Christmas Deep Inside

by Bob Setzer, Jr.

Here’s a dirty little secret about Christmas: amid all the gala and festivities, the parties and the laughter, the back-slapping and the smiles, a lot of people are sad. Most strive to hide their heaviness of heart, not wishing to impose their grief on others. But deep inside, where only a few dear friends and God can see, such bereaved souls are nursing a broken heart. And at Christmas, especially, they wonder if that broken place inside will ever heal.

The first Christmas after the death of a loved one is the hardest. All the familiar rituals are upset by the looming absence: the empty seat at the Christmas table, the missing hug, the once familiar aroma of a loved one’s aftershave or perfume, now gone, the poignant realization there is one less gift to give or receive. And the worst part is all this happens when gaiety is at a premium and the culture declares a moratorium on grief.

READ MORE

The Extra Point

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
As virtually everyone in Georgia knows, this year’s epic contest between the Bulldogs and the Yellow Jackets came down to a missed extra point.

It had been a back-and-forth game with neither team playing their best. Still, Georgia appeared likely to cinch its next win in this storied rivalry. Tech was trailing as the fourth quarter ground to a close.

Then Tech mounted an impressive drive and scored a touchdown with 4:57 remaining. Once the extra point was made, the game would be tied. With the momentum in the game seeming to shift,  ever hopeful Yellow Jackets believed they were poised to eke out a victory.

But then Scott Blair, the place kicker, missed the extra point. After hitting 77 straight extra points, he chose that moment to miss. The ball wobbled wide of the uprights as Tech fans looked on in disbelief and Georgia fans erupted in wild jubilation. There was a last gasp effort on Tech’s part to come back and win, but after that missed extra point, the game was essentially over.

Extra points are the gimme putts of football. No college or pro kicker is supposed to miss an extra point, ever. But to miss that extra point at the end of a hard fought contest between two bitter rivals, is unthinkable. Sadly, that mishap is likely to be the defining event of Scott Blair’s football career, if not his life.

As our church approaches the end of the year, financially speaking, we are trailing in the game of income and expenses. As December began, our checkbook was in arrears about $23,000. That is not surprising given a floundering economy and the tough financial year many in our church have faced. And fortunately, we have the reserves to keep a one-year shortfall from being catastrophic.

Still, I hate to see us lose a game we have it within our power to win. And I don’t want our history of balancing the  church family checkbook by strong year-end giving to lull us into complacency. This year, more than most, we need very strong December giving.

So here’s what needs to happen if we’re to avoid flubbing the game-winning extra point:

• Don’t assume someone else is going to ante up. This is a team effort and we need everyone doing his or her part if we’re to meet our goal.
• Curb your Christmas gift-giving, if necessary, to make sure Christ and his kingdom gets its fair-share of your hard-earned dollars.
• If you are in a position to give over-and-beyond what you pledged or intended, this would be a great time for some  Jesus-style, grace-intoxicated excess.

The defining kick of Scott Blair’s life is over and I’m sure he’d give anything to have that one back. For us, the game is still within our grasp.

READ MORE

Advent Conspiracy

by Bob Setzer, Jr.
According to one recent study, the fastest growing religion in America is not Islam or Christianity. The symbol of this rising faith is not the star or the crescent or the cross. No, the symbol of this burgeoning movement is a dollar sign, for the religion that is swallowing Christianity whole is rampant unrestrained consumerism.

So argue the authors of a provocative new book entitled The Advent Conspiracy and a companion website, www.adventconspiracy.org. The pastors and congregations at the helm of this movement believe the celebration of Christ's birth has been shanghaied by compulsive spending that returns less and less, at least as measured by the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control the New Testament suggests are the litmus tests for the truly spiritual life (Gal. 5:22-23).

Of course, an anti-capitalist crusade of the "Ain't it awful" variety is pretty standard fare at Christmas. But The Advent Conspiracy is different. It is not driven by joyless, wincing Christmas stooges but by serious Christians asking what a Christmas with Christ at the center might look like in twenty-first century America. The Advent Conspiracy is about saying "No" to Christmas excess so we can say "Yes" to the things that really matter: like giving very personal gifts to the people we love while sharing our bounty with those in need.

The four movements of The Advent Conspiracy will provide our focus for the four Sundays of Advent:

• Spend Less
• Americans spend nearly half-a-trillion dollars each Christmas. That's enough money to provide clean drinking water to every person on the planet, many times over. Are we buying what's on Jesus' Christmas wish list, or just our own?
• Give More
• The point of spending less Christmas is to stay out of debt and give more to Kingdom causes. But "giving more" isn't just about giving money. It's about giving yourself. When God gave the best God had that first Christmas, God didn't give more stuff, even good stuff. God gave God's Son, God's Self.
• Worship Fully
• Advent and Christmas are sacred times to gather and sing our hearts out to the newborn king. On Sunday, December 12, the third Sunday of Advent, our choir will present "A Service of Lessons and Carols." Not to be missed!
• Love All

Jesus' first act of solidarity with the poor and needy was to be born among them. What does that tell us about the radical, reckless love of God?

The Advent Conspiracy is a plan for treating Christmas like the birthday party for Jesus it was always meant to be. I'm going to give it a try. Care to join me?

READ MORE