Excited about "The Advent"

I am thrilled to begin sharing with you some very exciting plans we have for the upcoming Christmas season! Those of you who attended last Wednesdays "Summer Missions Month" gathering were among the first to hear about "The Advent".

Starting in early November, we will begin promoting this series of events, all focused on the four Sundays of advent, that will lead up to a community outreach service on Christmas Eve. There is opportunity for everyone to be involved at some level, and in addition to the outreach element there is a strong emphasis on family involvement and discipleship.

The genesis for this idea came at the end of our trip to Turkey last November. Prior to that time, I had viewed Christmas as a depressing display of American materialism and crass commercialization. I was among those who would regularly bemoan the loss of Christ-centeredness, and really found very little joy in our culture's celebration of this holiday.

Then, I took a plane flight from Turkey, a country that openly opposes and prosecutes Christians, and where there was zero acknowledgment of Christmas, to downtown Munich Germany, which was decorated for the holiday in spectacular fashion. I was strongly convicted in that moment of a lost opportunity for witness!

I realized that our American culture, like Germany's, still contains very powerful cues, icons, symbols, and memories that are very natural springboards for evangelism, and that instead of turning my back on this holiday, I should be embracing it! The contrast between Izmir and Munich reminded me that Christmas is a simple and compelling connection in our culture... despite Santa Claus and Nintendo, everyone STILL knows that Jesus has something to do with this celebration.

So thats the idea... use the power of a shared cultural event, Christmas, as an open door. Use it in our families for teaching and discipleship, use it in our neighborhoods, schools, and workplaces as a outreach to the lost. We'll be providing devotionals, invitations, advent wreaths, and other materials to encourage you to participate.

Why are we talking about this in July? Because I want to ask you to join me in prayer. Lets start praying now and asking God to stir our hearts, that we might want more than anything else for His name to be honored and magnified this Christmas season, both in our own lives and as we see those living in darkness brought into His marvelous light.

I am thrilled to partner with you as we seek to glorify God in our church and in our community.