The Advent Conspiracy

This past Sunday, we introduced our Advent series which we are calling "The Advent Conspiracy". We are launching this holiday season journey alongside dozens of other churches across the country that are striving to celebrate Advent in a way that is worthy of the birth of Jesus.

When asked to describe the feelings that Christmas elicits, parents will all too often list such things as exhaustion, business, stress, guilt, materialism, greed. I shared the story of my 8th grade Christmas when I was so completely crushed and as a result spiteful to my mom when I got the GI Joe Troop Transport instead of the GI Joe Hovercraft. For me Advent was all about...me.

So this Christmas season, we are challenging one another to take a good honest look at what we are really all about. We are challenging each other to explore new ways of celebrating the Holidays. It's a conspiracy because we are committing to not settle for the status quo, but to to try a new of living, of worshipping, of giving, and of getting. We are conspiring to stand apart from the materialism and greed that all too often take center stage this time of year. We are conspiring to demonstrate another way to the world.

Here are the themes of our Advent Conspiracy:
Worship More: We are looking for ways to keep Christ at the center of all that we do.
Spend Less: The average family doesn't finish paying off Christmas bills until teh following August. We are encouraging one another to put less of an emphasis on spending money as a way of showing love to one another.
Give More: Instead of spending lots of money, we are encouraging one another to give more meaningful gifts, relational gifts, home-made gifts, the kind of gifts that will show up in scrap books and keep-sake boxes 30 years from now.
Love All: We'll talk about ways we as families and as a church family can use our resources to make a real difference in the world. Stay tuned to find out what we'll be doing around the world, and right here at home!

If you want to read more about the nationwide Advent Conspiracy movement, please visit the following website: www.adventconspiracy.org

We hope you'll join us on this journey to reclaim Advent in honor of the one whom we celebrate during this season!