Last week the youth had their Christmas Progressive Dinner. We had a great time! At one stop during the evening I asked the youth to share their favorite youth group moments from the past year. This year the youth and I have made a lot of memories.

As I write this blog, I am surrounded by thoughts of Christmas. I thought that I would share a Christmas memory with you. When I was a child I came up with what I thought was a great Christmas plan. I knew that Santa would be coming through my fireplace. I also knew that a few toys from Santa were good, but all of Santa’s toys would be better. I built a trap for Santa. I had rope and bells tied all over the fireplace. My plan was for Santa to get trapped in the rope and then the bells would wake me up so I could grab him or at least his presents

Most people celebrate at least two Christmases—Christmas with immediate family and Christmas with extended family. It may even be as many as four Christmases if you’ve had divorced parents and step-parents added to the mix—hence the movie by the same name. As for me, I’ll be celebrating Christmas with my wife and children, followed by a long trip to Mississippi where we will make the Christmas circuit through my parents and in-laws homes. So that makes three Christmases for me.

What’s been on my mind this Advent season is the stark fact that we are all confronted with two Christmases whether we realize it or not. There’s the cultural Christmas experience complete with Santa, reindeer, snow, warm fuzzy Christmas songs, and most importantly the giving and receiving of gifts.

Then there’s the Christian Christmas experience as told through the Gospels of Luke and Matthew of God sending God’s own son in the form of a baby in the most unconventional, unpredictable way imaginable. Nobody expected it to happen this way. Messiah was to come, everyone thought, amidst royalty and privilege and power. Of course, according to the Christian tradition, it didn’t happen that way at all. God came from way beyond left field. It took the intervention of angels to convince folks that it was really true.

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“I have a confession to make, and this day of all days seems like the perfect time to make it. I’m a present-shaker. Any other present shakers out there? It’s OK, the first step to healing is admitting you have a problem. As a child, each December I would wait for the floor under the tree to begin filling with presents, and then when no one was around, I would dive in. When I had found one of mine, I groped it like a finicky shopper massages a cantaloupe. I’d feel for corners, I’d listen for rattling parts, I’d judge their weight in my hands. I’d search for any odd sounds and shapes with the intensive scrutiny of a crime scene investigator. Books and puzzles were no-brainers, but I got so good that I could tell the shuffle-shuffle-slide of a sweater from the shifting swish of a shirt.

I read in this morning’s Raleigh News & Observer about a recently released report from the Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life. It further confirms the new realities facing Christians, churches, and church leaders. We must all wake up and smell the blended faith!

In a nutshell, it is a “build-your-own-religion” approach—much like building your own ice-cream sundae. Here are a few interesting thoughts from this study to consider:         

One-third of Americans say they regularly or occasionally attend religious services at more than one place.

It is now the norm for Americans to blend multiple religious beliefs and practices--from Christianity to Buddhism to New Age.

 Pop culture and the Internet and are probably more powerful teachers than Sunday School teachers (Scot Thumma- Hartford Institute for Religion Research). These survey...

For the past few years I have sponsored a child with Holt International. Each month I send a small amount of money to make sure my little child is taken care off. Throughout the year I get updates on my child. I get a picture too. The picture always ends up on my refrigerator. Around this time of year the people at Holt International send out a gift catalogue.

Last night I went to see the Mount Olive College Concert Choir. They were amazing! I have gotten to know many of the students who are a part of the choir. They had all been telling me how great it was going to be. Each of the students I have meet are crazy talented. As a group they really were amazing. I really didn’t expect God to us the choir as an object lesson, but He did.

I recently officiated my thirteenth funeral of 2009. I’ve lost track of how many funerals I’ve presided over during my 14 years as a pastor. But I have noticed some changes. In general, funerals have changed alongside the changing nature of our culture. As each new generation becomes less churched, and less influenced by organized religion, these changes begin to emerge in some of the unconventional practices we see at funerals.

Gone are the days when one might assume the loved ones of the dearly departed have a sense of what is appropriate for a funeral—committing a sacred creation back to the Creator and looking forward with Christian hope in the resurrection.

This is especially true when it comes to the selection of music. I’ve heard such sacred artists as Bette Midler, Brooks & Dunn, Eric Clapton and Elvis (at least Elvis had a sacred...