christmas is about presents

There is a reason.

• It’s why people smile while wearing an ugly Christmas sweater, as if they don’t know they’re wearing an ugly Christmas sweater (even though we know they absolutely do).
• It’s why someone feels the permission to smooch you under a certain configuration of dried leaves hanging on the ceiling.
• It’s why families drive around neighborhoods, aimlessly looking at how someone else arranged the same lights they arranged on their own home in a lesser quantity.
• It’s why an old guy with a white beard can earn some extra money by dressing up in a specific red suit this season.
• It’s why you do your best Michael Bublé impression as he does his best Frank Sinatra impression, while singing Christmas songs you only know half the words to.

Some would say it’s the reason for the season… Jesus Christ. 

Let’s be honest, though. The holiday of Christmas is more about presents.

(Yes, I just said that. It’s about time you did, too.)

Christmas is about presents. Stuff. More of what we want. Our traditions, favorite songs, special treats and preferred circumstances.

Even if we’re “open minded” and muse, “People celebrate differently during this time of year, and I’m fine with that,” we get a little wound up when we’re not able to spend this time as we think we’re entitled to.

If you can agree with me on this for a moment (even if it offends you), then perhaps we can talk about the power of a gift.

I recently took my ten-year old son on a trip to Chicago. Our stops included heading to the top of the Willis Tower, also known as the Sears Tower. (You can still call it the Sears Tower if you want, but most Chicagoans will use it as the chance to say, “What you talkin’ bout, Willis?”)

I’ve never been in the building before.

Keep in mind, I grew up and lived in Chicago for twenty years. Nonetheless, I’d never entered it nor rode the elevator up to see the city from a top floor in one of the world’s tallest buildings. I shared that first-time experience with my son.

What caught me off guard was how caught off guard he was about hearing that. He asked, “You mean… you saved that experience for me?”

I paused, then replied, “I suppose I did.”

He paused, then replied, “Well… that makes me feel special.”

Talk about a Hallmark commercial moment. I never felt like I’d done something so right, yet so unintentional.

Later at dinner, we had another conversation about other experiences we should save in life, like certain things that are intended for the woman he might marry one day. 

The Willis Tower offered something else amazing we took part in together. The building has four completely-clear glass viewing decks that come out of the building four feet so you can look straight down while standing 1,353 feet high, as if you’re dangling in mid-air.

My son was a trooper on this. He walked right out, even laying down and relaxing on the platform.

And why not? He’s full of the kind of faith many of us have forgotten about or don’t even know exists. He trusted in his father to look out for him and introduce him into situations that he couldn’t handle on his own, but could with me by his side.

I believe that’s why Christmas has become about presents. Underneath all the wrapping paper is a desire to give something to someone else that’s meaningful to us and them.

• Sometimes you give the perfect gift on accident: You offer someone something you thought would be received at one level but is enjoyed at another.
• Sometimes you give the perfect gift out of relationship: You give the gift of genuine trust to another person where there is mutual love and respect.
• Sometimes you give an imperfect gift that you thought was the perfect gift: The person who gets it will have to decide if they’ll receive it in grace or reject it as unwanted.

During the Christmas season, people give tangible things that create an intangible reaction. If you think about it, that’s exactly who the Baby in the Manger is – God in-the-flesh so you can know Him in-the-soul.  

Yes, Christmas is really about the Present of Jesus Christ. What I’m proposing is we can use the natural thing this holiday has decayed into as a step of faith to the supernatural thing it is under the surface.

James 1:17 clarifies, “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.” (NIV) There is a reason.

• It’s the reason you’ll be generous with what you can see by donating something to “the poor” you’ll never see.
• It’s the reason you’ll join into tactile traditions today that remind you of emotional experiences from the past.
• It’s the reason you’ll be physically sitting in church service to spiritually connect with your Heavenly Father.
• It’s the reason you’ll even give up some of that in order to enjoy some extra time with others who need to sense God is there through your life… especially when you actually put on that imperfect, ugly Christmas sweater they give you.

Step out in faith on the ledge of what Christmas happens to be today... then look down.

You just might see something underneath you that is deeper than you think.

a baby who doesn't look like God... yet

When Jesus came, He was first presented to shepherds as a helpless baby lying in the manger… they were told He would be the Savior.

The baby name is Jesus – and He is the Christ.

Only… he doesn’t look like it.

“He looks like anything but a king. His face is prunish and red. His cry, although strong and healthy, is a piercing and helpless cry for He is absolutely dependent upon Mary for His well being.

He is majesty in the midst of the mundane. He is holiness the midst of sheep manure and sweat. He enters the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager & in the presence of a carpenter.”

– Max Lucado

This baby had once overlooked the entire universe.
Now He overlooks straw.

He left His golden throne room in heaven.
Now He sits in a feeding trough in a dirty sheep’s den.

Angels were singing His praises because they couldn’t get enough of Him.
Now he is overlooked by a world who wouldn’t make room for His birth.


Its what Jesus did for us... and what He does for us.

That is, if we don't leave the Greatest Gift unwrapped to concentrate on all the other ones.

Merry Christmas.

"A Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord." (Luke 2:11b)

Christmas Adam

Twas the day after Christmas, and all through the house, leftover cookies and egg nog, and... OUCH! I just stepped on a Lego.

Don't worry... "Christmas Adam" isn't something historical or biblical or spiritual that you're missing out on. It's what one of my boys decided to call today since the day before Christmas is "Christmas Eve."

He didn't think it was fair for only Eve to get a holiday. :)

I have to say this year's Christmas was really quite something. We made some practical impact through our church, from the almost $1000 we raised for a church in Africa we support, to the nearly dozen families who were fed through the food pantry our church supplies (and the donations of local people who believe in what we're doing). Then there was the $10 we handed out 70 times at our Christmas Eve services all to inspire people to "pay it forward" - meaning, to enjoy the gift of Christmas and send it on forward to others in their lives where there is some disconnect.

The local newspaper even put it on the front page.


The great highlight, of course, was another year of remembering what/who matters most. Namely, the "Christ" in "Christmas." There is something powerful about giving Jesus a gift on the day we recognize His birth (even though history is unclear on the exact day that is), which is why several of us at our Christmas Eve service took "gifts" written down on ornaments and placed them in a manger. Something about that feels right... kind of like we didn't skip over remembering whose birthday it was.


Although I have to say I did appreciate the gifts I received as well as gave. Watching my boys open their toys and seeing my wife's expression as she unwrapped her presents... not to mention letting my own jaw drop when I saw the lasagna my wife made us all for dinner. Drool, drool!


Then there was this morning... seeing my kids play with their Star Wars toys. It brought me back to my own childhood... and my own Star Wars toys. :)


So I hope that your Christmas Eve, Christmas day, and "Christmas Adam" have been filled with all the pleasures of heaven. Because that's what happens when you open the gift of Jesus... and keep on opening it all year long.

"There were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, 'Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord.'" (Luke 2)

this Christmas

This Christmas... I am floored the God-sized stories within our chuch community and the rippled blessing they are becoming to many.

This Christmas there is a married couple sitting together around their Christmas tree. Instead of being in separate residences like they almost ended up this year, they are instead fighting for each other instead of with each other. This is happening because Jesus Christ has been allowed to be real in their lives all year, even when they wanted to go their own way... because a cord of three strands is not so easily broken.


This Christmas there is a single dad who is no longer single. Not to imply that he is married, but he is surrounded by brothers and sisters who are helping him see Jesus and parent out of those insights. His household has been washed by the Living Water, and the shine of it all has been contagious. Whoever said a leopard can't change its spots is right... for we're not supposed to. But with God, a leopard can become a new creation - and suddenly the old spots don't matter as the once did.

This Christmas there is a household embracing the cup of suffering that God has given them. Every day is a choice of worship, because every day is not easy to face when it comes. As their feet attempt to hit the ground, there is natural disorientation that is only being trumped by supernatural anchoring. They know the words of Jesus, having abandoned bumper sticker cliches in favor of hard truth that gives them strength. And somehow they make it through the day to the next, finding encouraging warmth in a community called the Church.

This Christmas there are those on my street whom I get to live with forever. While we share an address of "Westgrove Ct, Medina" we also share an address of "Gold Streets, Heaven." I wonder what movies we'll watch together on the side of our mansions in glory. I am quite sure, though, that now the great banquet for Jesus will have a master chef behind it.

This Christmas there is a God who is a little more famous... in a good way. Perhaps one day we will fumble the ball badly, but today we are thankful and excited for the good days we have given the message of hope to the world. Having dedicated ourselves to being the Church and embracing what it means to be sent on a mission to love our neigjbor, we have done so much in this past year that is simply beyond words. Maybe there is something to this idea of simply attempting to be one with the One so that the world can believe in He who has sent us... so that they may see His glory and embrace His holy love that has been in play since before time was invented.

This Christmas there are gifts I am enjoying that are not under my tree, but are laid before the tree called the "cross." It seems so easy to focus on the infancy of Jesus Christ as Christmas, but He didn't stay a baby... just like He didn't stay crucified... just like His Church isn't meant to simply be "religious."

This Christmas the eternal King of Kings has gotten His feet dirty yet again through an imperfect, ragtag community called Connection Church. Just as He spoke within the Trinity to allow all things to be created and now is ever lobbying on our behalf for us, so has He allowed something precious and unique and wild and sacrificial and untamed to emerge.

Yes, it started with a baby who had dirty feet in a manger...

and then those feet grewu p and got dirty walking through the metaphorical and literal dirt we are covered with everyday...

and then they became dirty again, only this time by dripping blood...

and perhaps they can continue to get dirty when we follow in those footsteps.

This Christmas, may you see the manger underneath the crown of thorns, yet even still underneath the majestic crown, and yet even still through the practical obedience of His Church.

This Christmas, may you be Christmas, and in doing so bring Christmas in and through your household.

a sign of joy

So I'm in Michigan right now, hanging out at the in-laws for a few days to celebrate Christmas. (They have cable... I'd forgotten what a clear picture looks like on a TV)

On the drive over I saw a fellow on the corner in an old town we once lived in, doing his thing. It wasn't the guy in this video, but you've probably seen a guy like this in your town.



Once upon a time, this was my job.

Not literally, but... well... it's hard to explain. (My wife gets it, though.)

What I wanted to share is that our lives are like this sign guy. We're all pointing toward something, and if you recognize that you might want to be sure it's something valid you can enjoy pointing to.

In the Bible, we find words like "evangelism" and "worship" and complicate their meaning with things we do "in church."

But really... it's just the joy of being a sign holder, and letting that joy come out.

Maybe that's why so many people enjoy Christmas... people who may not normally realize how available "peace on earth" is and all the signs that are pointing to God all year round. This season causes us to put up our feet and recognize the Light of the world that shines in the darkness, though the darkness has not yet understood it.

And that's where true joy to the world can be found.

change for change for Christmas

This Christmas our church is making a strategic investment into the kids of Gospel Harvest Ministries, our sister church in Kenya. If you'd like to pitch in, you can do so via this link: http://www.connectionchurch.org/onlinegiving.php (just make a comment that it's for Change for Change)

One way to process your household's blessings (which can lend some perspective to being a blessing) is to use this chart. Accordingfly, you can set aside change to provide Christmas gifts and finances to over 30 kids.

• $.10 for every water tap in your home
  
• $.75 for every vehicle your family uses/owns
  
• $.10 for every bed in your home
  
• $.05 for every pair of footwear in your home
  
• $.25 for every toilet in your home
  
• $.10 for every window in your home
  
• $.25 for every bedroom in your home
  
• $.10 for every blanket in your home
  
• $.15 for every radio or TV in your home
  
• $.05 for every dish you have in your home
  
• $.10 for every trip to the store this week
  
• $.05 for every light switch in your home
  
• $.05 for every pair of jeans in your home
  
• $.02 for every can of food in your home

little big man

*

Little
big man.

Big enough,
small enough.

Big enough to be God,

small enough to be baby.

Big enough to create the earth,

small enough to crawl on the earth.

Big enough to rule us,
small enough to serve us.

Big enough to know our names,
small enough to know His name.

"God with us."

This
is a
Merry
Christmas

mashed up christmas

Dedicated to our friends, the Murphy's, who got stuck in Africa for Christmas in the process of adopting an orphan... and yet are enjoying it nonetheless.

a christ-mas list

So perhaps you already know that December 25 isn't officially Jesus' birthday but rather the day we officially choose to recognize it. Sure, Constantine snagged the date from pagans to redeem and amplify its sacredness... but we remember not the "when" but the "Who" - that God came near... and still does.

To help draw attention to this, we showed this video in our gathering yesterday...



Nonetheless, I wonder if Jesus were to get to present us with a "wish list" for His birthday what that might look like...

If you want to give Me a present in remembrance of My birth, here is my wish list. Choose something from it.

1. Instead of writing protest letters objecting to the way My birthday is being celebrated, write letters of love and hope to soldiers away from home. They are terribly afraid and lonely this time of year. I know, they tell Me all the time.

2. Instead of worry about movies Christians shouldn't visit, visit someone in a nursing home. You don't have to know them personally. They just need to know that someone cares about them.

3. Instead of writing the President to complain about the way he talks and acts, why don't you write and tell him that you'll be praying for him and his family this year. Then follow up. It will be nice hearing from you again.

4. Instead of giving your children a lot of gifts you can't afford and they don't need, spend time with them. Tell them the story of My birth, and why I came to live with you down here. Hold them in your arms and remind them that I love them.

5. Instead of remembering a hurt from someone, forgive that person in such a way that is only possible through Me. And by the way, all things are possible through Me.

6. Instead of elbowing your way to the front of the line, give someone your place. The next time you see a great parking space, pass it up as an act of service no one will ever know about except Me.

7. Instead of nit picking about what the retailer in your town calls the holiday, be patient with the people who work there. Give them a warm smile and a kind word... even if they aren't allowed to wish you a"Merry Christmas" that doesn't keep you from wishing them one through your actions, and then your words.

8. Instead of letting your neighbors become strangers as it gets colder, decide to bring them cookies as a way to simply say hello.

9. Instead of ignoring the Salvation Army bell ringer, plan on how much money you won't spend as you walk into the store so you can give it on the way out. And by the way, they always need more bell ringers.

10. Finally if you want to make a statement aboutyour belief in and loyalty to Me, then behave like Me in all the redemptive ways you can. It's up to Me to separate the sheep from the goats, and up to you make it easier for there to be more sheep. Don't do things in secret that you wouldn't do in My presence, because I'm there anyway. Let people know by your actions that you are one of Mine.

And by the way - I am God and can take care of Myself. Just love Me and do what I have told you to do... I'll take care of all the rest. Check out the list above and get to work - time is short. I'll help you, but the ball is now in your court. And do have a most blessed Christmas with all those whom you love.

Ya yhink?

relational giving

So this past Sunday I proposed to our church a three-tiered approach to celebrating Christmas from a more intentional place. You can download it HERE (including a special advent calendar that will rock your world - literally), but one of the thoughts is "relational giving" - a concept that deals with us giving of ourselves more than stuff.

Because, after all, Christmas is about the best relational gift of all... YEAH!

Listed below are some ideas I wanted to pass along... gifts that in some way increase the relational capacity you and another person could share over the course of a year.

• 52 packets of gourmet hot chocolate with a personal coffee cup: So that you can share a special time together once a week.


• Two journals: You each write in one for two months and write down various things you see in the other person during that time - steps of growth they're taking, outstanding qualities, any blind spots, and so on. Then at the end of two months you switch.


• Deck of cards and book of card game rules: This gives you an excuse to do something to hang out together.


• Collage of special photos: Highlighting your favorite memories together.


• Bottle of sparkling cider and a picnic basket filled with deli cheese and fruit: Make plans to have a picnic together, even if it's inside.


• Disposable camera or rolls of film: Devoted for the sole use of capturing future memories together.


• Craft supplies: Geared to help you do something creative together.


• Gardening gloves with a plant or flower seeds: Indicating you'll work on a garden together.


• Homemade cookie mix with instructions for baking: Take turns making each other a round every couple of weeks.


• Fancy magazines tied together with a pretty ribbon: Read them together and talk about the articles.


• Gourmet popcorn and video rental gift certificates: Movie nights every week for a month - 'nuff said.


• Locally made barbecue or steak sauce with basting brush: Use this as a way to not only spend time together but also invite some new friends into your relational circle.


• Pancake or waffle mix and a bottle of real maple syrup: Sometimes you just need to start the day off together right... use this to guarantee the food is good.


• Movie theater gift certificates: Take turns picking movies to see together - no complaints.


• Board games: Draw people of all ages and backgrounds together through the games you play together.


• Books: There are still a few for under $10 that you can read through together.


• Basket filled with kitchen gadgets: Decide you'll spend some extra time finding recipes that force you to use them and cook for each other.


• Prepaid long distance phone cards: Especially helpful if you are separated by miles.


• A watch with an alarm on it: When it goes off you pray for each other.


• Colorful Post-It notepads: Give each other permission to leave encouraging notes in unexpected places around the house


• Puzzles: There's nothing like the good old fashioned task of putting the pieces of a puzzle together... and it gives you plenty of time to talk.

Got any more?

what if christmas kept going?

I was talking with a buddy tonight and he mentioned how ironic it is that the crazy schedule we keep this time of year can make it hard to even focus on Jesus. I know this is a standard question preacher types ask, but honestly... what would it look like if the Christmas season lasted all year long? After all, we don't know for sure what day of the calendar year that Jesus was actually born... so why not assume He's to be born everyday in some small way?

Personally, I like this spin a few people came up with.

now that you've opened your presents...

Fifty-two percent of polled Americans admitted that they "re-gift" presents or say they will do so in the future. Four percent of those polled say they do this because they don't like the person they are giving the gift to. (TIME magazine, Oct. 16, 2006)

In light of all that frustrated fruitcake passing, here's some more Jim Gaffigan fun:

I got a robe for Christmas. I remember looking at the robe thinking, "Wow, I hope I get the flu so I can wear it." Who has the time for a robe? It's a weird piece of clothing... how'd we even come up with the robe? Some guy said, "Hey I got an idea. How about if we make a coat out of a towel?" The indoor jacket... the robe. Ever seen someone outside in a robe? They look like they just escaped from the looney bin. "Ah, just getting the paper." "Before the monsters do, right?"

Ever get a candle as a gift? "Uh, thanks. You know I have electricity, right? Look if my place smells just tell me, alright. Now I know what I'm getting you next year... this."

It's a gamble with gifts... the Statue of Liberty was a gift - a big beautiful statue from the French. Good thing the Statue is beautiful because if it was ugly that would have been awkward. The French would come up, "Where's the Statue of Liberty?" "Yeah, uh, it's in the desert in Arizona. Yeah, we thought it really complemented the desert." It would have even been more awkward if we regifted the Statue. "Where's that gigantic Statue?" "Um, Japan was having a birthday and we didn't know what to get them, so we we said it was from both of us."

Kind of makes me wonder how many of us will hear the Christmas message this year and receive a gift in an offer to give ourselves to Jesus... for the first time or five-thousandth time. Perhaps we will allow that gift to become new again in our hearts as we become new again to Him... or perhaps we'll hope that Jesus has a gift receipt attached somewhere so we can trade him in for something that better suits our fancy. Either way, the gift is still there... waiting for us to open it and be blessed beyond measure.

Repgifting presents is one thing... trying to regift His presence is another.

"Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger." (Luke 2:11-12)

as moments go

"As moments go, [the moment of the incarnation] appeared no different than any other. If you could somehow pick it up off the timeline and examine it, it would look exactly like the ones that have passed while you read these words ... But in reality, that particular moment was like none other. For through that segment of time a spectacular thing occurred. God became a man. While the creatures of earth walked unaware, Divinity arrived. Heaven opened herself and placed her most precious one in a human womb." - Max Lucado, God Came Near

the christmas story

"I love our holiday traditions, like the Christmas tree where we go out and chop down a tree and put it in our living room. Kind of sounds like the behavior of a drunk man, really. Some woman wakes up and says, 'Honey, why is there a... pine tree... in our living room?'" - Jim Gaffigan

Have you ever spent any time in Matthew 1? If you're like the average person, probably not. I have to confess that I used to skip over it quite often whenever I'd scan around the Scriptures at Christmas time. Let's face it - reading a bunch of names in a genealogy doesn't really seem to speak "CHRISTMAS" with all the usual warm fuzzies.

A record of the genealogy of Jesus Christ the son of David, the son of Abraham. (Matthew 1:1)

Yet I think this Scripture operates like the Christmas decorations we often put together this time of year. From the music we sing to the lights we put up, we often engage in things that help Christmas to come more into focus. For me that shift is when the tree goes up, which is perhaps why I have a special affection for the first Christmas tree... that being Jesus' family tree.

These verses are called the “whakapapa,” an important way Jews tried to prove the purity of their history and spirituality. It was thought that if one could trace his history back to people of noteworthy descent or achievement, he was thought to be more greatly in God’s favor. This is why King David is mentioned, in addition to the fact that the prophecies about Jesus included that he would be a descendent of the one thought to be Israel’s greatest king.

On the other side, Matthew included five women in his genealogy of Christ - not customary for Jews to include women in their records. Throw a whole lot of scandal into it and we find the noble, the poor, the righteous, the immoral, the compassionate,the murderers, the religious,the pagans… you know, you and I (depending on which day you catch us).

Hmm…

It would seem that the genealogy of Jesus essentially tells us that everyone is invited to join his Christmas tree. You and I… called to rest ourselves on him.

But the story doesn’t end there… check this out.

This is how the birth of Jesus Christ came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be with child through the Holy Spirit. (Matthew 1:18)

Jesus is God and came to literally be with us… to experience our human sufferings and temptations - and joys and triumphs. The importance of this birth of Immanuel cannot be overstated - God came to be with us in flesh and blood.

The Christmas Story is all around us.

• Why do we gather with people we enjoy and can’t stand? Perhaps because God did and does the same.
• Why do we make fruitcake? I’m not sure, actually… maybe even that has something to do with the fruitcakes in Jesus’ story. And I’m one of them… and so are you.
• Why do we hang ornaments on a tree? Maybe to remind us of our history so that we might more fully be mindful of God in the present... or maybe because Jesus hung himself on our tree.

The Christmas Story includes the absurd reality that we are a part of it already and are invited to enjoy it for the gift it is. God enters creation as every human ever has -- but though the way is common, it is God who allows the birth to be uncommon indeed.

A healing crack in the universe…

a birth in darkness in order to display its blazing light…

a baby’s cries that created a silent night of awe in the universe.

As someone who is looking for new ways in the familiar ways to find Jesus this Christmas, I invite you to do the same.

24th

The following takes place between 11:58 p.m. and 12 a.m. on Dec. 24

regarding Christmas lights

I like colored lights.

My wife likes white lights.

I just felt like sharing that.

Thank you.

christmas eve service

!
Amen.

Praise God.

My throat is dry.

The Word made flesh.
Prayer requests were placed
in an authentic style manger.
I shared a message... people listened.

A packed house - visitors and regulars.

The praise music was traditional-yet-modern.

We had an incredible Christmas Eve service tonight.

We had an incredible Christmas Eve service tonight.
The praise music was traditional-yet-modern.
A packed house - visitors and regulars.
I shared a message... people listened.
Prayer requests were placed in
an authentic style manger.
The Word made flesh.
My throat is dry.
Praise God.
Amen.
!