The Pseudo Christmas and New Year Tradition!

 

Christmas celebrations are a yearly buzz of shopping, sending gifts and baking cakes. The sights, sounds and smells remind us that it’s time to join in the celebration. It’s like Christendom is awakened from a deep slumber to offer their half-hearted devotion to Church. Jesus who is the reason for the season is totally ignored.

Churches join the festivity by adorning shimmering lights, that even attract non-believers to pay their respect to the “building” during this time. Church buildings during Christmas season get all the focus and attention and are worshipped as a monument. These grand decorations sometimes symbolically give a misrepresentation that God abides in Church building as in Solomon’s temple in the ancient days. Sadly, it is seen that many worship Church buildings than the Lord of the Church.  This reminds me of the incident in 2 Kings 18:4 where the bronze serpent was lifted by Moses as a symbol of God’s grace and mercy, which hundreds of years later became an idol and people started worshiping  it. 

So, the hard question here is, how and when is the Church globally going to take a relook at its priorities and direct its attention and the congregation’s attention to the real Savior Jesus Christ? Celebrations and blessing related sermons completely rob the real reason of Christmas. During this time of the year large crowd are seen as zombies coming year after year dressed well to celebrate Christmas and New year but return home from Church as unrepented souls still wallowing in their sins. They have no clue for their purpose of life in Christ Jesus.

It is high time Church  sensitizes and ignites its congregation of their responsibility towards the Great Commission. In the effort to rejoice during the festive season, fun filled activities are introduced which may present the Gospel but the drama, dance, musical programs are all made Christian centric so that we make the world recognize us as a religion called Christian.

There are some Churches who are radical in inviting non-Christian friends and families for a special evening and share the joy and true meaning of Christmas. Christmas is the best time of the year where the story of our Saviour can be shared with all. 

The gospel of Luke records the Shepherds were the first to receive the news about the birth of Jesus  and were the first to give the news about the birth of Jesus. Luke 2:16 “They hurried off and found both Mary and Joseph and the baby, who was lying in the manger.” The most important information is recorded in the following verse. Luke 2:17, “After seeing them, they reported the message they were told about the child”.  Let me break it down for you: 

• The shepherds were given the good news, 
• They hurried to witness the greatest prophetical event,
• They saw it with their own eyes the Savior, 

Unfortunately, for Christians and Churches this is the end of the story. However, the actual story begins from Verse 17,

•  After seeing (Responsibility began here for the shepherds) 
• “After seeing them they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child.”​ (NIV)

It is ​s​o important what they saw was worth sharing anywhere and everywhere. What are the people going to see in your Church? In other words, Pastors, what are you going to show them? The big question is if the Church is still committed to show Christ and His mission in the right shape to the people.  

They reported the message

If your message is going to be revolving around abstract ideas and virtues like love, happiness, care and joy then they would be left with nothing to share. Remember their return home should compel them to share the good news of Jesus, if not you have failed in your Christmas message. 

And finally in verse 18 it says, “All who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them.”.  Mark the phrase, “what the shepherds said to them.” You cannot have your people see, witness, experience and then not talk about it all their life. It is a debauchery. 

Let me refer to you another character from the gospel, Prophetess Anna, recorded in the book of Luke. In Luke 2: 37 it says, “She was a widow for eighty-four years. She did not leave the temple, serving God night and day with fasting and prayers.”.  Now Churches like to inspire the congregation referring Anna by asking people to be faithful to Churches and remain in the Church in the dedication of fasting and prayer. Sometimes the Churches are  scared that believers would leave their Church and focus all their efforts in retaining them. 

Let’s analyze closely to see what is written about Anna in verse 38. Here starts the true mission and discharging of responsibility. I love this  verse, “At that very moment, she came up and began to thank God and speak about Him to all who were looking forward to the redemption of Jerusalem.” She was not just sitting in the church fasting and prayer, but she also shared the good news. This is the failed mission today. Sometimes many important Church initiatives including fasting and prayers are made as an event and program and eventually, the actual obedience to the great commission is silently ignored. It is time to seriously think about what it takes for every believer to be a witness. 

Can we seriously break the curse of celebration and make people restless until they have shared Jesus to everyone? Break the trend to revolutionize gospel sharing in your Church agenda. 

I would like to ask you few pertinent questions given below:

• Pastors, can you testify to the number of new souls you have led to Christ in 2025?  
• How many congregation members have you inspired to do the same and,
• How many of them have  actually led people to Christ in this year 2025?

If the answers to the above questions are doubtful or a “NO”, then it is high time you put the above questions into an action plan. I pray that God will ignite your hearts to make this coming year 2026 a fruitful harvest of souls for Christ. May you also revolutionize the trend of your Church and Christ mission in this Christmas season and in the  coming New year.

 

You may read the last blog  HERE

You can follow on Twitter

Persuading others to like what I love!

Have you noticed people love to persuade others who are in their circle to follow their interest? What I mean is if I loved a particular movie or a documentary, I would keep talking about it and persuade others to watch the same. Likewise, if I loved a particular book, I would want to strongly recommend in my circle of influence to know about it and ensure they read it. Most likely I would follow up to ensure they have checked on it. We end up being a brand ambassador for free.

Similarly, when people are strongly influenced by something, they often feel a genuine excitement and desire to share that positive experience with others, hoping they might benefit in a similar way. This behavior stems from several psychological factors: 

Sharing Joy: When we enjoy something, sharing that enjoyment with others magnifies our own pleasure and strengthens social bonds

Emotional Connection: A strong influence often creates a positive emotional connection and sharing it can be a way of reinforcing that feeling and connecting with others at a deeper level.

Validation: Recommending something and seeing others enjoy it provides validation for one's own positive judgment and enthusiasm.

Altruism: People naturally want their friends and family to experience things that are enjoyable or beneficial, acting out of a desire for others' well-being.

Shared Experience: Recommending something and having others try it creates a shared experience, which can strengthen social bonds and provide common ground for conversation. 

Ultimately, these recommendations are often acts of passion and a way for people to connect over shared interests and emotional experiences. But when it comes to the faith it usually does not  happen for a believer to share the excitement of the gospel the same way he/she does in other cases. I usually wonder why someone who claims to be a Christian is not excited the same way as the person recommends other things of life. Sometimes I even question if they are genuinely saved. I assume most of the people in Church are just absorbed as a Christian and a member of the Church. 

When you are part of a Christian family or born and brought up in a Christian context you end up being a nominal Christian, just fulfilling the spiritual obligations and rituals. Usually, the devotion of attending Church weekly, paying the offerings and involved in Church programs doesn’t make a person to be a witness and share Jesus with others. Churches and ministries substitute with prayers for the unreached without accompanying it with actual sharing. Witnessing and sharing the faith has lost priority and momentum.

Specific statistics on the exact percentage of time within a typical sermon dedicated to equipping believers for evangelism are not available in public research. However, studies indicate that this emphasis is generally low, and formal training is often lacking.

Key findings include:

Low Emphasis on Evangelism in General: A 2020 survey found that 75% of churches said they rarely emphasized "talking about one's faith with those who aren't part of your church".

Infrequent Formal Training: A 2019 survey revealed that less than half (47%) of churches offered any disciple-making or evangelism training programs. In a more recent survey, 16% of pastors stated their church does not offer any formal training on how to share faith.

Preaching as the Primary, but Insufficient, Method: Pastors largely view their sermons as the main form of training for faith-sharing (74%). However, individuals often do not perceive these sermons as sufficient for equipping them; only 13% of individuals in one survey said their church regularly helped with evangelism, compared to 87% of leaders who believed they were doing so.

Lack of Action: Despite 69% of Christians agreeing it is their responsibility to share the gospel, and 68% believing it's the minister's role to equip them, most (over 70%) have not shared how to become a Christian with a stranger in the past six months. 

Overall, the data suggests that while the topic may be mentioned in sermons, dedicated time and formal programs specifically designed to equip members with practical skills for evangelism are not a primary focus in churches.

We learn from the gospel writers and from the books of Acts the disciples and all who truly encountered Christ were all unstoppable. For example, the Samaritan lady used her story of shame to persuade people to meet Jesus.  Notice Peter and John’s  statement which shows if one truly encounters Christ, the person cannot stop talking about it at all. 'for we are unable to stop speaking about what we have seen and heard.” Acts 4:20.  Even though the disciples were strictly warned yet they kept speaking about Christ. Check Acts 5:28 “Didn’t we strictly order you not to teach in this name? Look, you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching…” And by this principle every Christian today should be unstoppable too but it is not the case. 

What has gone wrong? Sometimes it makes me to think Christians love their  Churches more than Christ. If you’re going to Church is not having an impact to be a witness and carrier of the gospel then something is amiss.   Why has the conviction got lost? If Jesus came to see and save the lost it is therefore your responsibility to continue with Christ’s mission and demonstrate your obedience to the Great Commission. If you are called as a Christian and not excited or constrained to talk about Christ then probably you need to commit yourself afresh and renew your understanding of the true salvation. According to Barna research study, ‘While pastors love to be in the pulpit (it’s their favorite part of the job, in fact), they aren’t always covering what their congregants or visitors hope to hear about. Spiritually open non-Christians—many of whom have some personal history with Christianity—are often skeptical of Church teachings and say they don’t or simply cannot answer their questions.’ Church it is high time to equip the believers, hold them accountable and release them to share the good news. Pastors, model the Great Commission to your Church.

 

You may read the last blog  HERE

You can follow on Twitter

Resource: 

Barna Study