Wednesday, December 07, 2005

Well, I spoke too soon. This is Christian irony.

Some mega-churches will be closed on Christmas



From the article: "This Christmas, no prayers will be said in several megachurches around the country. Even though the holiday falls this year on a Sunday, when churches normally host thousands for worship, pastors are canceling services, anticipating low attendance on what they call a family day."


That's just nuts. Sure, maybe attendance will be low because there are presents to open, toys to play with, and relatives to visit. But still, if these "mega-churches" are actual churches, isn't there some rule that says they must hold services on a Sunday? Cancelling is just admitting that they're in it for the money.

3 comments:

Nate said...

Yes, now that is, in many ways, irony. You'll notice that according to the article there are even evengelical Christians throwing a fit about it, which means that the megachurches have crossed some kind of line.

I've got to ask, though, do you have any reasoning to back up the statement that canceling services on Christmas shows that they are in the church business for the money? You seem to be pulling that out of nowhere, and I'd like to know what you're thinking.

Jeff said...

I may have skipped a few mental steps in that judgement, but it doesn't take much to come to that tentative conclusion. Basically, it's in the (low attendance -> cancel services) part.

Roman Catholic churches, I believe, hold mass on every day of the year except the day before Easter. This shows a great dedication to the faith and the congregation, to be available even when it isn't profitable on a given day. (Let's face it, all churches run on contributions. They do have to pay the bills.) Most other churches will also have services according to their regular weekly schedules.

IMHO, if the megachurches are there for the church service, then it should be held on Christmas Sunday as usual, if even one person will benefit from it. But they have cancelled based on attendance. It tells me their motivations for holding the service are not restructed to worship.

Nate said...

I see. I can live with that answer.

Money is probably to great a factor in their considerations, and it shouldn't be. And I agree that the churches should be open for Christmas to show more dedication to the congregation. That's one of the things I don't like about the megachurches, really. Overall, their dedication to individuals is low, and lots of people fall through the cracks.