Posted on 12/06/2005 11:07:40 AM PST by Between the Lines
Central Kentucky's largest church will break with tradition and close its doors on Christmas Sunday so that staff and volunteers can spend more time with their families.
Southland Christian Church near Lexington, where more than 7,000 people worship each week, is one of several evangelical megachurches across the country that are opting to cancel services on one of the holiest days on the Christian calendar.
Supporters say the change is family-friendly. Opponents call it a regrettable bow to secular culture.
The list of closed congregations on Christmas Sunday reads like a who's who of evangelical Protestantism: Willow Creek Community Church, the Chicago area's largest congregation; Mars Hill Bible Church in Grandville, Mich.; North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Ga.; and Fellowship Church near Dallas.
The churches, which rank among the largest congregations in America, will hold multiple Christmas Eve services instead.
Megachurch officials around the country consulted with each other before deciding to take the day off.
The decision makes sense in today's hectic world, said Willow Creek spokeswoman Cally Parkinson. "It's more than being family-friendly. It's being lifestyle-friendly for people who are just very, very busy," she said.
Many evangelical churches don't hold Christmas day services, except when the holiday falls on a Sunday.
For some evangelicals, it's the day of the week -- not the day of the year -- that's sacred. To them, closing the doors of the church on the Lord's Day is unthinkable.
Others, troubled by the holiday's increasingly secular tone, lament the change.
While admiring the emphasis on family, Fuller Theological Seminary professor Robert K. Johnston worries that another Christian tradition is fading. Fuller, in Pasadena, Calif., is one of the nation's premier evangelical schools.
"What's going on here is a redefinition of Christmas as a time of family celebration rather than as a time of the community faithful celebrating the birth of the savior," said Johnston, a professor of theology and culture. "There is a risk that we will lose one more of our Christian rituals, one that's at the heart of our faith."
At Southland, the decision hasn't generated much controversy. "We've probably had maybe half a dozen (complaints), which is understandable," said church spokeswoman Cindy Willison. Southland members are encouraged to attend one of three Christmas Eve services instead. A Dec. 23 service has also been added.
Willison says attendance dropped significantly the last time Christmas fell on a Sunday, in 1994. Her church's decision was made "based on analysis of the number of people who attended in previous years and just a desire for us to emphasize family time on Christmas Day," she said.
"It's not anything unique to us," she said.
At least one other major Lexington congregation, Crossroads Christian Church, will close for Christmas.
Crossroads Pastor Glenn Schneiders says Dec. 25 is no longer considered sacred by many Americans -- especially those who are not regular churchgoers. "It's viewed more as a holiday than a holy day," he said.
The unchurched are more reachable on Dec. 24, said Schneiders, who leads a church with average weekend attendance of 1,900 people.
"Studies would say the best opportunity to invite people is Christmas Eve. It's, for whatever reason, the least threatening service of the year to attend ... so what we do is really point all of our energy in that direction," Schneiders said. "We don't think we're compromising. We're actually reaching more people by doing that."
Lexington Theological Seminary professor Bill Turner says it's difficult for some congregations to hold multiple Christmas Eve services and then return the following day.
"You're talking about a lot of volunteers and a lot of logistics to make Sunday happen in a lot of those megachurches," he said. By the end of Saturday's services, "you're pretty well wrung out."
Some churches are scaling down their Sunday schedule on Christmas.
At Louisville's Southeast Christian Church, where 18,000 people worship each weekend, they'll have one service on Christmas in the fellowship hall. Fewer than 1,000 people are expected to attend.
Porter Memorial Baptist Church in Lexington, where 1,650 people typically worship, will also have one service on Christmas.
"We want to be here to worship Christ on his birthday," pastor Bill Henard said.
At a time when some corporations and government agencies are shying away from even using the word "Christmas," Henard said, "We want the world to know that it's okay to celebrate Christ."
Meanwhile, Roman Catholics will be as busy as ever, Lexington diocesan spokesman Tom Shaughnessy said. "It's a holy day of obligation, which means for the faithful, Mass attendance is required."
At First United Methodist Church in Lexington, the pastor will perform a "blessing of the toys," and the congregation will sing Christmas carols, church spokeswoman Marsha Berry said.
"Even if there's a small group ... we'll be there to worship," she said. "What better day than Christmas to experience God?"
Poet laureate Sir John Betjamin says it best:
And is it true--this most tremendous tale of all
Seen is a stain glass window’s hue
A baby, in a cattle stall, the maker of the stars and sea
Become a child on earth, for me?
And is it true? For if it is,
No love that in a family dwells, no caroling in frosty air
Can with this single truth compare:
That God was man in Palestine
And lives today in Bread and Wine.
Neat verse!
John Betjeman's "Christmas" (which you excerpted) is one of my favorite poems. Thank you.
Wasn't there a thread about this very subject last year? ;-)
I disagree.
We have family coming in for Christmas to my mother in law's house. There are eight families attending, some coming in from out of town.
All families attend Christian churches, different ones. Some of our churches are having a Christmas service, and some are not. Some family members are showing up in the morning/early afternoons so that they can leave early and go to their in-laws on Christmas evening.
This is the one day in a year that we can all get together.
So we will not be attending church that day so that we can spend a few hours with our family while we have a chance.
"Church" is not simply the building you meet in.
Granted His birth wasn't in December but at a minimum this is a symbolic celebration so church should be held on Christmas Eve WITHOUT stupid skits acted out by kids such as the mouse and Christmas ... even kids can understand what Christmas is without acting out some ridiculous story.
No, "church" is participation in public worship of the risen Lord, which takes precedence over everything else on the Lord's Day.
You know your Scripture well enough to know that Christ told us to put Him before even our family.
You would think the Christmas story itself would be story enough. It's a pretty amazing event....
No pagan feast is fixed on December 25th, and the Church chose this day to set aside as a celebration of Christ, so it is not a pagan feast by definition.
You seem to confuse facts with assumptions.
For your review:
Messiahmas? On the Birth Date of Jesus of Nazareth
b'shem Y'shua
You would think that ... but STUPID adults want it to be "fun".
And when "two or more are gathered" He is in our presence.
A friend of mine that is a second generation pastor used to talk about how on Christmas, after four or five services, his dad would collapse for a day or so.
They both liked it that way! My friend says it is the only time you get a chance to reach some people.
Uh... closing during one of the holiest days of Christianity?
I will be spending time with my family Christmas morning and that includes going to Mass as a family.
Well said.
Allow me to edit ...
It very clear that December 25 was a Pagan feast
Most mega-churches have Saturday evening services.
Would that do?
Me thinks the staff wants the day off. All else is a cover story.
IMO ... no. Unless it's at midnight.
While we are gathered at church in His name, this is not always so for family gatherings at home.
His name is Y'shua
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