someone in the hospital, or invite them to a Christmas service? How can we best add value to them? We do need to listen and try to help, but perhaps the greatest gift we could offer this Christmas is to help others feel like God hears them.
As Ralphie was holding the air rifle for the first time, I wonder if he thought, someone listened!
Does God Really Hear and Care?
God has always heard and valued people. Even when the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt, he appeared to Moses and said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them” (Exodus 3:7, 8).
In A Christmas Story, Ralphie probably believed his dad wasn’t listening to his Christmas wish. Actually, his dad heard him and gave him what he wanted. The camera shows his dad’s expression—joyful, happy, beaming—as his son opens the gift he wanted. Similarly, even when sin wrecked humanity, our Father beamed with joy as he prepared to give his best gift ever—himself. In various ways, humanity cries out for wholeness, not knowing that God gave them a desire to be with him, as Ecclesiastes 3:11 says: “He has also set eternity in the human heart.” God sent his Christmas gift—“when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son” (Galatians 4:4). Jesus was born to Mary and Joseph, to live a perfect life, present himself as a timeless crucified offering, and be resurrected to offer the gift of salvation to God’s glory. On separate occasions, the angel Gabriel said as much to both Joseph and Mary: “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). “The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over Jacob’s descendants forever; his kingdom will never end” (Luke 1:32, 33). In other words, Jesus is God’s way of saying that he hears, cares, and isn’t going anywhere. Regardless of the problem you or others are facing, the presence of Jesus always makes life better. Loneliness, worthlessness, and other destructive emotions can be defeated when people feel that God hears them and have the hope of Jesus’ uncle Zechariah: “Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us, to give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, and to guide us to the path of peace” (Luke 1:78, 79, New Living Translation). This Christmas, let’s ditch the pink bunny pajamas, drink another cup of Ovaltine, and watch A Christmas Story for the umpteenth time. But as we are afforded the opportunity, may we listen to those around us. May we show them that God cares for them not only by the words we say, but how we help them and make them feel. If people feel that God does hear their pain, is active in their lives, and has resolved their greatest need, lives will change. Caleb Kaltenbach is a pastor and the author of Messy Grace and God of Tomorrow. He leads the Messy Grace Group, which helps churches, organizations, and schools to love and engage society in grace and truth.
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@calebwilds
T H E G O S P E L CO M E S W I T H A H O U S E K E Y W H AT T H E H O L Y FA M I L Y T E A C H E S U S A B O U T H O S P I TA L I T Y
BY MATT PROCTOR
My wife, Katie, has the gift of hospitality. With six kids, our house isn’t always clean, but it’s always open. Katie’s smile, fun red chairs, and paper plates have welcomed hundreds of people. Me? I’m not so good at it. I’m a professional extrovert but a personal introvert. I interact happily with lots of people in my work, but at the end of the day, I want to pull in my driveway, pull up the drawbridge, and enjoy some alone time. Also: I’m not always good at welcoming people not like me.
BUMPER STICKERS AND A BIBLE COLLEGE PRESIDENT
Stacey is 22, my daughter’s friend from high school, and for a time last year, she lived with us. She’s bright, funny, and high energy, but after some bad decisions, she was kicked out of college and her house. Stacey slept in our basement, dropping Cheetos and occasional cusswords. She was an atheist with a fluid sexual orientation, but we loved her and prayed for her. One Saturday morning, I drove Stacey’s car to Walmart. She had a job interview in St. Louis—a four-hour drive—and her old car needed a new tire. It wasn’t until I pulled into the parking lot, however, that the thought hit me: Oh no! Her bumper stickers! Stacey is an activist on the political left, which is not exactly where I live politically. I live in a red state, in a deep red county, and my dad’s initials—honest to goodness—are GOP. The car I was driving was covered in Planned Parenthood, rainbow, and “Hillary for President” stickers. I’m the local Bible college president, and I always see people I know at Walmart. I had two thoughts: • What are all these people thinking? I was tempted to roll the window down and say, “This is not my car. This belongs to . . . the president of the Baptist college up the road.” • Proctor, what are you thinking? The Holy Spirit stabbed me with the realization that— for just a moment, in my head—I was distancing myself from the kind of person Jesus embraced. Not exactly a gospel move. I’m still learning how to welcome people not like me. That’s why I need the Christmas story. H O S P I TA L I T Y A N D T H E H O L Y F A M I L Y
Hospitality is commanded in places like Romans 12:13 and 1 Peter 4:9, and Hebrews 13:2 says, “Show hospitality to strangers.” Biblical hospitality isn’t just for family and friends—it’s intended for outsiders. The Bible preaches a powerful message about our welcoming God. In a technologically connected but increasingly lonely world, it’s an effective way to build relationships with unbelievers. One aptly named book on hospitality says it’s The Simplest Way to Change the World. Yet for one reason or another—busyness, laziness, fear—many Christians are reluctant to open their front door. Especially for someone not like them. That’s one reason we need the Christmas story. The story of the Holy Family is a story of hospitality. In children’s Christmas pageants, a bathrobed innkeeper roughly points Joseph and Mary away, a nameless example of inhospitality. But a careful reading of the biblical birth stories also introduces us to three nameless heroes of hospitality: someone in Bethlehem, someone in Egypt, and someone in Nazareth.
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B E T H L E H E M : H O S P I TA L I T Y TO E C O N O M I C O U T S I D E R S
When Mary and Joseph arrived in Bethlehem from Nazareth, they had very little money. When they presented Jesus at the Temple after his birth, they made the sacrifice allowed for the poor—two young pigeons (Luke 2:24; Leviticus 12:8). The Holy Family was not middle class. They were a bluecollar, double-wide trailer, rusty car, ramen-at-the-end-of-the-month family. Have you welcomed those of a lower economic bracket into your home? Someone in Bethlehem did. Luke 2:7 says there was no room for the Holy Family in the kataluma—a Greek word translated “inn,” but more often meaning “guest room,” usually in a private residence. And while our 21stcentury nativities include a stable, a manger in first-century Bethlehem was more likely to be found in a home. Palestinian homes were a large single room, with an upper level where guests slept (the kataluma) and a lower level where family slept. Animals were brought in one end of the lower level at night, with hollows in the ground filled with straw where the livestock fed—mangers. So, many scholars believe Luke 2:7 means there was no room for the Holy Family in someone’s upper guest room, but Jesus was still likely born in someone’s home, on the lower level by the animals, and laid in one of these mangers. Someone in Bethlehem opened their door to this near-broke family, and in so doing, welcomed the Savior into the world. GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER
Many Christians serve the poor—typically backpacks for underprivileged schoolkids and community food pantries. But would you actually welcome the poor into your home—set a place at your table, even make a bed for them? How might your family or church include the “economic outsider”? Every August, Katie and I take our kids to her hometown fair to ride the Ferris wheel and munch on fried Oreos. (“In the Midwest, drinking isn’t the answer to life’s problems . . . eating is.”) It’s a small town, so everybody greets everybody else . . . except the traveling carnival workers. There is a common stereotype of a “carnie”—greasy ballcap, tattoos, cigarette, high school dropout. At worst, people view carnival workers as untrustworthy. At best, folks simply ignore them. But First Christian Church of Lamar, Missouri, sees them. A few years ago, my wife’s home church started putting on a lunch for the carnival workers the day before the fair. The church ladies cook up roast beef, mashed potatoes, green beans, and rolls. Someone cranks homemade ice cream, and Cinda Miller makes her famous pies. When the church first extended the invitation, the carnival manager responded in wide-eyed surprise, “No one’s ever done that for us before.” On a hot Wednesday afternoon, 40 to 50 church members welcomed 75 to 100 workers into their air-conditioned fellowship hall. They learned names, ate together, listened to each other’s stories, laughed, and showed family pictures. Unlikely friendships began, phone numbers were exchanged, good news was shared, prayers were prayed, faith was stirred, and the kingdom was advanced. All because, like the nameless hero in Bethlehem, someone opened the front door.
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E G Y P T : H O S P I TA L I T Y TO E T H N I C O U T S I D E R S
When I walked up my front steps one evening last summer, a college-age girl greeted me with a European accent, “Ah! You must be the dad.” Keit and Reilika had knocked on our door, selling books to earn money for their university schooling back home in Estonia. When my wife learned these young ladies were staying at a motel, she insisted they live with us the rest of the summer. So they moved in that afternoon . . . and I learned about it that evening. (I like the T-shirt I once saw: “INTROVERTS UNITE, separately, in your own homes.” My wife’s motto: “EVERYONE UNITE, together, in my home.”) Neither girl was a believer, and over that summer, our family introduced them to Jesus. Have you welcomed those from other ethnic backgrounds into your home? Someone in Egypt did. When King Herod plotted to kill the newborn king, Joseph was warned in a dream to escape to Egypt. The United Nations defines a refugee as “someone forced to flee his country because of persecution,” and the Holy Family fit that description. First-century refugees in Egypt were not always welcome. In AD 41, a government edict instructed Jews in Egypt “not to bring in or invite Jews who sail down to Alexandria” from Palestine. Yet for perhaps as long as two or three years, someone in Egypt sheltered the Holy Family anyway. In a foreign land, they relied on the kindness of strangers.
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A L L T H E I R B E L O N G I N G S I N A WA L M A R T S AC K
How could you practice hospitality to the “ethnic outsider”? Host an exchange student? Invite an international student from the local college to dinner? The single best resource I know: watch the video training series at theriseproject.com. It will change your church forever. Hospitality changed Discovery Christian Church in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. “There’s a large Burmese population in Pittsburgh,” says founding pastor Toney Salva, “and we had a passion to reach these refugees. We would meet Burmese families at the airport, often straight from the refugee camp, and the entire family’s belongings fit in one Walmart sack. “We would take them to their new home and show them how to use the electricity, the running water, the heat. We’d show them around their new neighborhood, offer English classes, and just love them. We helped start a Burmese congregation here in Pittsburgh, and today that church welcomes over 200 every week.” All because, like the nameless hero in Egypt, someone opened the front door. N A Z A R E T H : H O S P I TA L I T Y TO M O R A L O U T S I D E R S
When my wife, Katie, first saw Brianna, she was walking on the roadside one frigid December midnight. Katie offered her a ride, and a friendship began. Brianna is a single mother, and because of a volatile boyfriend, she and her twin girls sometimes stay the night at our house. She’s trying to make better choices, but even when she doesn’t, Brianna knows our family loves her and Jesus loves her. Have you welcomed those with stained moral reputation into your home? Someone in Nazareth did. Mary was “highly favored” of the Lord, and her pregnancy was not the fruit of any wrongdoing. Yet in her hometown of Nazareth, her pregnancy was a scandal. She was an unwed mother, and rumors hinted that Joseph was not the father. Though Mary’s character was godly, she was viewed as a “moral outsider.” The trip to Bethlehem provided welcome relief from the whispers and sidelong glances of judgmental village folk. But when Joseph, Mary, and Jesus traveled back to Israel from Egypt, they followed the angels’ instruction to return to Nazareth—back to the whispers and stares. Despite the family’s tainted reputation, someone welcomed them. Instead of a solitary home, they would have lived, like most people at the time, in a compound of three or four houses around an open courtyard with shared oven, cistern, and millstone. Though rumors of illegitimacy apparently persisted even into Jesus’ ministry (Mark 6:3; John 8:41), someone invited in this “questionable” couple.
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‘SOMEONE OPENED THE FRONT DOOR’
How could you extend yourself to the “moral outsider”? Volunteer at a crisis pregnancy center to mentor a single mother? Of the 1.6 million homeless youth in the United States, 40 percent are LGBTQ. What would you do if your high schooler has a friend like Stacey? A tenured professor at Syracuse University, Rosaria Butterfield, was a lesbian feminist: “Christians scared me to death.” But in 1999, while doing research for a book she was writing against the religious right, Butterfield accepted a local pastor’s invitation to dinner. Ken and Floy Smith welcomed her to their table, and over the next few years, she ate hundreds of meals in their home. “Those who live out radically ordinary hospitality see their homes not as theirs, but as God’s to use for the furtherance of his kingdom,” Butterfield says. “They open doors; they seek out the underprivileged. They know the gospel comes with a house key.” Baked bread, book exchanges, playful banter, and Bible discussions—the Smiths’ hospitality slowly transformed Butterfield. She went from hating Christians to becoming one, and today she is a pastor’s wife and Christian author. All because, like the nameless hero in Nazareth, someone opened the front door. Maybe you wrestle as I do with welcoming those who are not like you, but the story of the Holy Family reminds us: Hospitality to the outsider is hospitality to Jesus. By the way, Stacey and her bumper stickers were back in Joplin a few weeks ago. She’s still on a journey, but her text to us read, “Can’t wait to see you guys!! And I believe in God 1000000% now.”
Matt Proctor serves as president of Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri, and he and his wife, Katie, have raised all six of their kids as St. Louis Cardinals fans. @PresProctor
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silent night The Real Message of this Classic Christmas Carol . . . Then and Now BY BJ KRUG
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It was a time of war. A time of upheaval. A time of economic uncertainty, of political uncertainty. In 1816 the Napoleonic Wars had just ended, and the nations of Europe had crashed over and against each other until their borders were no longer recognizable, even to the people living in them. In many places, occupation forces were still present or were only recently withdrawn. A young priest in Austria named Joseph Mohr wrote a poem channeling some of that uncertainty by recasting it in familiar terms of love, care, and affection—a challenge, you might say, to the people of Austria to care for each other, just as Mary cared for the Christ child, a human baby, on the night he was born. Two years later, Father Mohr was serving as an assistant priest at the church in the little town of Oberndorf, Austria. Oberndorf had just been severed from much of its heritage and business interests by the divisions wrought by the Napoleonic Wars, and literally found itself in a different country than before. On Christmas Eve 1818, Father Mohr went to the church organist and village schoolmaster to ask him to write guitar music for the poem he had written two years earlier. Franz Xaver Gruber returned with a lullaby for baby Jesus.
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At mass that evening, Father Mohr played guitar and sang tenor, while Gruber sang bass. The choir joined in on the last two lines of each verse.
Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht, Alles schlaeft, einsam wacht Nur das traute heilige Paar Holder Knabe im lockigen Haar Schlafe im himmlischer Ruh! Schlafe im himmlischer Ruh! Silent night, holy night, All are sleeping, only the holy pair are awake with the lovely boy with curly hair. Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace.
The song quickly became beloved throughout the German-speaking world. Within a few years it was performed in the courts of kings and emperors, and by 1839 it spread to America and became a beloved part of many Christians’ Christmas worship.
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the original message joy of God—is God’s love and our mercy and salvation. And then there are the verses that never made it into our hymnals, verses that proclaim all power of fatherly love was poured forth in Christ, and that Jesus lovingly embraced the peoples of the world like a brother. Or how God, from the beginning of the world, planned to free us from wrath—a promised salvation. Our third verse very seriously calls Jesus This is the message of “Silent Night,” the “God’s own son, love’s pure light,” omit- freedom from wrath, from war, from diviting Mohr’s statement that the baby Jesus sion—so long as we can place ourselves laughed, and that this laughter—the very within the joy of a baby boy with curly hair. Here in America though, we sing only half of the verses, and even those don’t always catch the meaning of Mohr’s original poem. Take verse 2 for instance—our second verse usually includes “the shepherds quaking at the sight” of the angels, whereas Mohr took pains to point out that the shepherds—plain, ordinary people just like his congregation—were the first to be told of Jesus’ arrival.
Schlafe im himmlischer Ruh! Schlafe im himmlischer Ruh!
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a message of hope and peace And yet, in the midst of that hatred, violence, and terror, Christmas still came. According to many soldiers on both sides of the war, on Christmas Eve 1914, the shooting stopped along many sections of the western front. German soldiers began to decorate Christmas trees within their trenches, and the candles lighting their trees shone across the battlefield, reminding soldiers on all World War I settled into trench warfare sides of love. Of home. Of brotherhood. on the western front by mid-September of A lone German voice broke out, singing 1914, only a month or so after the beginning “Stille Nacht, heilige Nacht,” and soldiers of the war. German soldiers lined up in their of both sides were reminded that it was. trenches facing French and British troops A silent night. A holy night. A night for in their own trenches a short distance away, brothers, even if they had not realized they shooting at each other, leading pointless were brothers before. charges against each other, engaging in chemical warfare and seemingly constant The English soldiers joined in the song in English, and more Germans joined, until a artillery barrages. battlefield which had so recently rung with It’s frankly hard for me to imagine any time the sound of gunfire filled instead with that or place that sounds more like Hell than the hundred-year-old lullaby to the baby Jesus. western front of World War I. “Schlaf im Himmlischer Ruh.” Not quite 100 years later, in 1914, it was a time of war. A time of upheaval. A time of economic uncertainty, of political uncertainty. In 1914 the First World War broke out, and the nations of Europe crashed over and against each other until their borders were no longer recognizable, even to the people living in them.
Sleep in heavenly peace, Sleep in heavenly peace.
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the message for us And here we are. Roughly another hundred years later—202 years since Joseph Mohr wrote the lyrics to “Silent Night,” 200 years since Franz Gruber wrote the music and they first sang it. It’s been 104 years since the 1914 Christmas Truce. And once again it seems like a time of war. A time of upheaval. A time of economic uncertainty, of political uncertainty. There are wars in the Middle East and threats of war elsewhere. Americans are full of anger and hate toward each other; we blame each other and we have a hard time finding joy, or love, or kindness. And yet, things aren’t as bad as they were in Europe 100 or even 200 years ago. So I ask this of you: When you’re tempted to draw battle lines, sing “Silent Night” and reach across an aisle, or a trench, or your neighbor’s fence. When your world’s falling down around you and you’re not sure if you can sing, think of Mary and Joseph lying awake that first night to hold a little miracle with curly hair. And when you’re not sure what’s real or what’s true, and you can’t figure out what to do, remember that God makes songs out of the lives of plain people doing plain work for the kingdom of God. Give him the space to breathe his Spirit into your work.
BJ Krug is a storyteller and graduate student at Milligan College. He attends Hopwood Christian Church in Tennessee.
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Gifts That Give More
Christmas gift ideas that support ministry and mission
BY CARLA WILLIAMS
You want your Christmas season to be as meaningful and Christ-focused as possible, but when it comes to gifts, it can be difficult to escape the trap of overcrowded malls or flash Internet sales. As you ponder your list of loved ones to shop for this Christmas, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to give something that makes a difference for the kingdom around the world? Many ministries and mission groups sell thoughtful, meaningful gifts that help sustain and serve their gospel purposes. This year, you can give gifts that truly keep on giving!
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pick a handbag that fights human trafficking The artists at ByTavi have a line of high-quality, fair-trade boutique clothes and bags made by women in Cambodia, where poverty is rampant and human trafficking is rising. By providing fair wages and hours, a safe working environment, and opportunities to study the Bible and worship together, ByTavi is fostering holistic transformation among women and families in Cambodia. Shop: http://bytavi.com/shop (ByTavi’s website is down until spring, but orders may be placed at 317-494-6226). My favorite product: The hipster bags have great straps, are full of pockets, and come in a variety of fun colors and patterns. These are great go-to bags!
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build a house with a water bottle At Casas Por Cristo, they’re building relationships while they build houses in Mexico, Guatamala, and the Dominican Republic. They’ve built more than 5,000 homes while partnering with local churches, pastors, ministries, and individuals to reach lost people with the love of Christ. And they happen to have a store where they sell all the standard gifts, from T-shirts to coffee mugs to keychains and hats. This is a great spot to get some gifts for guys on your list. Shop: https://casasporcristo.org/shop My favorite product: You can’t go wrong with a stainless steel water bottle.
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break someone out of poverty with a new journal The Skipping Stone is an organization that sells products for women and youth in extreme poverty situations, giving the artisans purpose and a clear path toward sustainability and growth. Their products include jewelry crafted by freed victims of trafficking, elaborate leather bags, handmade journals, and a range of other beautiful things. There’s even a specific section with gift ideas for men. Shop: https://www.theskippingstone.com/ My favorite product: I love the men’s wallets. It’s a meaningful spin on a classically appreciated gift.
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foster holistic transformation in zambia with recycled crafts By supporting the artists at RecycloCraftz, you’re helping sustain a system of empowerment, education, creativity, and spiritual development among those most marginalized in Zambia. Artists use recycled materials from their everyday lives to create one-of-a-kind products, from purses to paper bowls. Shop: https://www.facebook.com/RecycloCraftz/ My favorite product: For a unique gift, check out the female figurines of life in Africa.
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supply 20 free meals for impoverished children with a set of dominoes Project Mañana International is a ministry serving in the Dominican Republic to break the cycle of poverty by investing in impoverished children, their families, and communities. They offer a range of top-notch programs, meeting basic needs, providing support and training, and investing in the discipleship of the communities. In addition to cool things like child sponsorship, they also have a store where all of the profits go toward helping the kids. Shop: https://projectmanana.org/store.php My favorite product: The dominoes are definitely awesome—play fun family games, think about the Dominican Republic, and remember the work of Project Mañana.
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help eliminate child trafficking with one stuffed animal With an established reputation in the fight for international justice, Rapha House is doing so much more than selling bags, accessories, jewelry, and stuffed elephants. They rescue and counsel victims, fight corrupt systems, and spread awareness around the world for vulnerable and exploited children. Shop: https://shop.raphahouse.org/ My favorite product: There’s something lovely about the well-made, brightly colored stuffed elephants. They make great gifts for kids, and you can tell the recipients that their elephant is helping to protect kids around the world.
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feed orphaned children with the purchase of doll clothes
A group of women in Swaziland, Africa, volunteer as cooks at local centers to feed more than 2,000 orphans a day. At Timbali Crafts, these women make quality apparel, original home décor, and fabulous bags to be able to serve those children and their own families. They’re a rich spiritual community in a deeply impoverished nation, and the products they create are simply breathtaking. Shop: https://timbalicrafts.org/ My favorite product: This one is a tie between the adorable doll clothes and the so-clever iPad covers. Both of these ideas would make meaningful gifts.
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choose a necklace that heals broken hearts
In 2011, a massive earthquake and tsunami struck the area of Ishinomaki, Japan, and wreaked untold havoc on the lives of the people there. Out of that severe trauma, the Nozomi Project was born. Missionaries there began meeting with women who had lost everything—homes, spouses, children, and hope. They began crafting shattered pieces of pottery the tsunami left behind into one-of-a-kind jewelry as they grieved. Together, they’re finding community, restoration, and hope. Shop: https://nozomiproject.com My favorite product: The “Holding Hope” necklace is simple and lovely, plus Nozomi donates $2 of every purchase from that line toward preventing human trafficking in Japan.
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provide dignity for the oppressed with a new wallet The team at Lazarus Artisan Goods is wonderful. They’re crafting quality leather goods while training vocational students in areas of craftsmanship in Honduras and Haiti. They make incredible gifts—backpacks, journals, wristbands, wallets, purses—for anyone on the list. They even make delicious coffee! The craftsmanship is top-notch, and the mission is to bring “eternal worth to light.” That’s a pretty solid combination. Shop: https://lazarusartisangoods.com/ My favorite product: While they have many great products, I love the “Cord traveler” wrap. It’s practical, it’s not too pricey, and it’s changing the world. Win. Win. Win.
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create possibilities for vulnerable children while stuffing your christmas stockings Threads of Hope serves families in the Philippines who are particularly exposed to the dangers of exploitation and child prostitution. They give families sustainable business skills and education while surrounding them with physically and spiritually healthy communities. They sell a variety of woven accessories such as bracelets, bookmarks, and keychains—the perfect stocking stuffers and regular reminders of the new hope those families are experiencing. Shop: http://threadsofhope.co/shop My favorite product: While I’m a sucker for a good woven bracelet with a story, I’m most impressed with their handmade camera straps. What a unique gift for that budding photographer in your family.
Carla Williams lives in Louisville, Kentucky, with her husband, JC, and their two toddlers. She loves everything about a good story, gooey chocolate chip cookies, and the creative ways God moves through his church. /carlakaywilliams
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JOY TO THE CHURCH LEADERS
HOW TO BREAK OUT OF SEASONAL STRESS TO EXPERIENCE THE JOY OF JESUS THIS CHRISTMAS
COMPILED BY JUSTIN HOREY
Joy is more than the subject of a classic Christmas carol. Joy is an integral part of the Christmas story. It was “good news of great joy” that the angels announced to the shepherds outside Bethlehem on the night of Jesus’ birth. Ironically, the trappings and traditions of the modern Christmas season can threaten to steal our joy at a time when we should be celebrating Christ’s birth. This is even true—perhaps especially true—for those in full-time ministry.
From staff parties and sermon preparation to decisions about gifts and end-of-the-year budget deadlines, the demands of ministry can make it difficult to maintain a spirit of joy during “the most wonderful time of the year.” This year, as we approached the Nativity, Christian Standard asked church leaders from around the country one question:
How do you maintain joy in ministry at Christmastime? Though the responses reflected our contributors’ own individual experiences, they were also remarkably consistent—and one answer was given far more often than all the others.
1. SLOW DOWN AND FOCUS ON THE GIVER I counter the pressure of demands and expectations by increasing and deepening my personal time with the Lord. When I took scuba-diving lessons, I was taught how to equalize the pressure in my ears. If I failed to do so, I suffered a searing pain. Fish are known to exist in the deepest parts of the ocean by equalizing the pressure within them, keeping them from being crushed at the great depths. To not be crushed by the demands and expectations of the holidays, I enjoy times of solitude and quiet, meditating on the Scriptures, while conversing with the Lord in prayer. I must be filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5:18), for he is my strength when the pressures of Christmas press against me. —Gary Johnson, Indian Creek Christian Church, Indianapolis, Indiana
I like to be reminded of the lowly manger with the simple surroundings of love, peace, and the salvation that comes through Jesus Christ. With all of our holiday decor and lights at home, we have a small Nativity as a central focal point in our living room. Every time I see it, it reminds me why I do what I do. When the holiday season seems like a blur, I like to spiritually, emotionally, and mentally put things in slow motion and center my gaze
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on the simplicity and humility surrounding the birth of our Savior. What an undeserved gift. As much as I enjoy all of the festivities, at times I am exhausted because of them. There’s just something about a holy, quiet acknowledgment that Jesus came and God is with us that brings new life into my spirit. This poignant truth restores me and is more than enough to keep the fervor for the calling of God in my life. —Josh Childress, Kempsville Christian Church, Virginia Beach, Virginia
I need to create space in the busyness of the season to rest, reflect, and ruminate on the reason for the season. I need to take a deep breath and remember that God is in control and I’m not. —Rick Grover, East 91st Street Christian Church, Indianapolis, Indiana
I am a morning person, so I try to spend extra quiet time in the mornings during the Christmas season sitting in the living room with everything off but our Christmas lights. I take that time to quietly reflect, worship God, read the Word, and pray. This brings me peace and joy during a hectic season. —Darren Walter, Current: A Christian Church, Katy, Texas
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I love the old, old story. What an amazing story it is. When I feel myself spinning out of control because I have too many gifts to buy and too many parties to go to, I remind myself of what this truly is all about. The idea that a perfect God would send his perfect Son into this world full of imperfect people (me being as imperfect as anyone else) is truly mind-blowing. —Tim Turner, Christ’s Church, Winterville, North Carolina
I intentionally slow down and simplify— reading the Gospel texts of Jesus’ birth and singing Christmas songs help me to maintain joy. —David Vaughan, Whitewater Crossing Christian Church, Cleves, Ohio
At Christmastime I have found it helpful to write one long prayer to the Lord (handwritten and kept in a little notebook). Usually, I set aside some quiet time to write this letter during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Eve. I reflect on the Father’s blessings over the past year and request his help in the year ahead. Writing this annual prayer helps me stay in touch with the Lord during the Christmas season, and my faith grows as I review letters from previous years and see how God has been at work in my life. —David Faust, East 91st Street Christian Church, Indianapolis, Indiana
2. PLAN AHEAD At our church, we plan well in advance for all the key Christmas “things,” and we limit what we do. We do a few events with high quality planned in advance, so the events are not stressful, and the stress is limited and confined. We plan our Christmas series and Christmas Eve services well in advance. —Glen Elliott, Pantano Christian Church, Tucson, Arizona
A few years ago, we moved our fiscal year from [starting] January 1 to September 1. We do our budget and reviews and goals in the summer and begin the new budget year September 1. It has taken some of the busyness and workload out of December. It allows us to focus more on the meaning of Christmas and ministry opportunities. —Ben Davis, RiverGlen Christian Church, Waukesha, Wisconsin
I WORK HARD TO HAVE ALL MY SERMONS FOR NOVEMBER AND DECEMBER WRITTEN AND FINISHED IN ADVANCE. THIS FREES UP TIME AND REDUCES STRESS A GREAT DEAL. (DON’T DISMISS THIS ONE, PREACHER— YOU CAN DO IT!)
I plan ahead. (Procrastination never helps.) It relieves stress during the holidays when I summon the selfdiscipline to work further ahead than usual on sermons, lessons, and devotional articles. The Christmas material I write in August or September can still be tweaked and updated in December, but it reduces pressure when I do the bulk of my preparation well ahead of time. —David Faust
I’ve run a few marathons, and an important rule for a distance race is to maintain an appropriate pace in order to finish. I carefully plan my schedule throughout the month so the demands of ministry do not create a frenetic pace that crushes my joy. I know how much I can do, how many invitations I can accept, and more. —Gary Johnson
OUR FAMILY ALSO DECORATES OUR HOME FOR CHRISTMAS IN EARLY NOVEMBER. WE KNOW IT’S A BUSY TIME OF YEAR, SO WE WANT TO GET THE DECORATING CHORE OUT OF THE WAY AND ENJOY THOSE VISUAL “TREATS” OF A DECORATED HOME. I KNOW MINISTRY FAMILIES WHO GET AROUND TO DECORATING A FEW DAYS BEFORE CHRISTMAS BECAUSE THEY’RE SO BUSY WITH EVERYTHING ELSE; I DON’T WANT THAT TO HAPPEN TO OUR FAMILY. —DARREN WALTER
3. MAKE TIME FOR THE ONES YOU LOVE
All of the parties and gatherings can make us feel as if we are on a neverending merry-go-round, but they do provide us with opportunities to hang out with people and enjoy their company. I love my family. I love our staff. I love our leaders. So, coming together and doing something just for the sake of being together (and not to make strategic plans) is a real blessing to me. —Tim Turner
In the midst of the Christmas activities and parties, I need to create space for peace and joy. Practically
speaking, this means I sit down with my wife and look at our schedule to make sure we’re not overscheduling and that we are taking time to celebrate as a family the hope we have in the Christ of Christmas. —Rick Grover
Our family tries to attend a Christmas concert or special event [each year] at which we are the guests and have nothing to do with pulling off the event. We can relax and enjoy the event, Christmas concert, or whatever. —Darren Walter
4. GIVE, GIVE, GIVE
WE HAVE CHANGED OUR LAST REGULAR SUNDAY SERVICE BEFORE CHRISTMAS
I love giving gifts. That must be one of my love languages. Being able to give a gift to someone (especially someone who can’t give a gift in return) is a special blessing. I try to put some thought into the gifts I give because I want to make them special. It is a joyful thing to be able to bless others. Our church has been able to reach out to families in our community and provide Christmas for them. Like many churches, we want to give back to our community. Christmas is a great time to do that. What a joy it is to see the faces of those children—and even the parents—when they receive a gift in Jesus’ name!
TO A “SERVE YOUR CITY” FOCUS WITH ORGANIZED SERVICE PROJECTS AROUND TOWN. WE CLOSE DOWN OUR CAMPUS FOR OTHER ACTIVITIES THE WEEK BEFORE CHRISTMAS AND THE WEEK AFTER CHRISTMAS—AND WE GIVE
—Tim Turner
THE STAFF THE WEEK OFF
We give our staff time off between Christmas and New Year’s. This is in addition to normal vacation time. It’s a slow week and a good time for staff to take time off and enjoy family time and get replenished.
FROM CHRISTMAS TO NEW YEAR’S EVERY YEAR WHILE THE CAMPUS IS CLOSED. —GLEN ELLIOTT
—Ben Davis
We try to carve out time to make special deliveries as a family. We surprise people with a drive-by gift. The kids love placing the gift on the person’s doorstep, ringing the bell, and running back to the car before we speed away. This can be a homemade treat, but we’ve also used boxes of doughnuts on Saturday mornings . . . so it can be low prep and high fun.
DO YOU HAVE PRACTICAL, PERSONAL TIPS FOR MAINTAINING JOY DURING THE CHRISTMAS SEASON? JOIN THE CONVERSATION AT CHRISTIANSTANDARD.COM OR TAG US ON SOCIAL MEDIA AND USE #ChristmasJoy.
/ChristianStandardMagazine @ChrStandard
—Darren Walter
@christianstandardmagazine
Justin Horey is a writer, musician, and the founder of Livingstone Marketing. He lives in Southern California.
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THE ‘PERFECT’ CHRISTMAS TREE BY MAX LUCADO
The Christmas tree hunt is on. Families are entering tents and patrolling sidewalks. They lift limbs and examine needles. They measure. They ponder. They consider. They barter. The tree can’t be too tall or too short. It needs to fit the room and the budget. It must be full yet not dense, mature but not dry. A noble fir for some. A Douglas fir or Virginia pine for others. The preferences are different, but the desire is the same. We want the perfect Christmas tree. And, oh, the special moment when we find it. When we lash it to the car. Drag it into the house and set it in the tree stand. We revel in this moment. Only a few people have won the U.S. Open, completed an Ironman triathlon, or qualified as Rhodes Scholars. Fewer still have positioned a Christmas tree so that it doesn’t lean. Throughout the year we prepare. We read articles, attend seminars, swap ideas, and share secrets. We are bonded by the desire to avoid the tragedy of the holiday season: a leaning tree.
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One year I barely escaped. Denalyn and I placed the tree in the stand, stood back, and sighed at what we saw. The dreaded tilt. I crawled under the branches and began adjusting the screws until the tree stood as straight as a stalk of wheat. We stepped back and admired my engineering skills. Denalyn placed her arm in mine, and I choked back tears of joy. My children called me blessed. Angels began to sing. The blast of trumpets sounded in the front yard where neighbors had gathered. The White House called to congratulate me. We strung the lights and hung the decorations. It was a wonderful night. Then disaster struck. The tree started to lean again. Decorations shook, lights shifted, Denalyn shouted, and I ran to the rescue. This time I placed the tree on its side, removed the stand, and saw the source of the problem. Just six inches above the cut line was a right turn. Our tree was crooked! Once upon a time in a forest, this tree had been a leaner! And now here it was, in our house, in broad daylight, in front of my own children—leaning again! What’s a person to do? As I was retrieving a saw from the garage, it occurred to me: I’m not the first father to deal with this issue. God faces this situation on a continual basis. Don’t we have our share of unattractive bents? I know I do. Take just the last three days: • I avoided returning a call to a congregant because most of the time conversations with him generate more whine than Napa Valley. I saw his number on my phone and groaned, “I don’t want an earful of his woes.” And I’m a pastor! One of his pastors! I’m supposed to love the sheep, feed the sheep, and care for the sheep. And I avoided this sheep. (I eventually called. He wanted to compliment a sermon.) • I woke up at 2:30 yesterday morning, reliving the outcome of a meeting. I disagreed with a particular decision. When the vote was taken, I was in the
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minority. And I was ticked off. Between 2:30 a.m. and 3:30 a.m., I convicted each of the other team members of stupidity and insensitivity. My thought pattern was toxic. • And then there is the issue of a deadline. Will I make it? Why did I agree to it? Why does the publisher demand it? Don’t they know it takes space for a fragile soul like mine to create? Would that I stood as straight as a sequoia, but I don’t. And since I don’t, I find a kindred spirit in the Christmas tree. I think you will find the same. What you do for a tree, God does for you. He picked you. Do you purchase the first tree you see? Of course not. You search for the right one. You walk the rows. You lift several up and set them down. You examine them from all angles until you decide, This one is perfect. You have a place in mind where the tree will stand. Not just any tree will do. God does the same. He knows just the location where you’ll be placed. He has a barren living room in desperate need of warmth and joy. A corner of the world needs some color. He selected you with that place in mind. As King David wrote, “You made my whole being; you formed me in my mother’s body. I praise you because you made me in an amazing and wonderful way. What you have done is wonderful. . . . All the days planned for me were written in your book before I was one day old” (Psalm 139:13, 14, 16, New Century Version). God made you on purpose with a purpose. He interwove calendar and character, circumstance and personality to create the right person for the right corner of the world, and then he paid the price to take you home.
Excerpted from Because of Bethlehem by Max Lucado. Copyright © 2016 by Max Lucado. Used by permission of Thomas Nelson. Max Lucado serves as senior minister at Oak Hills Church in San Antonio, Texas, and is a best-selling Christian author and writer.
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interact MINISTRY IN A SMALL TOWN Big city, small town, the priorities are the same: become a part of the community and show that you care [“3 Keys to Effective Ministry in a Small Town,” by Richard M. Crabtree, p. 30, October 2018]. Scott Compton via Facebook
The long haul. Go with the idea that this is where I will raise my family. Be a voice in the community for the community. Get involved in community functions and support them both physically and financially. Be visible at school events from sports to plays and band performances. Yes, be the church outside the walls. Ray DeLoe via Facebook
Hats off to Christian Standard for “The Rural Issue” (October 2018). I learned that rural counties make up 72% of the land area in the USA and are home to 14% of the nation’s population. I’m thankful for the churches that are faithfully ministering to rural America. “Nothing can hinder the Lord from saving, whether by many or few” (1 Sam. 14:6). Victor Knowles via Facebook
Strive to be a church more prominent inside its community than inside its church walls. Be involved and available to those who would not dream of stepping into your building on a Sunday morning— whatever that looks like for someone’s sphere of influence. Molly King via Facebook
FRANCIS NASH ONLINE INTERVIEW What a beautiful servant of God [“Christian Standard Interview with Francis Nash,” by Jim Nieman, ChristianStandard.com, August 2018]! Would love to see this article published in the magazine! Melodie Carter via website
ONLINE ‘CHURCH’?
A MOVE TOWARD UNITY
Thank you for the excellent debate [“In the Arena: Is Online Church Really Church?” by Jerry Harris and Barry Cameron, p. 39, September 2018]. Both arguments were well-presented. I don’t think it’s an either-or situation. My wife and I spent a year in China. We watched (and participated in) an online worship service provided by a church family we had been a part of. We were also part of a small group with other American Christians with whom we used to minister and fellowship. Both helped us survive and thrive spiritually. So, an online presence is certainly an excellent addition to a fully beneficial Christ-focused ministry!
This is in response to the article concerning the Disciple of Christ pastors who attend the NACC [“Back at the NACC,” by Michael C. Mack, p. 52, July 2018]. It was very exciting for me to hear and know that this was even happening. They are, indeed, welcome. What a blessing for me to realize that there is and can be this wonderful move toward unity. To come together again is an answer to many prayers. As part of a women’s prayer group, we are praying for Nathan Loewen and other pastors who are striving to return to the New Testament church. Thank you for printing that article. I have enjoyed the new monthly Standard.
Mike and Joni Wood Bethany Christian Church Carrollton, Georgia via email
Polly Theobald via email
FOOD MINISTRY
This was an interesting way to explore the issue. But fundamentally, the affirmative article argued one could have “all the elements of a Restoration Movement worship service.” This might be accurate, but only if one checks the word “church” at the door. Acts 2:42-47, a bedrock of church practice, simply cannot be done outside of a face-to-face community. Yes, some elements (e.g. learning or singing) can be experienced online. But if church literally means a gathering of people, and if its practices are governed by Acts 2, then “online church” certainly cannot be called “church.” Here I think a very important definition of terms is necessary, namely “service” versus “church.” One can view a service, but one must attend a church.
The author has missed a critical component of this or any ministry: liability [“5 Keys (and 3 Crucial Attitudes) for a Successful Food Ministry,” by Troy M. Borst, p. 60, September 2018]. Our church had to quit hosting the distribution of food every other week because the cost of liability insurance (in case of a food-related illness) was more than we could handle at this point. Fortunately, another larger congregation was able to take it over. At a previous church we also had to quit doing “trunk or treat” on Halloween for the same reason. The event had gotten so big over the years that people were crossing a very busy street to come and there was a legitimate concern that someone, especially a child, would be hurt or worse.
Jordan Kellicut via Facebook
Scott Compton via Facebook
Give us your feedback! /ChristianStandardMagazine @ChrStandard @christianstandardmagazine Cs@ChristianStandardMedia.com
For space, length, readability, relevance, and civility, comments sent to Interact may remain unpublished or be edited. We do read them all and prayerfully take them to heart. If we publish your comment, we will try to honestly reproduce your thoughts with those considerations in mind. Where we disagree, let’s continue to keep P.H. Welshimer’s words in mind to “disagree without being disagreeable.”
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THE CHURCH OF CHRIST NATIVITY HEIST From After Class Podcast Police have confirmed the mysterious Nativity heist has finally ended. “We’re glad it’s over. The whole town’s glad it’s over,” reported officer Melchior. For three weeks, the front yards of unsuspecting homeowners, respected public establishments, and houses of worship across Magian County have been repeatedly raided by previously unknown thieves. Strangely enough, only one item was routinely carted off—plastic or wooden figurines of the wise men who visited baby Jesus to bring him presents. “It was so strange,” reported 60-year-old Ricky Bob Gaspar. “I’ve never seen anything like this before. They left the cattle, the shepherds, Mary, and even sweet little baby Jesus. They only took the wise men!” “It was so frustrating,” whined county clerk Balthasar Hunt. “I’ve replaced those figurines in front of the courthouse four times this month, but the stores are all sold out now! No one will even restock until next year. First it was the Ten Commandments, and now this!” Yet no one would have guessed who the perpetrators would turn out to be—the Senior Saints Sunday school class of First Church of Christ. A month ago, they decided to read the birth narratives of Jesus in preparation for their annual Christmas cantata. To their horror and dismay, they discovered that the Bible never says there were “three” wise men. What is worse, these famous sages from the East most certainly visited Jesus in his house several months or even years later, according to Matthew 2:11, and not in the stable where he was born. “It just isn’t right,” railed ringleader Dwight Clooney, “If they’re not there in the Bible, they shouldn’t be there in the Nativity scene.” “It’s an affront to Scripture’s authority,” complained class treasurer Julia Robertson, as her head was being pushed down into the back of a squad car. Lead evangelist Brad Damon allegedly wasn’t involved in his congregation members’ covert affair, but he believes their hearts were in the right place. “Where the Scriptures are silent, we are silent,” he declared. “I have nothing more to say.”
Coming in 2019: Watch for more satire each month from After Class Podcast! The After Class Podcast guys are Bible and theology professors at Great Lakes Christian College; from left to right in the logo, they are Samuel C. Long, Ronald D. Peters, and John C. Nugent. They strive to engage provocative contemporary topics with wit and careful biblical scholarship. https://afterclass.libsyn.com/
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