by Marty Robertson
It really is almost Christmas, and I am genuinely excited. Over the years our family has been incredibly blessed by the changes that have become a part of our life as we celebrate Christ’s birth. It has become worship. “It starts with Jesus. It ends with Jesus.” This quote comes from the Advent Conspiracy website concerning worship. The mantra within Advent Conspiracy is Worship Fully, Spend Less, Give More, Love All. I think Jesus is happier with our celebration of his birthday now than he was in the past; he smiles more at what we do. We worship him more fully.
What is worship after all? I used to think that worship only consisted of singing great hymns and songs or lifting prayers of exultation to God. Think of the number of times after a church service you have either said or heard someone say that they wished that there had been more time to worship, that the music was just too short. Or that it was a great time of worship because we had a particularly long block of song and prayer. What about the rest of the service? What are we doing then? Or the rest of our lives for that matter? In the Westminster Shorter Catechism we are told that, “A man’s chief end is to glorify God and enjoy him forever.” Our chief end, the sum total of our life, is to glorify God. Wow! That pretty much says that everything I do is to be an act of ascribing worth and praise to God. So again I ask myself. Is what I’m doing this Christmas season making Jesus smile? Is he worshiped as a result of what I buy, how I spend my time, how I care for those around me?
Over the past three months I have shared about how our family and others have worked hard to Spend Less during the holiday season. Christmas does not equal consumption, and yet we are encouraged to go ever deeper into debt in the name of Jesus’ birthday each year. Buy one less gift. Give something lovingly used. Make gifts. We are working hard to resist the temptation that more and bigger is better, of trying to satisfy our longing for joy in Christ via stuff. I think that this makes Jesus smile. A nice side benefit is that I can smile in January when my credit card bill arrives. Rethinking Christmas will give you many ideas as to how you can spend less during the holiday season.
I also wrote about how we might Give More. Christmas is not presents, but presence. Jesus gave of himself. We work hard to be there, to be more present, for family, friends and strangers in the activities of the season. Set time aside to participate in advent traditions. Think of those within our church family who are lonely, orphaned and widowed, and invite them into your celebrations. Take some time to be present in our community by sharing a meal and a conversation with the homeless. When I see my kids greet the homeless and offer them a cup of coffee and a sack of food, not only do I smile, but I think that Jesus is grinning from ear to ear.
I have reflected upon how we might be able to Love All by rethinking Christmas and contributing what we save to help those around the world who don’t have drinkable water. Advent Conspiracy has partnered with Living Water, an organization focused on providing water to the thirsty around the world via education and fresh wells. Up to now Living Water has been able to place more than 340 wells as a result of Advent Conspiracy projects. That’s 200,000 people that now have clean water as a result of first-world Christians rethinking their Christmas spending! I think that this makes Jesus smile.
This year our act of worship is growing. We will be having a sleep over with a couple of other close families to focus of the birth of Christ. Each of us has drawn the name of another member to give a gift: something made, something used, or an act of service. Each person will bring an amount of money they want to offer up, and together we will make a purchase through World Vision, Samaritan’s Purse, or Mission Impact. Yes, all nine kids will be participating as well. We will make something to give to an elderly couple in our neighborhood as well as a homeless woman we have recently met. We will pray. We will sing. We will play. And I think Jesus will smile. My guess is that there might even be times when he will laugh.
Maybe that is the key as to how I need to think about all the activities I am a part of during the holiday season. Does this make Jesus smile? The crazy thing is that when I glorify God I really do enjoy Him forever. As a result I really am looking forward to Christmas. None of this feels like sacrifice. I’m getting the picture that this way of thinking and acting is much bigger than December 25th. Let’s make the Advent Conspiracy a way of worship throughout the year. Let’s Worship Fully.
Sunday, December 6, 2009
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Presence Not Presents
by Marty Robertson
I have written the last two months about taking back Christmas; primarily focusing on spending less and giving more. The dollars spent on Christmas ($450 billion annually) are astronomical. It sometimes makes me wonder if they aren’t eclipsing the star that first led the magi to Jesus’ manger? But we don’t have to participate in the madness of this spending. We can break the cycle, but it will take conscious effort. Here we are in November and the rush is upon us. What else might we do to help reclaim Christmas for Jesus?
A catch phrase in the Advent Conspiracy movement is to “Give less presents and give more presence.” What exactly did Jesus give us on that first Christmas? It was himself. And while a good argument could be made that this is a great present, it was/is his presence that changed everything for the world. He spent 33 years with us on this earth giving of himself relationally. And he continues to do so today. It is Christ’s presence in our lives that brings us forgiveness, hope and changes us. What might it look like if we were to give presence?
The holiday season is often filled with parties and gatherings that really do add to the presence of the season. I love our Christmas Eve service: the candles, the music, good friends, whoever the character Reed decides to dress up like… But it’s what happens around the service that remains with me throughout the year. A simple soup and bread dinner with friends afterward. A walk on the beach with family and friends earlier in the day. Being intentional about inviting others that may not feel very included in the larger picture of our community into our home during the season. These are easy activities that build up our church community as well as reveal the presence of Jesus among us.
Another way to bring the presence of Christ back into Christmas is to introduce traditions that cause us to reflect more on the reality of Jesus’ birth and less on the gift giving and receiving. Get a group of friends together and fill a few shoeboxes for children around the world through the Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child project. Many families have created meaningful Advent Jesse Trees where they read scripture together during the 25 days leading up to Christmas. Making an Advent Wreath and reading through scriptures in preparation for Christmas is another great tradition. We do this as a church and it only gets better when you deepen it at home. Years ago I made a cross from some scrap wood that holds the candles for our advent wreath. A not-so-subtle reminder of where the joy of Christmas eventually takes us. We have celebrated Las Posadas with friends for close to fifteen years. It is a wonderful reminder of Christ’s infant entry to this world. The focus is so much more on celebrating Jesus’ humble birth as a community with not even a hint at gifts.
But Christ’s presence that first Christmas was much more than celebration with family and friends . It was incarnational. In the flesh for all of creation. How might we become the “in the flesh” representatives of Christ? -as I read in a book by Walter Wangerin, “Jesus with skin on him.” This pushes us further out of our comfort zones. Would you consider buying a cup of coffee or a meal for a homeless person and engaging him or her in a bit of conversation? How about bringing bags of homemade treats to the elderly at one of our local convalescent homes and taking the time to sit and talk? The idea is to be flesh and blood ambassadors for Jesus. It is certainly easier to just send our money to the rescue mission, but much more life changing for everyone involved if we put on Jesus’ skin and become present to the marginalized in our community. These type of activities have become our family favorites and have changed me most.
Realistically speaking we will still be buying some gifts. Fair Trade purchases are a great alternative to traditional mall purchases. Fair Trade is a trading partnership that seeks sustainable development and greater equity for marginalized producers and workers throughout the world. There are dozens of Fair Trade options out there. One connected directly to Advent Conspiracy can be found at Trade As One. This might be the place where Jesus would buy his fair trade Chocolate Advent Calendar!
The beautiful thing about all of this is that our presence becomes worship. Jesus is blessed in our focus on him and the people he came to save. The clutter and rush of shopping and spending are drowned out in the joy of doing the work of Jesus. Our time and availability become the gift of presence to those around us.
I have written the last two months about taking back Christmas; primarily focusing on spending less and giving more. The dollars spent on Christmas ($450 billion annually) are astronomical. It sometimes makes me wonder if they aren’t eclipsing the star that first led the magi to Jesus’ manger? But we don’t have to participate in the madness of this spending. We can break the cycle, but it will take conscious effort. Here we are in November and the rush is upon us. What else might we do to help reclaim Christmas for Jesus?
A catch phrase in the Advent Conspiracy movement is to “Give less presents and give more presence.” What exactly did Jesus give us on that first Christmas? It was himself. And while a good argument could be made that this is a great present, it was/is his presence that changed everything for the world. He spent 33 years with us on this earth giving of himself relationally. And he continues to do so today. It is Christ’s presence in our lives that brings us forgiveness, hope and changes us. What might it look like if we were to give presence?
The holiday season is often filled with parties and gatherings that really do add to the presence of the season. I love our Christmas Eve service: the candles, the music, good friends, whoever the character Reed decides to dress up like… But it’s what happens around the service that remains with me throughout the year. A simple soup and bread dinner with friends afterward. A walk on the beach with family and friends earlier in the day. Being intentional about inviting others that may not feel very included in the larger picture of our community into our home during the season. These are easy activities that build up our church community as well as reveal the presence of Jesus among us.
Another way to bring the presence of Christ back into Christmas is to introduce traditions that cause us to reflect more on the reality of Jesus’ birth and less on the gift giving and receiving. Get a group of friends together and fill a few shoeboxes for children around the world through the Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child project. Many families have created meaningful Advent Jesse Trees where they read scripture together during the 25 days leading up to Christmas. Making an Advent Wreath and reading through scriptures in preparation for Christmas is another great tradition. We do this as a church and it only gets better when you deepen it at home. Years ago I made a cross from some scrap wood that holds the candles for our advent wreath. A not-so-subtle reminder of where the joy of Christmas eventually takes us. We have celebrated Las Posadas with friends for close to fifteen years. It is a wonderful reminder of Christ’s infant entry to this world. The focus is so much more on celebrating Jesus’ humble birth as a community with not even a hint at gifts.
But Christ’s presence that first Christmas was much more than celebration with family and friends . It was incarnational. In the flesh for all of creation. How might we become the “in the flesh” representatives of Christ? -as I read in a book by Walter Wangerin, “Jesus with skin on him.” This pushes us further out of our comfort zones. Would you consider buying a cup of coffee or a meal for a homeless person and engaging him or her in a bit of conversation? How about bringing bags of homemade treats to the elderly at one of our local convalescent homes and taking the time to sit and talk? The idea is to be flesh and blood ambassadors for Jesus. It is certainly easier to just send our money to the rescue mission, but much more life changing for everyone involved if we put on Jesus’ skin and become present to the marginalized in our community. These type of activities have become our family favorites and have changed me most.
Realistically speaking we will still be buying some gifts. Fair Trade purchases are a great alternative to traditional mall purchases. Fair Trade is a trading partnership that seeks sustainable development and greater equity for marginalized producers and workers throughout the world. There are dozens of Fair Trade options out there. One connected directly to Advent Conspiracy can be found at Trade As One. This might be the place where Jesus would buy his fair trade Chocolate Advent Calendar!
The beautiful thing about all of this is that our presence becomes worship. Jesus is blessed in our focus on him and the people he came to save. The clutter and rush of shopping and spending are drowned out in the joy of doing the work of Jesus. Our time and availability become the gift of presence to those around us.
Sunday, October 4, 2009
Only 82 More Days Until Christmas!
by Marty Robertson
I apologized for bringing up Christmas in September in last month' article. I now take it back. Costco had its Christmas merchandise out just a couple of days after the article appeared. And just today, September 21, 2009, there was an article in the Los Angles Times encouraging consumers to do their part in restarting our beleaguered economy; economists are placing our future market success on… Christmas shopping.
In last month’s article I put out the challenge to have us tithe on our Christmas spending. While 10% isn’t all that much, it really does add up. And what to do with that savings? Give it away! There is nothing more freeing from the bondage of money than to give it away. Advent Conspiracy has focused their giving toward addressing the need for clean water in our world by digging wells and providing education via an organization called Living Water. Check out their website for great stories about how they are changing people’s lives with a simple gift of water. Seeing other people’s changed lives has a way of softening my heart.
So what are we going to give (or get) this Christmas if we are not shopping? Two years ago I received one of the best gifts ever from my mother-in-law. It was my birthday and I was prepared for the regular shirt/book/coffee mug type of gift that in-laws typically give to son-in-laws. I have quite a collection of these in my closet and eventually they all migrate on to the thrift store. But this year it was different. I opened the box with its predictable “son-in-law” card and as expected there was a shirt. Nothing too terribly special in and of the shirt itself, but it was the story behind it all that made this special to me. She was volunteering at her local thrift store, saw the shirt and thought of me. She knows of our family decision to be more downwardly mobile, doesn’t quite understand the entire process, but knows that it is important to us. So she bought me the shirt for my birthday. No apologies for giving me a used gift nor any extra gifts given to try and make it add up to a “real” gift. Just the $2.50 shirt with about 90% of the surfers and palm trees printed upside down. What struck me most was that she had changed enough in her view of gifting to feel comfortable giving me a used gift and that somehow I had communicated that I was ok with this type of gift. We always say it’s the thought that counts, and in this case it really is the thought that counts.
So instead of spending lots of cash on presents this holiday season, how about preparing ourselves to be more thoughtful in our gifting? Or for that matter our receiving? What do you already have that you can give away? How can you support some other good work in our community by buying used items as gifts? What can you do to communicate to friends and family that it really is the thought in gifting that matters, not the dollar amount? How can you make it easier for others to give gifts to you that really don’t add up to much economically? What kinds of gifts would make Jesus happy to see given and received as Christmas presents?
Next month I will give ideas as to how we might spend our time during the holidays. Let’s take back Christmas. Join the Advent Conspiracy.
I apologized for bringing up Christmas in September in last month' article. I now take it back. Costco had its Christmas merchandise out just a couple of days after the article appeared. And just today, September 21, 2009, there was an article in the Los Angles Times encouraging consumers to do their part in restarting our beleaguered economy; economists are placing our future market success on… Christmas shopping.
In last month’s article I put out the challenge to have us tithe on our Christmas spending. While 10% isn’t all that much, it really does add up. And what to do with that savings? Give it away! There is nothing more freeing from the bondage of money than to give it away. Advent Conspiracy has focused their giving toward addressing the need for clean water in our world by digging wells and providing education via an organization called Living Water. Check out their website for great stories about how they are changing people’s lives with a simple gift of water. Seeing other people’s changed lives has a way of softening my heart.
So what are we going to give (or get) this Christmas if we are not shopping? Two years ago I received one of the best gifts ever from my mother-in-law. It was my birthday and I was prepared for the regular shirt/book/coffee mug type of gift that in-laws typically give to son-in-laws. I have quite a collection of these in my closet and eventually they all migrate on to the thrift store. But this year it was different. I opened the box with its predictable “son-in-law” card and as expected there was a shirt. Nothing too terribly special in and of the shirt itself, but it was the story behind it all that made this special to me. She was volunteering at her local thrift store, saw the shirt and thought of me. She knows of our family decision to be more downwardly mobile, doesn’t quite understand the entire process, but knows that it is important to us. So she bought me the shirt for my birthday. No apologies for giving me a used gift nor any extra gifts given to try and make it add up to a “real” gift. Just the $2.50 shirt with about 90% of the surfers and palm trees printed upside down. What struck me most was that she had changed enough in her view of gifting to feel comfortable giving me a used gift and that somehow I had communicated that I was ok with this type of gift. We always say it’s the thought that counts, and in this case it really is the thought that counts.
So instead of spending lots of cash on presents this holiday season, how about preparing ourselves to be more thoughtful in our gifting? Or for that matter our receiving? What do you already have that you can give away? How can you support some other good work in our community by buying used items as gifts? What can you do to communicate to friends and family that it really is the thought in gifting that matters, not the dollar amount? How can you make it easier for others to give gifts to you that really don’t add up to much economically? What kinds of gifts would make Jesus happy to see given and received as Christmas presents?
Next month I will give ideas as to how we might spend our time during the holidays. Let’s take back Christmas. Join the Advent Conspiracy.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Christmas Already?
by Marty Robertson
Sorry. The purpose of this mini article is not to heighten your anxiety about being ready for Christmas. Instead I would like to challenge us as a church to take Christmas back: to move away from the stress of shopping and over-busyness of the season. I would like to see us place our energy into celebrating the gift of Christ’s presence not the presents we buy and receive. So why bring this up in September? Because I know that no matter how well I plan out my shopping, carding, gifting and caroling I still fall headlong into the season feeling rushed and hating the commercialization of the entire event. My suggestion is that instead of just trying to schedule the Advent Season better, that we think entirely differently about it. Advent Conspiracy is an international movement restoring the scandal of Christmas by substituting compassion for consumption. Check out their website for some ideas of what you might do to make this a reality.
Each month from now until December I would like to give some suggestions as to how we might take Christmas back. Here’s my appeal for September; Make a goal to change. Here is a good reason. Each year it is estimated that American spend 450 billion dollars on Christmas. Each and every year! Let that sink in for a minute. Modest estimates attribute about 28% of income in our country to Evangelical Christians. Assuming that we Evangelicals contribute equally to this Christmas expenditure would total 126 billion dollars a year; probably more since this is actually a holiday we support, endorse, and rally around more than our non-faith sharing friends. What if… What if we, the Evangelical church, decided to spend less and give more money away? At least, how about a tithe on our Christmas spending this year? A simple 10% tithe on our Christmas spending would net $12.6 billion dollars. And what if we decided to give a cup of cold water in the name of Christ? How else might we spend our money at Christmas? More people die of water-born illness than anything else in the world. The price tag for getting wells and water education to everyone who needs it in the world is about 10 billion dollars. Our one time tithe could fund all the wells and water education necessary to bring an end to thirst. I know this is a bit Pollyannaish, and I often set my goals a bit high, but I also see this as an easy way to set our trajectory on being people of the Kingdom of God. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Take back Christmas. Help build the kingdom.
Sorry. The purpose of this mini article is not to heighten your anxiety about being ready for Christmas. Instead I would like to challenge us as a church to take Christmas back: to move away from the stress of shopping and over-busyness of the season. I would like to see us place our energy into celebrating the gift of Christ’s presence not the presents we buy and receive. So why bring this up in September? Because I know that no matter how well I plan out my shopping, carding, gifting and caroling I still fall headlong into the season feeling rushed and hating the commercialization of the entire event. My suggestion is that instead of just trying to schedule the Advent Season better, that we think entirely differently about it. Advent Conspiracy is an international movement restoring the scandal of Christmas by substituting compassion for consumption. Check out their website for some ideas of what you might do to make this a reality.
Each month from now until December I would like to give some suggestions as to how we might take Christmas back. Here’s my appeal for September; Make a goal to change. Here is a good reason. Each year it is estimated that American spend 450 billion dollars on Christmas. Each and every year! Let that sink in for a minute. Modest estimates attribute about 28% of income in our country to Evangelical Christians. Assuming that we Evangelicals contribute equally to this Christmas expenditure would total 126 billion dollars a year; probably more since this is actually a holiday we support, endorse, and rally around more than our non-faith sharing friends. What if… What if we, the Evangelical church, decided to spend less and give more money away? At least, how about a tithe on our Christmas spending this year? A simple 10% tithe on our Christmas spending would net $12.6 billion dollars. And what if we decided to give a cup of cold water in the name of Christ? How else might we spend our money at Christmas? More people die of water-born illness than anything else in the world. The price tag for getting wells and water education to everyone who needs it in the world is about 10 billion dollars. Our one time tithe could fund all the wells and water education necessary to bring an end to thirst. I know this is a bit Pollyannaish, and I often set my goals a bit high, but I also see this as an easy way to set our trajectory on being people of the Kingdom of God. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” Take back Christmas. Help build the kingdom.
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