Cally Parkinson, a spokeswoman for Willow Creek Community Church in South Barrington, Ill., said church leaders decided that organizing services on a Christmas Sunday would not be the most effective use of staff and volunteer resources. The last time Christmas fell on a Sunday was 1994, and only a small number of people showed up to pray, she said.
"If our target and our mission is to reach the unchurched, basically the people who don't go to church, how likely is it that they'll be going to church on Christmas morning?" she said.
Among the other megachurches closing on Christmas Day are Southland Christian Church in Nicholasville, Ky., near Lexington, and Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, outside of Dallas. North Point Community Church in Alpharetta, Ga., outside of Atlanta, said on its Web site that no services will be held on Christmas Day or New Year's Day, which also falls on a Sunday. A spokesman for North Point did not respond to requests for comment.
The purpose of the Church is preach the Gospel purely and administer the Sacraments rightly. So it should be crystal clear that these folks are not a church if coming to a church, on Christmas which happens to fall on Sunday, is an ineffective use of their staff and volunteers. I remember one winter my priest held services even though there were only six of us there because of bad weather! Imagine that, two or more were gathered in the name of Christ and we were the Church. When the marks of the church are absent all that can be left is evil. It's a good thing that Christ didn't look toward Jerusalem and the cross and say "well, I just feel like sleeping in today...it just feels like a Christmas morning". In fact Peter was rebuked harshly for telling Christ he would not have to suffer the cross. Christ reponds to both Peter and us today "Get behind Me, Satan! For you are not mindful of the things of God, but the things of men."Mark 8:33. These yahoos are definitly not mindful of the things of God. If they don't want to preach the Gospel purely and administer the Sacraments rightly they should find new employment. Like something that doesn't lead people to perdition, where ever the hell perdition is. These mega "churches" as Bunnie Diehl said earlier this week are just plain evil! Eeeeevil!
4 comments:
I guess the actual members aren't interested in hearing about Christ? It's disturbing that those that don't even attend the church set the schedule/itinerary for those that do.
We, who by God's grace remain faithful to Word and Sacrament should be "weeping over Jerusalem"
(those who claim to be "church" and yet are not). However, we should also "think not ye stand, lest ye fall"! The constant call
to all of us must be that of our Lord: "Repent and believe the Gospel."
As the sainted Robert Preus used to say (this remains a very pertinent quote for our day): "The
Gospel assumed, is the Gospel denied."
Actually those churches did hold services prior to Sunday on Christmas Eve. So it wasn't like they called off church that week The day they choose to worship is trivial
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