close the church with bows of holly -- fa la la la la la la la la

It's time to speak.

An article in the local newspaper declared that a local church -- a seeker driven mega-church -- is closing The Lord's Day/Christmas Day. This was done after consulting other seeker driven mega churches (i.e., Willow Creek). The rationale? Hardly anyone will show up anyway. Besides, Christmas is a family day, right?

Wrong! This is problematic a whole number of levels. First, it is typically protestant, sectarian and pietistic. No rootedness in history, making decisions apart from the life of the church catholic, defining church in light of personal experience, etc. Second, it is utterly consumerist. Talk about the epitome of the church being a distribution point for religous goods and services. Looks like the market share will be lower on Christmas Day, so it makes more sense to close -- it will keep labor costs lower! Third, Christmas is NOT primarily a family day -- it is a high holy day wherein one is enjoined to the participate in the most important of all human activities -- WORSHIP OF THE TRIUNE GOD AS REVEALED IN JESUS CHRIST!

I could go on. Let me simply say this. For centuries, the church has gathered on the Feast of the Nativity to worship God. Whether one gathered in a locale or 1000 gathered in a locale, the church gathered. This is where this decision is deeply distorted. It is based on the idea of the church as a center that distributes religous goods and services. But the church is a community -- an entity in and of itself --that exists above all things to glorify God. The Church, qua Church, needs to gather on the Lord's Day.

These peope have no ecclesiology, no ecclesiology. Ugh.........................