In 2022, Prestonwood Baptist Church, a Southern Baptist megachurch in Texas, put on a Christmas performance featuring none other than a flying Santa Claus. In what was supposed to be a celebration of the birth of Christ, the sanctuary became a theater for holiday theatrics, complete with Santa soaring through the air like a scene from a theme park show.
The sanctuary, which is meant for the worship of God, was transformed into a spectacle designed to entertain crowds and elicit applause. The humility of Christโs incarnationโa story that has stood for millennia as the most profound demonstration of Godโs loveโwas overshadowed by a performance more befitting of a shopping mall holiday event.
Fast forward to 2024, and churches like Champion Forest Baptist Church, as seen in the video clip below, are scrambling to emulate Prestonwoodโs model. In their bid for cultural relevance, they, too, have introduced flying Santas into their Christmas services, reducing the miraculous story of the God-man taking on flesh to an afterthought in a glitzy production.
This isnโt about drawing hearts to the Savior, itโs about drawing applause from an audience. In chasing the worldโs approval, these so-called โchurchesโ are abandoning their duty to proclaim Christ crucifiedโa message that has always been countercultural, foolish to the world, and yet the very power of God to those being saved.
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What these churches fail to grasp is that the gospel doesnโt need a sleigh, a Santa, or a spotlight. The true relevance of Christmas lies in the unchanging truth that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners, not to entertain them. Christ demands our total devotion, yet these performances ask for nothing but applause. The incarnation of the Son of God, the fulfillment of centuries of prophecy, and the foundation of our hope and salvation have been traded for such a spectacle that would be laughable if they werenโt so pathetic.
This isnโt about creativity or innovationโitโs about faithfulness. Churches have no business trying to outdo the world with spectacle when theyโre called to stand apart from it. If Christ isnโt enough to fill the pews, flying Santas certainly wonโt fill the void in peopleโs souls.
The holiday celebrated worldwide as โChristmasโ is all about gimmicks and commercialization, yes. But the incarnation of Christ shouldnโt be. You wonโt find any of that in Luke 2. Itโs about the Savior who came to rescue us from sin and deathโa message infinitely more powerful than any sleigh ride could ever be.
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