Merry Christmas - Normative Sized Church

Honestly, I don’t remember ever going to a Christmas Eve service until I became a Student Pastor, strange right? Our family’s Christmas Eve tradition from my earliest memories had us at Grandma and Grandpa’s crowded house with all the out-of-town cousins enjoying laughter, food and getting hyped up about the next morning and the presents.

As a vocationally employed minister, specifically the Youth Pastor or Associate Pastor, I often found myself covering the Christmas Eve service for the out-of-town Sr. Pastor, who was traveling to be with his extended family. I mean, what could go wrong with handing the responsibilities off to the “junior staff member?” All that was expected was Christmas Carols and reading the Christmas story from Luke, right? That’s like hitting the ball off of a tee-anyone can do it.

Fast forward a few years later. I found myself serving at a church where Christmas Eve was a “high church” celebration (i.e. Choir Robes and Handbells.) As the Student Pastor I wasn’t asked or allowed near the stage or a microphone.

Fast Forward once more to a very contemporary church where the Christmas Eve Service had been deep sixed by the lead Pastor after a scheduling mix up (A former Assoc. Pastor planned the details and then had to be out of town or was ill-don’t remember) leaving the SP alone to serve communion to the entire congregation which took a long time-interrupting his own Christmas eve plans with his immediate family and friends. That was legend-it also led to its cancelation.

At that contemporary church I was asked to bring back the Christmas Eve service (not involving the lead pastor-who didn’t even have to come if he didn’t want-and often didn’t.) Over the next several years CE developed into something pretty big-eventually leading to multiple services, readings, a skit/drama and children's singing. 

Fast forward one more time. I served a normative sized church which was Replanted. Our Christmas Eve services were  very simple, some years (especially the ones that fell on alternating years for our young families to be out of town visiting the other relatives) meant that we would have almost as many on the stage leading the service as those who were watching it in the audience.

Christmas Eve during COVID19 provided another chapter-one I'm thankful only lasted a year. Our local governance mandated that our occupancy indoors could only be 25% of our building’s capacity. That meant we could host around 37 people, do the math, we have a small building.  So, what to do? An outdoor Drive-in Christmas Eve service in 30 degree or below temperatures.

Now my Facebook feed is regularly flooded by many incredibly creative and highly produced services being promoted by the larger churches in our area. I’m amazed at all the great creativity. 

This past week I attended an area Christmas Service and it was awesome and amazing, the church was packed, songs sung, gospel shared. I loved every minute of it. I'm for that absolutely. 

I'm also for something very different. (It is possible to be for two very different things)

Why should a normative sized (under 199 in attendance) church do a much less sophisticated and less impressive service?

Because that’s exactly how the first Christmas was.

On a cold dark evening, in an out of the way place, glorious news came to Shepherds who were watching over their flocks and looking into the night sky. A baby, not just any baby but the Son of the living God had been born into the world. He was lying in a feed trough surrounded by animals not a soft bed in a palace. This humble spot, unimpressive as it was is the place where God chose to make his entrance into the world. Immanuel, God with us, was born to be our Savior and take away our sins.

The most important and impressive happening in all of history took place in a setting no one would have ever expected it to occur. The medium is not the message. So, a highly scripted service with paid musicians and their original compositions and professional level production values is something to behold for sure. But it’s not the point.
The most amazing thing we celebrate on Christmas Eve is that Jesus entered the world.

So Replanter/Normative Sized Pastor, hold your service this Christmas Eve, focus on the message of Christ-it’s amazing and wonderful and beautiful.