ONE OF MY WORST MINISTRY BLUNDERS
SUB-TITLE: “DON’T GET YOUR TINSEL IN A TANGLE!”
This article will not attempt to enumerate all of the boo-boo’s and blunders I have made in 40+ years of ministry. Indeed, this article will not afford enough space to list them all! I have made my share of them, as any minister who is worth his/her salt enough to be honest will also have to acknowledge.
In my first pastorate I made one of the most juvenile—but innocent mistakes ever (I was just a kid preacher!)! I am embarrassed to admit it, but I posted on the sign in front of our church, “We believe in HOLINESS or HELL!” Well, now—think about it! We do believe that, don’t we? I mean—that’s what the Bible says. “Follow peace with all men, and holiness—without which no man will see the Lord” (Hebrews 12:14 KJV). In a much more seasoned retrospect I now realize that there was probably a much better way to convey that thought to an unbelieving world! Without a doubt, passersby whispered under their breath, “Yep, just another bunch of ‘Holy Rollers.’” Grandma Cossey used to say that you can catch more flies with honey than with vinegar, and it was obvious that by taking that Scripture out of its context and posting it in a stand-alone place on a church sign was an exercise in trying to catch converts with vinegar. Did it work? Certainly not.
One of my worst blunders was made on a Sunday morning in the early to mid 1980s while pastoring the Walton Boulevard Church of God in Pontiac, Michigan. I was a thirty-something—young, idealistic, impressionable, and impetuous. No doubt I had heard some famous TV preacher ranting about the evils of Santa Claus, and I took it upon myself to proclaim from the pulpit that Santa was a myth and that teaching this myth to your children was tantamount to telling them a known lie. I even pointed out that if you change the letters around in the name Santa you could spell Satan! Brilliant stuff, huh (I mean: if you change the letters in god you could spell dog, but what does that prove?)? A handful of people applauded me, a few more told me how proud they were that I was bold enough to say that, several thought that I had been very unwise, and a couple of families left the church! I concluded that ostracizing myself from some of my young families and losing a few people was a high price to pay for a few people saying “amen” and a few pats on the back!
To be sure—a Christmas that is all Santa and no Christ Child is no Christmas at all. It was correct to point out how secularized and commercialized Christmas has become and to call attention back to the real reason for the season. But it was not my place to try and become the policeman of the families of my church, or to try and change the culture in a thirty-second blurb in the middle of a Sunday sermon! To the contrary, I should have been lifting up Jesus, focusing on the Babe in the manger, and encouraging people to seek for Him as the Wise Men had done! Instead of instructing them to be Wise Men, I became a very foolish man even though my heart was probably in the right place! Not only that, but in my own home there was, at that time, a precious little preschool girl whose budding little mind was dealing with all kinds of fantasies and fairy tales from Santa Claus to Cinderella.
I know. I know. I’ve read all the incendiary stuff that says things like, “If your kids find out there is no real Santa Claus, how will they believe there is a real Jesus?” These ideas typically spew forth from those who have a “how many angels can dance on the head of a needle” narrowness about them. These are the kinds of minds that constantly conjure up conspiracy theories, and believe creative imagination is a waste of brain cells. One such narrow-kin once told me, “Imagination is simply a lie in your mind.” Nonsense! Children are created with an inborn fascination with things beyond their mental grasp! What old Scrooge could fail to appreciate the delight in the eyes of a child on his/her first visit to Disney World? Who would want to be the one to “hum bug” the wonder in a child’s eye as he/she contemplates awaking on Christmas morning to find a vast and varied assortment of brightly wrapped presents under the Christmas tree?
I believe that somewhere in the inner being of every child is a God-created sensor that helps him/her differentiate (over time) that which is fantastic from that which is genuine. Therefore, it is not necessary for some overly zealous young whippersnapper pastor to try and debunk their world of make-believe! All too soon each child will unwrap the distinctions, and all too soon will be thrust into a world where dreams do not always come true and where folks do not live happily ever after!
My conclusion then—way back in the mid 80s was (and is) that most fantasy and make-believe with our children is neither good nor bad in themselves, but if done appropriately is extremely benign. Children should not only be permitted to engage in the fantastic; they should be encouraged to!
My brother, George and I grew up in the home of an Arkansas cotton farmer (our dad) and a Pentecostal preacher (our mother). Santa, Frosty and Rudolph all visited our humble abode every Christmas. A Christmas tree (cut from the forest) was brightly decorated, and mistletoe was sometimes hung above the door! Christmas gifts (sometimes fewer than others if the crops were lean) were always under our tree—and Santa brought them in the middle of the night on Christmas Eve!
Jesus was also present at our house! The Christ Child was on display in the decorations and Mama’s little Manger Scene was always there for all to enjoy. But there was a big difference between the Santa presence at our house and the Jesus presence. You see, the Santa emphasis was only once a year—with the cultural celebration mingled with our Christian celebration of Christ’s birth. On the other hand, Jesus was present all year long. Prayer was said over every meal at our house. Mama read the Bible and prayed with us at night (my dad was not serving the Lord at that time), and both the Bible and the Sunday School Quarterly were part and parcel of everyday life at the Cossey home. The time came when I began to question Mother Goose, Cinderella, Superman, Rudolph, and Santa Claus. But, although I had a lot of questions about Him, there was never a question about the reality or the existence of this Jesus person! I knew He was real!
As believers we can become so heavenly minded we become of no earthly good. We can become so narrow that we withdraw ourselves so much for the culture around us that we have no opportunity to let our light shine. And it is certainly not our place to condemn everybody who may have a differing view about things that are not essential to salvation. Even of Jesus, the Scripture said that He did not come “to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved” (John 3:17).
Yes, the real reason for the season is Jesus! While nobody knows for sure the exact date of his birth (and historic research would strongly suggest that it could not have been December 25), it is appropriate that we set aside a day to commemorate the birth of our Lord and Savior. There is no other means of salvation. Jesus is the only way. Buddha, Allah, Mohammed, Confucius, Moon – none of these can save, even though they and their deceived followers believe they can. There is no salvation in Santa, Frosty, or Rudolph (although I know of no one who believes that there is or could be). Good works cannot redeem us. “Neither is there salvation in any other [than Jesus], for there is no other name under heaven given among men whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12, emphasis mine).
At our house this year there is a brightly lit Christmas tree—an evergreen that signifies the eternal life that we have in Christ (John 3:16). It points upward reminding me that “every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father of Lights” (James 1:17). When we mounted it and put water in the base of the tree, I was reminded that Jesus is the “Living Water” which, if we drink it, we will never thirst again (John 4). Atop the tree is a bright star reminding me of the star that guided Wise Men to the Baby Jesus (Matthew 2:11). Under the tree are brightly decorated gifts that remind me of the greatest of all Gifts, the Gift of God’s Son (2 Corinthians 9:15). Underneath the gifts is a flowing white tree skirt that reminds me of the purity that comes when the blood of Jesus washes our sins away (Isaiah 1:18). On the steps there are five beautiful angels, reminding us of those who declared His birth (Luke 1). Mr. and Mrs. Santa are just inside the door reminding me of jolly old St. Nicholas (270-343 A.D.), who, as the Bishop of Myra became famous for secret gift-giving, and thus the forerunner of Saint Nick, Kris Kringel and Santa Claus. Oh yes, and by the fireplace there is a Santa on a motorcycle to remind me that I am too young to be this old (December 25 is also my birthday).
A few years ago somebody (I think our daughter, CaSondra) got us a Christmas decorator pillow that we display on the couch every year at Christmas time. I think it speaks my sentiments very well. It commands: “Don’t Get Your Tinsel in a Tangle!”
Jesus is Lord! Always has been; always will be! Everything else is secondary! But as Christians we need to penetrate the culture, not try to escape from it.
“DON’T GET YOUR TINSEL IN A TANGLE!”
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!