Trivialization of Christmas

You hear a lot about how we've made Christmas trivial: how we've lost its true meaning and commercialization has stolen a most sacred holiday. And that's certainly true. It is just very easy to miss the important with so much that is trivial pressing from all sides.

But if we who are called Jesus' followers attempt to place all the blame on the world around us, without accepting our own fault in the matter, we are kidding ourselves.

So much of what we say about Christmas seems to lessen the importance of the incarnation...God becoming man. We speak of brotherly love and peace on earth, which are undeniably good things. But Christmas is about something much more revolutionary. If God truly has become man, as we say we believe, then everything else is secondary.

There is certainly no problem with emphasizing the many good things we associate with Christmas. But there is only one true meaning of Christmas. It is that "The Word became flesh and lived among us." We do the world a disservice if we let than message be choked out--even by good things.

Excellenct Excellence

When the book In Search of Excellence was the rage it immediately began something of a debate in church circles. Initially, I remember many Christians questioning whether excellence was a legitimate goal for the church.

It seems today that the debate is settled. Church services today are typically much better planned and executed than 25 years ago. Even smaller churches give much more attention to small details to ensure that the poor quality does not distract from the message. And personally, I think that's a good thing.... to a point.

The focus of the debate when the book first appeared was whether we should choose excellence over Spirituality; whether excellence was essentially fleshly; whether human effort would replace dependence on the Spirit. The problem was that a false dichotomy was created: Why should dependence on the Spirit detract from a commitment to doing things well?

Ironically, we may need to re-visit the idea. Are we so committed to excellence today that we are willing to compromise spirituality and moral excellence? Do we demand the highest "quality" in our services, and spend so much time pursuing it, that we are no longer dependent on the Spirit? And do we choose human performance over spiritual reality?

The question should not be phrased as either/or. But when there is a choice, the choice is clear.

The Problem with Balance

I'm a little skeptical of "balance" as a virtue. I understand that it has its place. Certain things won't work without balance. But sometimes balance may be a euphemism for mediocrity.

This is what I mean: When something is really important, I don't want balance. Soldier in a battle don't seek balance--it's a life and death struggle, so it take total commitment to survive. I've studied leadership for twenty years, and my experience is that great and exceptional people aren't balanced. In fact, many have fairly extreme personalities. It's the extremes that set them apart.

And when it comes to serving the God of the universe, who sacrificed His Son for our sin, I'm not so sure that we are called to balance. Jesus' commitment to us was extreme. He gave His life so that we can be forgiven. I'm wondering if we should consider more extreme obedience and love in return.

Balance has its place, but when something is really important, there's a place for the extreme.

Changes

Today (Sunday, the 14th) was a day of changes for two good men who have something in common.

We announced that our Associate Pastor, Vic Neufeld, will move to Canada in a few months to become the senior pastor of his home church in Winnipeg. In less than three years, Vic has moved from telecom to senior pastor. His seminary training was vital, but his success in the corporate world was part of his preparation, too. We will miss him.

And Bumper Hidalgo preached. He has moved from software to self-employment and youth ministry. Of course he had done youth ministry before, but he comes now with more mature enthusiasm. Life in the corporate world, coupled with a growing family, has made him uniquely understand the needs of youth and their families.

Both of these men have made significant contributions to our church family because they know and love the church, but also because they have functioned well in the world. The hard knocks and difficult lessons of living in the marketplace have increased their value to others.

Sometimes the average Christian believes that since he or she lives and works in the world they may have nothing to contribute. But ironically, the life lived well in the marketplace and the community can be our greatest contribution to others.

We sometimes forget that we follow a Savior who learned a trade before he proclaimed His gospel.

Emotions and service

One of our staff mentioned the other day that his biggest surprise was the emotional toll that ministry has on him. He had just finished time with a family, and caught himself crying as he drove off--something he'd never done before.

I am just amazed at what some of our folks have to face, sometimes on a daily basis. And it's frustrating to be unable to fix things for them. I know that the gospel brings relief ultimately, but even Jesus wept in his ministry. He could "fix" things, yet human pain is real and He had compassion on those who hurt.

It makes sense that loving others and serving them can be physically exhausting. But I have found that, if not careful, the pain of others can sap my energy and leave me perpetually sad. So how do we take the risk of caring and hurting, and still have resources to serve another day?

I have discovered that prayer and time focussed on my walk with God becomes more important than ever when I'm serving those who hurt. I don't have much to give them, but I gain refreshment from time alone with God.

Part of the joy of the community of believers is that we can build relationships for the difficult, as well as the good, times. As we weep with those who weep, we share in Jesus' work. While it is hard, it is also rewarding. And it causes us to grow as we look to God for strength.

Building dedication

Today was a great day. As we dedicated our new worship center, our congregation combined our services to thank God for His provision, to celebrate our past, and to be challenged for the future. It was such a privilege to have all the surviving pastors join us and to take part in the service. The unity of the generations at Grace reflects its maturity.

When we thanked those who helped make the building possible, I know we left some key people out. Try as we may, it's impossible to recognize everyone. I left the service with an overwhelming sense of gratitude for our people.

But thanksgiving and gratitude cannot breed complacency. Until the Lord's return, we have been entrusted with a story so important that it must be told. And the consequences of that story must be demonstrated in our lives. Too many folks are listening and watching.

So the celebration was great. But now we have work to do.

Our new "digs"

Today was a remarkable day. After years of praying, dreaming, and working, our church family enjoyed worshipping in the new building. It was a happy day.

It was happy because there was so much unity. It was happy because of all the natural light. It was happy to see so many people working together. It was happy to see the Lord's hand in so many ways.

So many have sacrificed and given so much. Our people have made an investment for future generations. But most importantly, we have come together to use the gifts that God has given us to build something that demonstrates our love for Him and the mission He has given us.

People build buildings all the time. The Dallas Cowboys are building a monster in Irving that will dwarf our house of worship. But for my money, no building is more honorable or impressive than one built for the worship of God and the proclamation of the hope of His gospel.