Advent Conspiracy

My pastor, Michael, introduced me to this idea today. It's called "Advent Conspiracy" and it's pretty sweet. Advent Conspiracy is an organization that was started in 2006 by five pastors who decided to make Christmas a revolutionary event by encouraging their faith communities to:
1) Worship Fully -- Christmas starts with Jesus and it ends with Jesus
2) Spend Less -- Gifts are great, but Americans spend $450,000,000,000 on Christmas every year
3) Give More -- Take time to make gifts and be with your family, rather than shopping
4) Love All -- Give to those who need the most help (widows, orphans, starving, homeless, etc of the world)

In a culture where such a sacred celebration has become overwhelmingly commercialized, it is easy to miss the point of Christmas. What if Christmas was once again a world-changing event? It's an appropriate time to talk about this, since the next two months will be the months we spend, spend, spend for the Holidays. Think of what could be done if we, as a church, took back Christmas for the glory of God. I don't think that necessarily means we need to remove the wreath, toss the tinsel, or cut the candy canes, but I do think that we need to re-examine where our dollars are going this time of year. Is each cent being used for the glory of the King, or are we trying to impress the family and keep up with the Jones'? If the church spent the same amount on Christmas this year as it did last year, but redirected 60% of that money towards reaching the lost with the gospel, providing life-saving services to the third world, and reaching out to the hurting in our communities, imagine what would be accomplished for the Name of our Lord!




www.AdventConspiracy.org
www.RethinkingChristmas.com

Finally, if you're a friend or family member, please don't feel any obligation to get me a gift this year. Instead, take what you might have spent on me and give it to someone who needs it, in the name of Jesus Christ.