What Christmas Is All About

On Christmas Eve, I got to do the coolest thing...

My parents' church, Second Baptist Church of Washington, NC, does a monthly feeding outside the Zion Shelter (a homeless shelter in town). They prepare meals and people come in droves to get them.

On Christmas Eve, at 10am, my family - mom, dad, sister, wife, and I - loaded up and drove into town. About 25 people from the church were there. Preparing meals to serve in Christ's name.

This was a fantastic example of the gift Christ gave of himself. Mission and helping those less fortunate than ourselves should be a touchstone for the Christian life.

I pray that more churches will be mission minded especially around the Christmas season.

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A Missed Opportunity

I went to a Christmas program at a large area church. This was the first time I had attended anything at that church so I was excited to see what it was like. I had heard lots of good things about it. I know many people who go to this church and are very faithful Christian individuals.

That being said, I was extremely disappointed in the program. Mind you, this disappointment had nothing to do with the quality of the show from a production standpoint. From a production standpoint, this was top notch.

My big issue was that I think the entire show missed the point of a church Christmas program. There was lots of singing and great acting, but never was I clearly presented the Gospel or was I made to understand why Jesus came to earth.

My biggest disappointment was with the pastor. At the end, he came to the stage with his Bible. I thought to myself, now it's coming, the Gospel. He never read from his Bible, though in fairness, he did paraphrase. He never laid out our need for a savior, that Christ was our savior, or how to begin a relationship with Him. I couldn't believe that.

The Christian's highest calling is to share the faith.  How could that be missed?  I have no answer.

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