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Since we seem (as ministers) to be so wishy-washy about evanglism to bring people to Christ[IMHO] We ought to use every opportunity to speak a "Word in Season" I am not talking about bringing people to a building or a Group but to Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.
When was that last time you meet a stranger in Wal-Mart struck up a conversation and prayed with them right there between pot and pans and coffee pots? Before God and everybody! Try it, it's fun!!!!

Just one Christian's opinion: all the debate about a "war on Christmas" is a sham. Since when do we, as Christians, expect the rest of humanity (those other people God loves and cares about) to celebrate distinctly Christian Holy Days? Heck, we don't even do a very good job of maintaining the spirit of Christmas ourselves, often enough, so why would we want to demand that non-Christians recognize our holiday? In all the debate, I haven't heard from anyone -- anyone at all -- who says that Christmas should be done away with. It seems to me that Christianity in the US has been priviledged, not persecuted, and that we are now spoiled. We ignore the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 6...we want to parade our piety instead of winning people to Jesus through our love, acceptance and grace. To much of the unchurched world, this "debate" is just another reason to write Christians off as hypocrites and nutcases.

To all my fellow children of God, of every faith and no matter which holy days you celebrate, I wish you a fervent "Happy Holidays." To my fellow Christians, I wish you a joyous and merry Christmas, and my prayer for us all is for a spirit of humility that will allow us to get with God's program: that we love one another.

My comments may go far afield, but this reminds me of an occasion, some years ago, when a young woman visiting our church asked if I would sign a petition to have prayers placed back into the schools. I declined!

Given that I was a minister and the pastor she was truly taken back that I would decline.

I asked her, do you pray with your children at home? I went on to ask, why do Christians who do not pray with their own children at home insist on a legislative effort to have prayer take place at school?

I told her that I would favor a movement first that would get Christians to pray with their own children at home, then we could worry about the schools if at all! Besides, I asked her, if we had prayer put back in schools, who would be praying over our children, and wouldn't we have to open it up so that any religous group could pray at the school, including witches, warlocks, you name it?

By the way, her answer to my query was practically a no. She admitted that she seldom prayed with her own children at home.

We cannot expect the world to treat prayer or religous observations with any greater respect than we give them ourselves. So, with respect to this particular subject, I was far more concerned about the number of Churches that were closed on Christmas day than anything that happened in a mall or superstore?

I expect the world to act like the world, and I keep hoping that the church will one day stand up and act like the church that it was intended to be, i.e., the light of the world, the salt of the earth!

I give an attaboy to the National Cathedral in Washington, and all other churches who opened their doors on our selected day to honor the birth of Christ. I was travelling, however, I attended a couple of great services!

What is my point? If we want the world to show respect for our observations, we should be the first to do so ourselves. For I am sure that Christian's create enough confusion all by themselves for the secular world given that most Christian churches do a poor job of attending to their own Christian observances and sacraments.

And what was so bad about this past Christmas day, most churches closed their doors on Sunday!

What then can we tell others outside of the church or the secular institutions, with respect to how we want the holiday to be treated by them? How can they take the spiritual side of Christmas seriously, when we won't even go to church on Christ's purported birthday?

Are we then the church that has settled into the world? If the world will close it doors on Christmas Day, lets open our doors so that the people will have a place to come and worship Christ. Most people could only worship Santa this past Sunday, because too many church doors, where they would come to worship Christ, were closed!!!

Peace & Grace
Rev. C. Solomon

Actually, Christmas is a sham. As a Baptist I don't celebrate any kind of Mass as the Mass is an abomination. Barna says that the holiday has been taken over by the secular world. If you really want to celebrate His birth though we are only told to remember His death then do a better job of calculating when that birth was and celebrate Incarnation Day by having a special service at Church and then go out to give Him gifts of service rather than the selfish and pagan practices of Christ Mass.
By the way, celebrate the resurrection during the days of Passover not during Easter. We are supposed to be preachers of truth not practitioners of man's tradition.

I don't think that any of the Christian religous holidays like Christmas, Easter, Epiphany. et al, are going to go away and Romans 14: 5, 6 seems to be in support of Holiday and special observations.

In my view, if we are wise we will use these days as opportunies to not only celebrate but to witness to the world. I am sure that among other things the Catholics had that in mind, when they co-opted the day away from pagan practices that were customarily celebrated on the 25th of December.

Imagine if they had not coopted the day. Can you imagine what would be going on now from the 25th of December through January 1st?

I wish that Christians would coopt all of the pagan holidays and replace them with something spiritual. However, the scripture allows every person to be persuaded in their own minds.

But, have you ever been to San Francisco on Halloween? We definitely need to co-opt that one(-:

Whatever we do, the world will takes its cue from us, with respect to how to treat religous observations.

Peace & Grace,

Actually, we should dump the whole thing as it is not biblical in so many ways.

We aren't told to celebrate His birth only remember His death and resurrection, which junk has messed that up as well.

If you must celebrate His brth do it in September and make it a day of special service and gifts to others not a commercial free for all filled with pagan practices.

Not my opinion, The scriptures say...Romans 14:5-6

One man esteemeth one day above another; another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.

He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord; and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it...".

Whatever a believer does, pro or con, he should do so as unto the Lord, while being sensitive and respectful of others who are honoring the Lord with the day. Truly knowledge does puff us up doesn't it, wheras Love tends toward edification. Paul warned us in the same chapter about, "that liberty", of ours!

I worshipped at two spirit-filled Christmas Services this year. If you were to speak with the Lord, I don't believe that he would have considered either service a sham. In fact, I suspect that he was very pleased and proud of those who elected to worship him, probably more than those who elected to stay home and open gifts and fatten up on turkey and other self-indulgences.

Come on people of God, lets be a little more sensitive to our sisters and brothers in Christ. One of the most meaningful Christmas days that I have ever experienced was with the Glide Memorial Church in San Francisco.

In addition to the worship services on Christmas Day and Christmas eve, I joined in helping to serve about 19,000 people. What was most touching was seeing the 7 and 8 year old children who were there, in honor of Jesus, serving tables and presenting gifts to those who are down and out. Wow, I thought, these little ones could be home indulging themselves, but like Christ the Suffering Servant, they were there serving others, i.e., homeless, the elderly, the handicapped, drug-addicts, junkies and more.

[I will never forget the 98 year old woman, who requested a second entre. I wonder who would have fed or fellowshipped with her that day, if God's people had not turned out that dayand done so?]

The day is far from a sham, however, but be persuaded by your own minds, i.e, whether you elect to participate or not. For on no other day of the year is there such a gret outpouring of love, along with commercialism, but more than anything else the name of Jesus Christ is mentioned all around the world! It reminds me that one day every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess that name!

Some in the Bible thought that wasting expensive spikenards in order to annoint the feet of Jesus as also a sham. Ooopps and shame on some of you!!!!