In an article in the New York Times by Ruth Graham with this same title, it was reported that:
“StoneBridge Christian Church in eastern Nebraska is known locally for hosting a big annual fireworks event, which this fall included 15 food trucks and portable firepits for making s’mores. But it’s the Christmas season that is “our Super Bowl,” said the church’s executive pastor, Mitch Chitwood. This year, the church’s four locations in the Omaha area will host four “Jingle Jam” family parties in December and nine services on Christmas Eve, complete with classic carols, Christmas-themed coffee drinks and a festive photo booth in the lobby.
“What they will not have is church on Sunday, Dec. 25. On Christmas Day, StoneBridge will offer a simple community breakfast, but no religious services.
‘“We still believe in the Sunday morning experience, but we have to meet people where they are,” Mr. Chitwood said…’
Again, the Article said:
“This year, more Protestant churches seem to be making the decision to simply opt out. Though a clear majority will meet in some form on Christmas Day, fewer will do so than in 2016, when 89 percent of Protestant pastors said they were holding services, according to a survey by Lifeway Research, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. This year, that number dropped to 84 percent….
“Among nondenominational evangelical pastors, who tend to be informal and pragmatic in their approach to church matters, the numbers hosting Christmas Day services are significantly lower: Only 61 percent say they will do so, according to Lifeway’s survey.” (New York Times, Dec. 18, 2022).
So, I just wanted to comment on this.
First, this Sunday will be like all of our other Sundays. We will have Bible classes on Sunday at 9:00 a.m. for all ages and we will have our worship together at 10:00 a.m. to celebrate with the Lord in communion, prayer, singing and preaching. It is, we believe, what the Lord has asked us to do on “every first day of the week” (c.f. Acts 20:7 with 1Corinthians 16:1-2).
Second, this Sunday will be like all of our other Sundays. Yes. I am repeating myself. It is a day we remember the Lord in the way He has commanded us to remember Him in worship (c.f. 1Corinthians 11:24). We may speak of any part of His life, including His birth, in the teaching of the day but our worship is to center around what we gather to do: “On the first day of the week when we were assembled together to break bread…” (Acts 20:7).
Third, this Sunday is not like a national or health emergency. If there was a tornado wreaking havoc or flooded streets from a hurricane, or a health emergency, that would not be the same reason as stopping services because families need stocking time, brunches or because attendance is expected to be low. The Pandemic was and is a painful reminder of the broken world in which we live – but canceling services because Christmas morning would require people to leave their PJs and come worship the Lord is an entirely different thing.
Fourth, it is not the America of my youth that I pine away to wish back – but the churches of my youth where serving the Lord in His way was the way to serve Him. The standard we follow for making choices for what we will do on December 25th is the same as what we do on every other day – whether it is a Sunday or not. But how much more will what we do on a Sunday reflect how earnestly we follow these words?:
• “No one can serve two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other” (Matthew 6:24)
• “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you” (Matthew 6:33).
• “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Matthew 7:21).
• “He is also the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, so that he might come to have first place in everything” (Colossians 1:18).
• “Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things” (Colossians 3:2).
• “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21).
• “But I have this against you: You have abandoned the love you had at first” (Revelation 2:4).
Lastly, I will be “in church” on Sunday because I want to follow Him. I could think of no better way to honor the Lord of my life; no better way to keep Him the reason for every season; and no better way to show my children what “As for me and my family, we will worship the Lord” (Joshua 24:15) really means.
I pray I see all of you too.
-Don Hooton