It has been a longstanding tradition within the Christian faith for believers to come together on Sunday mornings, also referred to as the Lord’s Day, to commemorate the resurrection of Jesus Christ. However, there have been instances where certain churches have prioritized other endeavors over this regular gathering. Every few years, accounting for leap year, Christmas Day falls on a Sunday. And every few years, Andy Stanley’s Northpoint Church cancels worship service on that day.

Of course, for many, it’s truly fitting to celebrate the birth of our divine savior by neglecting the usual Sunday morning worship and instead choosing to spend the day with those who couldn’t care less about Jesus. And, unfortunately, this seems to be the plan for a number of churches this year. As Christmas Day, a day intended to honor the birth of Jesus Christ, falls on a Sunday this year, many churches have decided to forego the Lord’s Day altogether and instead prioritize the materialistic and commercial aspects of the holiday.

JD Greear, a pastor and former president of the Southern Baptist Convention, leads The Summit Church, a multi-campus 7500-member megachurch located in the Raleigh, North Carolina area. This year, similar to previous years, Greear is canceling worship service on Christmas morning and instead, holding a “Christmas Eve” service on any of the days of the week prior to Christmas.

But some, mostly small, conservative churches take the Word of God seriously and who, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit (Titus 3:5), have been born again and truly desire to worship the God who saved them, will actually still be meeting on Christmas morning. After all, worship of the risen savior is the most important thing to the true believer. But to JD Greear, pastors who insist on holding these worship services are probably just Pharisees.

Greear explained this in an article in the New York Times stating:

“Sunday is the Lord’s Day, and it ought to be a day you spend with the family of Christ,” said J.D. Greear, the church’s pastor, who was the president of the Southern Baptist Convention from 2018 to 2021. “But I don’t want to be the Pharisees of this generation, where I turn it into some kind of rule that there’s never an exception for.” He pointed to the Bible’s account of Jesus healing a man on the Sabbath, in defiance of local customs about proper behavior on that day.

Greear went on to explain that canceling church isn’t a reason to ignore Jesus stating that he and his family will be neglecting the assembly this year and, instead, be holding a private church service in their home, opening presents, and taking a walk in the neighborhood. Greear also stated that part of the reason for canceling service was inspired by the COVID pandemic.