Monday, October 27, 2008

Happy Missional Halloween!

Here we are yet another Halloween.  All of the horror/monster movies are moved to the front of the video stores, ungodly amounts of candy are being bought, and parents are freaking out about their kid's costumes (my kids choice in costumes this year: Wednesday Addams (Hannah), an Angel (Ellie), Obi-Wan Kenobi (Aiden, or as we call him 'Obi-Wan KeMobley'), a Zebra (Rachel), and a Chili Pepper (Lydia).

Some parents and churches don't like this holiday.  They believe that it's "of the devil" so they either don't do anything with it (no candy, no costumes) or they come up with some silly "Christian alternative" like a Fall Festival where they basically do Halloween, but only with other Christians and they outlaw costumes that have to do with witches, monsters, or people beheaded by guillotine.

Here's my take on Halloween.

I would venture to say (by experience) that the vast majority of people who celebrate Halloween don't know and don't care about it's origin - it's simply the "dress up and get candy day".  Is the origin of Halloween important enough to abstain from it?  I don't think so.  You can argue that the time of year and traditions that surround Christmas and Easter have pagan roots.

Think about the major holidays in our country: Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, 4th of July.  Christmas, Easter, and Thanksgiving are very family-focused events, and rightly so.  On the 4th of July, we see friends gathering together for BBQ's and communities gathering for parades and carnivals.  I guess you can even throw in St. Patrick's Day, where communities gather for parades and public drunkeness.  But there's something unique about Halloween: it's the only holiday where people in your neighborhood open up their homes to each other!  Families en mass are walking the streets of your neighborhood, kids are running and laughing, and people are greeting each other.  The opportunities for showing hospitality are incredible!

My suggestion on celebrating Halloween is this: just get over the "evilness" of it and use it as an opportunity to get to know your neighbors.  Have some fun, dress up, and hit the streets!  If your kids are older or you don't have any kids, turn on the porch light, make some hot chocolate for cold parents, stock up on the chocolate (if you want to be really popular, give out full-size candy bars!), and meet people.  Strike up conversations.  Talk with parents and tell them how cute their kids are (because they really are!).  Make Halloween a missional event in your neighborhood.  Once you're introduced to people, look for them as they're out and say "hi".  Send them a Christmas card.  Maybe host a block party or community BBQ when the weather warms up. Don't miss this opportunity to show some hospitality, love on your neighborhood, and build some bridges with people who need Jesus.

Friday, October 10, 2008

Out of the Mouths of Babes

My wife Dawn was taking our kids to class this morning and on her way was reviewing some of the bible studies we've been doing with our kids.  We've begun going through the Gospel of Mark and spent the first week on talking about "Preparing the Way" (I'll blog on that next week).  But Dawn and the kids read about John baptizing Jesus and was talking to them about baptism.  She asked the kids (Hannah, who's 10; and Ellie, who's 9) what baptism means and why Jesus got baptized.

Ellie answered that Jesus got baptized to give us an example to follow.

Hannah said that baptism was "pledging your love to Jesus."

Both correct...both beautiful answers.

Let's never forget that the Gospel is deep enough to confound the most brilliant of minds, but simply enough that even a child can understand it.