Open Mike

Pagan Origins of Christmas - Attempts at redemption then and now

Christmas is not celebrated on December 25 because Jesus was born on that day (neither Scripture nor early tradition informs us of that date).  Its origins are pagan in date, Christian in intent, and both/and in practices.  Ever since, quite a battle has raged between Jesus-worship and excessive-consumption around Christmas.  I'd like to tell you the original story briefly today.

But first, we've joined that battle this year at Lake Forest - a battle to LOVE ALL and WORSHIP FULLY this time of year.  The weapons with which we arm ourselves weekly in this series called Exchanging Christmas are: Spend Less, Give More, Love All, and Worship Fully. If you'd like creative ideas to apply last week's sermon, Spend Less, click here http://www.rethinkingchristmas.com/?q=/gifts/popular .  My favorite is the childrens' 'Restaurant Trump Card' to use three times in the next year when the family goes to eat out.

Here's the original story of Christians trying to redeem celebrations on December 25th, to give perspective to our efforts this year:

In Rome, Saturnalia—a holiday in honor of Saturn, the god of agriculture—was celebrated December 17-25. Saturnalia was a hedonistic time, when food and drink were plentiful, drunkenness and sexual license were the norm, and the normal Roman social order was turned upside down. Gifts were given, groups of inebriated citizens roamed the streets nightly singing in doorways while naked (the precursor to caroling).   Business and schools were closed so that everyone could join in the fun. On December 25. It was believed that Mithra, an infant god, was born of a rock. For some Romans, Mithra's birthday was the most sacred day of the year.

Christians in the Roman Empire were thus surrounded by these celebrations annually.  Its thought that some of them began to wonder "how could we conspire to use this pagan celebration, our time off from work and school, in ways counter to the cultural narrative.  What if WE celebrated Jesus in a special way, in a way that tells the story of Jesus to our friends and neighbors?"  That is the conspiratorial, counter-cultural spirit we seek to recapture today.  Not just opposing the culture, but redeeming it to point to Christ. To celebrate in ways that embody and tell the story of Jesus.

In the fourth century, church officials took their cue from the informal Christmas celebrations that had been growing, and since they were now in power rather than the former pagan Roman adminstrators, decided to institute the birth of Jesus as an official holiday.Pope Julius I chose December 25. It is commonly believed that the church chose this date in an effort to adopt and absorb the traditions of the pagan Saturnalia festival. First called the Feast of the Nativity, the custom spread to Egypt by 432 and to England by the end of the sixth century. By the end of the eighth century, the celebration of Christmas had spread all the way to Scandinavia.

By holding Christmas at the same time as traditional winter solstice festivals, church leaders increased the chances that Christmas would be popularly embraced, but gave up the ability to dictate how it was celebrated. By the Middle Ages, Christianity had, for the most part, replaced pagan religion. On Christmas, believers attended church, then celebrated raucously in a drunken, carnival-like atmosphere similar to today's Mardi Gras. Each year, a beggar or student would be crowned the "lord of misrule" and eager celebrants played the part of his subjects. The poor would go to the houses of the rich and demand their best food and drink. If owners failed to comply, their visitors would most likely terrorize them with mischief. Christmas became the time of year when the upper classes could repay their real or imagined "debt" to society by entertaining less fortunate citizens. It was also a time when baser ethnic and religious prejudices were given freer expression.

In the early 17th century, a wave of religious reform changed the way Christmas was celebrated in Europe. When Oliver Cromwell and his Puritan forces took over England in 1645, they vowed to rid England of decadence and, as part of their effort, cancelled Christmas. By popular demand, Charles II was restored to the throne and, with him, came the return of the popular holiday.

The pilgrims, English separatists that came to America in 1620, were even more orthodox in their Puritan beliefs than Cromwell. As a result, Christmas was not a holiday in early America. From 1659 to 1681, the celebration of Christmas was actually outlawed in Boston. Anyone exhibiting the Christmas spirit was fined five shillings. By contrast, in the Jamestown VA settlement, Captain John Smith reported that Christmas was enjoyed by all and passed without incident.

After the American Revolution, English customs fell out of favor, including Christmas. In fact, Congress was in session on December 25, 1789, the first Christmas under America's new constitution. Christmas wasn't declared a federal holiday until June 26, 1870. (edited excerpts from History.com)

I pray that you will find ways to not be against culture, but for Christ this season, as we participate in this cultural and religious holiday in redemptive, not purely consumptive, ways.

Drugs: Biblical Loopholes for Getting High?

I received this question after our 'Loopholes' sermon on alcohol: "So, thinking about your comments that the Bible teaches that all God has given us is good (including alcohol), etc....bottom line, how would you apply that logic then to drugs?"

Good question, and the logic as well as the Bible speak very clearly on this issue, if a person wants to know 'How close can I stay to my Good Shepherd regarding drugs?'  This is not just a theoretical question.  White collar drug abuse is common in our area, including being acceptable in many social circles.  I've led two funerals of LKN adults who succumbed to the worst consequence of all from the despair drug addiction engenders - suicide.  And drug use in our high schools seems to actually be higher among the higher income students. And to be clear, marijuana or 'weed' is an illegal substance or drug I have in mind along with others like cocaine.

There are none.  Loopholes for drugs, I mean.  Biblically speaking.  When it comes to illegal addictive substances in the US.  I will share two primary scriptures:

I Timothy 4:5 "For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, because it is consecrated by the word of God and prayer.”  Everything God created is good.  Evil creates nothing, only bends good things to evil/abusive/life-stealing purposes.  This is true with what we call 'drugs.'  Every month we discover more and more medicinal uses for the various chemicals God combined to make the good gift to creation called the organic, or plant, world.  It's all good!  (And because we discover more and more of these beneficial substances in the rainforest plants every year, its an affront to God's good gifts to allow the extinction of oranic life there, for instance, without even studying the mind of God revealed to us in so many of its plants, before unheedingly destroying them - its a worship issue, a lack of thankfulness and acknowledgement to God).

So yes, there are good puposes for every chemical involved in what we call illegal or addictive drugs. (Wasn't there actually a bit of the coca plant contained in the original recipe of Coca-Cola?).  That's the first most important Scripture - use God's gift for the good purposes he intended (in this case, healing), NOT against his revealed purposes.  When God teaches us to not be drunk, or mastered/enslaved to anything, this covers various forms of inebriation and addiction as falling clearly outside of his created intent for our state of consciousness.  The space between God teaching us to 'not be drunk' in Ephesians 5:18, and yet in Psalms 104:15 teaching us wine is a gift to 'gladden' our hearts may be a little gray, but 'drunk' or inebriated is the black and white line, or loving fence, from God, to keep us in green abundant pastures.

So, the second main Scripture.

Romans 13:1,2 ^"Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. ² Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves."  'Can I get a little high on drugs as a Christian, but not addicted or wasted?' is a big fat 'no' for a Christian.  For any, any substances our government labels as illegal.  There is no loophole here for those who love God and want to follow the clear counsel of His Word for the best, abundant life, empowered by the Holy Spirit.  For the same reason drinking alcohol under the age of 21 is not God's will for us in the US.  Its illegal and we are to submit to our government.  Quick caveat for all the serious loophole-lookers:  are there times when Christians may or even should disobey government out of faith conviction?  Yes.  In the book of Acts, it is only to do so when they were forbidden to preach the good news of Jesus.  Thoughtful, faithful Pro-Life Christians and Civil Rights leaders who were Christian have established wonderful thinking and biblical teaching on this subject.  But the standard is high, and doesn't even come close to something as self-serving as not paying taxes or getting high, especially when you consider the 1st century Roman government that Paul wrote the above verses about.

There you have it. May you find more abundant life in Christ this week asking "How close to my Shepherd can I stay," rather than "How far from my Shepherd can I stray."

 

Teen Drinking and Parents' Leadership

My sermon today on drinking alcohol (www.lakeforest.org media-sermons) touched lightly on teenaged drinking.  I taught that since Romans 14 teaches us to submit to governmental authority, it is therefore God's will for all Americans under the age of 21 to abstain from alcohol.  The sermon went on to discuss what the Bible teaches about adults and alcohol. 

Back to teenagers.  Almost everyone agrees that alcohol use by underaged teens constitutes a problem. "Don’t worry; we don’t need to invent some inflated “alarmist” stats. Sadly, here’s the documented truth. Some of the CDC’s latest studies have found that 42% of high school students drank “some” alcohol in the past 30 days. 24% of the same group admitted binge drinking (which is defined as consuming 4-5 drinks in one hour). Underage drinkers (age 12-20) routinely consume 11% of all the alcohol drank in the United States. And in 2008, there were 190,000 ER visits by people under the age of 21 because of accidents linked to alcohol." (from attached article)

So if LKN teens are average (they might argue they are above average), one quarter of them - our kids, you - binged on alcohol sometime between October 13 and today.  Wow. 

I have appreciated the basic message of our government's public ads about underage alcohol and drug use the past couple of years.  Have you noticed?  They state flatly that substance use and abuse goes down dramatcally in teens when a parent talks about the issue direclty with them (the temptations, possible situations, ways out, moral standards), AND when a parent takes time to always inquire where their teen is and when they will be home.  Doesn't seem like rigorous standards for all-star parenting, so that's good news - the average parent can massively fore-arm their teen against these pitfalls simply by asking, talking, daring to bring it up in spite of attitude or silence on the teens part.  Not preaching, just talking.  They're listening.

In an article sent to me by one of our Student Ministry Leaders at LFC (Darrel Lipe), the author lays out the various influences impacting teens' drinking (or non-drinking behavior).  He gives good information about media, friends, and online activity.  I will link the entire article below, but here's the takeaway for parents from author David Smith:

Fixing the Problem
Admitting the problem of drinking is only the first step toward solution. The second step is just as crucial: make life changes. While youth workers have some influence here, the brunt of the responsibility lies with parents. We need to address the potential factors that lead to teen drinking in hopes of putting an end to it. Here are a couple ideas.

1. Monitor media. This cannot be harped enough. Regardless of music or the Internet’s actual influence on teen drinking…monitoring these two outlets is important for tons of other reasons! Get acquainted with the music your teens listen to and the websites they visit. Further, sit down and watch their favorite TV shows with them to see what messages are being pumped into their heads. Don’t just drop them off at the theater; go in and see the film with them (after reading our reviews, first). Yes, these simple steps require some investment of time, but isn’t it worth it?
2. Talk about temptations. Oftentimes, the difference between parents of kids who drink and parents of kids who do not drink is nothing more than regular conversations. The parents who have solid kids are usually those who spend time outlining expectations, consequences, help, and encouragement about the various pitfalls of life. Like everyone else, teens love stories. Carefully put your own experiences in the context of a good story and they’ll listen intently. Just make sure that you’re listening at least as much as you’re talking during these times!

There’s good news: plenty of parents have gotten this right! According to the research, roughly half of parents are successfully guiding their kids through the troubles of teen drinking. Look around your church or neighborhood to see who they are. Then take them out for lunch or coffee to glean as much help from them as possible. You’re not alone in this fight; take advantage of every tool at your disposal. Eventually, you’ll make a big difference.Download Teen Drinking

Little Big Things Yesterday

My oldest son, Dylan, had surgery to repair a torn ACL yesterday.  Some little things were done for us, in love, that demonstrated and pointed to the Kingdom of God in big ways.

I can remember heady, early 90's days of punk Gen Xers like me envisioning how ministry would change 'in our generation.' And it has in some good ways, but much of our re-envisioning was silly talk. I remember one conversation at a retreat center in Colorado (with some of today's new wave Christian luminaries in the room) where in particular we were dismissing such staples of Christian care as 'meals ministries' and 'hospital visitation' as old school and irrelevant to the coming 21st century. 

Except that such traditions are no mere invention of your grandmama's church - they are bedrock behaviors back to Jesus feeding the 5,000 one day, and visiting sick people at Jerusalem's hospital - the pool of Bethsaida.  

A meal as tactile token of God's ongoing sustencance and providential care, brought to someone in grief or pain, is often more comforting than wordy assurances of the same, because its an actual thing, made and given in love.  I know this because I'm usually the one providing the wordy assurances, wishing I had shut up a few minutes earlier, wishing I had a casserole in my hand.  If I passed along every thank you note saying 'I felt nourished and strengthened by the LORD when so and so from Lake Forest brought me that meal,' that's all I would ever blog about.  It's remarkable.  It's remarkably simple and doable. (THANK YOU Tracy Holloway and the meals team at LFC - wow).

A visit with someone about to have a medical procedure, or who is sick or at home recovering: ditto.  Not necessarily from a 'pastor' (we had some of that part of the 90's conversation right - its not biblical for the pastor to try to be, or to be expected to be, all things to all people in the Body of Christ), but a visit from someone in the Body of Christ with whom the sick-o, or caregivers to the sick-ee, has relationship.  Yes, 'Journeying like Jesus by doing life together' in committed, regular, Christ-centered community is the true long-term scrimmage line for most of us to grow in our faith.  But in moments like we had yesterday - two parents handing their precious first-born over to be operated on for three hours - the moment matters.  Any small token of affection, care, prayer - in person or virutally - is magnified and echoes in those lives for a long, long time.

These little big things are the substance of things unseen, things hoped for made tactile, weaving ever stronger threads into the fabric of a person's faith in Christ.  You and I are given this power to wield and it is immense.  Through the sharing of a meal, the few-moments visit or check-in.

We reflected as Angie and I made Dylan comfortable last night with pain meds, a temporary bed downstairs, ice packs on the knee. We realized and named that yesterday, we were the receivers of such largesse.  Little big things.

To our community group leaders who sat with us a few minutes during pre-op, brought a cooler full of a Chicken Marsala feast for when we got home - thank you.  Surely, the Kingdom of God was among us, with God answering Jesus' prayer for us simply in that moment that we would have our daily bread so God's will would be done for us on earth, as it will be perfectly and perpetually in heaven one day.

To our friend and fellow staff member who visited and laughed with us while we waited during surgery - thank you for the simple act of friendship, the presence of Christ being mediated to us through your presence, because Christ is in you.  And thank you for being a good shepherd to Dylan who serves faithfully in your ministry - he appreciated the visit retroactively (since he was unconscious at the time).  And thank you to everyone who prayed for Dylan, especially letting us know that on facebook and twitter.  Social media is fun, interesting, all of that.  But yesterday it was God's tool of encouragement to us - I read all of your brief prayers and comments to Dylan, helping him 'see' how surrounded he is by saints and their care.  You and our meal-bringers gave us your most precious, sacrificial gift - time.

Now I know that I am pastor to a lot of people, so the odds were pretty good we might be cared for in these ways (the cynic will say).  True that (although I kept this matter private - only sharing it in conversation with people I interact with personally, until yesterday asking for prayer via social media).  So how could this work?

1. If you know of someone in your relational network whose down, or sick, etc, then guess who the LORD is calling to visit and/or take a meal?  You.  That's the most organic and natural way God designed the church, the body of Jesus Christ, to work in this world.  When one part of my physical body is hurt, the rest of it doesn't sit around and wait to see what happens, or hold a meeting to see what part of the body is most strategic to go help out.  It organically, naturally all works together to care for that hurt.  Same in a healthy fellowship of Christians.  Don't overthink this.  Just do it.

2. When Corinne Kologe, Matt Gallagher, me, Michael Flake, Mitch White, your friends, our elders, when everyone in leadership at Lake Forest Church (or whatever church you go to) says to you consistently "the best way to grow spiritually over the long haul is to get yourself into committed (not perfect), consistent (not once a year), Christ-centered (studies the Bible and prays together) Christian community (through a community group, men's or women's group, a student ministries or children's ministries small group), this is one of the outcomes they are wanting for you.  When a lone Native American out on the prairie hundreds of years ago would get sick, who could help?  Who knew?  No one.  A member of a tribe, a sub-tribe at that, is known and best cared for (though not perfectly - my next posting could be about times we fail one another at these very same things).

Thank God that serving Him is sometimes as simple as showing up at an important moment, or bringing a meal afterward. I Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my dear brothers and sisters, stand firm. Let nothing move you. Always give yourselves fully to the work of the Lord, because you know that your labor in the Lord is not in vain."

Brunch with the Barstool Pastor

A year ago I told you about a new LFC guy who goes by the handle of Barstool Pastor.  Many of you fell in love with his mission (the post http://mikemoses.typepad.com/purple_pastor/2010/05/barstool-pastor.html)I want to give you an update, because Brunch with the Barstool Pastor launches locally this Sunday, at Harvey's Bar and Grill!

 
Jeff Hathcock has become one of our faithful prayer team members (you'll often see him available to pray personally with people at the conclusion of a worship service), including contributing to the teams that put together our 24/7 prayer tent and recent Lenten Labrynth.  His wife is also serving at LFC, and they're part of one of our newest community groups.  But the unique calling on their lives is to lead a mission outpost that loves people and offers the good news of Jesus to a unique group of people that likely won't darken the door of a church anytime soon - people seeking to find community and meaning by hanging out in a place where everyone knows your name, a bar.

Jeff's mission outpost is a barstool and a website (his day job is running his own business).  In addition to his ministry of hanging out and praying for people in a few local joints, Jeff streams live devotionals from wherever he is, takes questions and prayer requests over the internet as well as live, all at this site http://peoplestvnetwork.com/barstool_pastor.html 

Starting this Sunday morning at 9:30am, he will do just that in a new way.  By invitation from the owners, he will start 'Brunch with the Barstool Pastor' weekly 9:30am at Harvey's Bar & Grill in the Vermillion neighborhood center - here's Jeff at the spot. 

 

One of Barstool's (thats what I call him) taglines is 'not a church...a connection.'   Jeff isn't doing this because he hates or critiques 'church'  He's intentionally leaned into the encouragement and spiritual oversight of our church and elders.  But Jeff just loves people not-yet-in-Christ so much he's willing to build a connection for them, especially if they're so hurt, or discouraged, or stubborn, or addicted, that they will simply not take their search for meaning and love to the front door of a church.  They won't trust a church.  But they'll trust the local billiards champion whose their friend and prays for them daily, and gives them a nail to carry in their pocket to remind them.

Like I said, this Sunday is the first brunch at Harvey's.  Jeff's community group, and a few other friends, will be there to support and encourage.  You are welcome to go yourself, although Jeff's intent is NOT to pack this out with Lake Forest people - that's not the point.  If you have a 'given up on church, but not on God' friend who would go with you, invite them and take them.  If you read this blog, but are too skittish to attend church, then hey show up quietly this Sunday with my buddy Barstool.

I asked Jeff how we can pray for him.  Here's his reply - please pray it with me, especially this sunday morning at 9:30am:  "Our prayer requests would be for us to love on the people God puts in front of us. We're not just looking for people that don't or won't go to church, but also the ones that have been hurt or feel like outsiders.  And pray for the twist on our very unique gathering. A meal and music with a warm casual coffee house feel. Not a sermon, but live interactive discussion and an internet chat room with a mini message the lasts 10-15 minutes. We want to be an effective side door for people to step through and find Jesus waiting there. We are looking for community, not membership.' My prayer as Lake Forest Pastor? That God would use us as an encourager and even incubator of more and more experimental mission outposts like this.

So here's all the skinny:  Jeff offers morning and late night prayer through his facebook page (friend him).  Here is his website, info on brunch, and another link to his online ministry:

www.thebarstoolpastor.com

Brunch with the Barstool Pastor:
Where: Harvey’s Bar & Grill
When: Sundays @ 9:30 A.M.
Address: 13812 Cinnabar Place
Huntersville, NC 28078
704.947.5080

You can also find us LIVE on Sunday mornings on the Peoples TV Network (look for “The Barstool Pastor with Jeff Hathcock) at http://peoplestvnetwork.com/barstool_pastor.html

LATER ADDITION:  And I just got the mail, and Jeff's on the front page of the Lake Norman Citizen newspaper today.