Halloween Alternative

Does your church offer a Halloween alternative? Go here and vote in the poll!

Trick Or Treat

I remember trick or treating in the 'olden' days when I was knee high to a grasshopper. I remember getting dressed up like a pirate, clipping and gluing the crepe beard on my face along with the obligatory eye patch and then launching out into the neighborhood with my sister and pillow cases in tow to get in on the free candy bonanza.

For some reason down through the years (particularly when my own children came along) I decided that sending my kids on beggar's night to get candy was tantamount to celebrating the devil's holiday - so at the Smith household no one went trick or treating. Somewhere along the line the church where we served began offering a Halloween alternative that involved dressing up in costumes and getting free candy. This was convenient, because now we could dress up, get free candy and feel good about it because we were taking candy from church people at church - this was waaaaay different than going trick or treating....right?

Last year I finally realized the foolishness of it all and began to reconsider the Smith prohibition on trick or treating.

This may sound funny considering what I've just written - but we actually decided to let our kids go trick or treating.

My inescapable thought was - if going trick or treating was celebrating Halloween - then what was attending a Halloween 'alternative' at a church that had the look and feel of going trick or treating - complete with costumes and free candy? If my kids walk around a church gym, hallway or parking lot collecting free candy - how is that any different than walking the streets of my neighborhood taking candy from the very people that I'm trying to reach for Christ? Is the candy given at church sanctified - or is it just candy? Is being in costume at church less celebratory than just wearing it in my neighborhood?

Somehow I lost the connection of how dressing up and collecting free candy did anything to celebrate Halloween or glorify the devil. If we do that on church property does it magically become not celebrating Halloween? Or is the simple truth that neither of these expressions is celebrating Halloween, but rather just some harmless fun? I emphatically decided the latter. A born again Christian does not celebrate an ungodly holiday by dressing up and getting candy - no more than people practicing the Christmas tradition of Wassailing do (you know, "bring me figgy pudding...we won't leave until we get some").

That little crepe beard wearing pirate from the 70's turned out to be a preacher and church planter - not a Satan worshiper. Nor have I ever had the inclination to serve Satan as a result of my youthful trick or treating.

I completely respect (and respectfully disagree) with the view of those who feel that Christian's who go trick or treating are celebrating demons - I only ask that you be consistent with that view and not dress up and go to celebrate Halloween at a church then.

Oddly enough, trick or treat is this Thursday night and my kids have no desire to go. Go figure. Apparently last year satisfied their interest. I guess they discovered that there are easier ways to come up with a few handfuls of candy that don't involve walking a couple miles.

If you disagree, please help me see where I'm missing it. How does trick or treating become celebrating the devil? For comparison - Atheists exchange gifts at Christmas without celebrating Christmas (sadly). Are they unwittingly celebrating Jesus and becoming Christians by doing so?

Creation Calls

Thought I'd share a couple pictures from my recent Appalachian Trail backpack adventure from a couple weeks ago. These pictures hardly do justice to what it was like to see this in person - but we took these along the trail early in the morning. These clouds were flowing down hill like a 'fog waterfall' into the valley below. The air was so crisp and clean and filled with a pine scent that would make a Christmas shop jealous. It was a surreal moment to witness the Creation of our Awesome God in motion. As I was watching this unfold before my eyes on this very peaceful and still morning, the worship song by Brian Doerksen, "Creation Calls" came to mind: "How could I say there is no God - when all around creation calls - a singing bird - a mighty tree - a vast expanse of open sea..."

Pastor Appreciation Month

Since October is Pastor Appreciation month - I'd like to know what churches are doing to show their pastor that they are appreciated? Any stories, thoughts or ideas? If you are a pastor, does your church do anything special for pastor appreciation?

If you're a pastor - you can go HERE to vote in an online poll.

Sunday Segregation

This is very surprising to me. Apparently Sunday continues to be the most segregated day of the week:

"The Rev. Paul Earl Sheppard had recently become the senior pastor of a suburban church in California when a group of parishioners came to him with a disturbing personal question.

They were worried because the racial makeup of their small church was changing. They warned Sheppard that the church's newest members would try to seize control because members of their race were inherently aggressive. What was he was going to do if more of "them" tried to join their church?"

Read the rest HERE.

Religulous

The new religion mocking film by Bill Maher called Religulous, is due out in theaters tomorrow.

Maher mocking religion is nothing new and he really, to an extent - has a point. When you look back at the Inquisition, pedophile priests, money hungry tele-evangelists and others who have deceived or damaged in the name of God - religion deserves to be mocked.

However his case that religion has been the single greatest cause of death and destruction on the planet is inaccurate. That title belongs to Atheistic communism, which is estimated by some to be responsible for over 100 million deaths.

So religions or religious views aren't the the issue at hand - rather it is mankind's sinful nature that's the problem. This film inadvertently proves that point - we are a fallen and sinful race that has done everything in it's power to reconnect to the God who gave us life - failing miserably at our man made efforts to do so.

Man's only hope for that change of nature and reconnection to God comes only by the transforming power of Jesus Christ - and that has nothing to do with man made religion.