The Night Before Christmas and Red Holiday Cups

The Night Before Christmas and Red Holiday Cups

A Visit From St. Nicholas

We all know the poem, “A Visit From St. Nicholas” by Clemente Clarke Moore; it’s a classic!  

"Twas the night before Christmas, when all thro’ the house.  Not a creature was stirring, not even a mouse; The stockings were hung by the chimney with care, in the hopes that St. Nicholas soon would be there......…"

It’s the story of Santa Claus, his reindeer, children’s anticipation, the stockings he fills and even the pipe that he smokes (go back and read it for this long forgotten detail or just glance at this pic).  I love it!  I can still recite much of this today from memory.  I have no issues with the poem; it really is a classic.  But for me, it’s not what the night before Christmas is really about and I’m ok with that.   

Holiday Coffee War

It made me think about the big Starbucks controversy over their holiday cups.  Starbucks used to have cups that featured trees and holiday ornaments, but this year they chose to go with a plain red cup in an effort to be more inclusive.  I guess some Christians were upset with this and have encouraged Christians to boycott Starbucks.  I would ask, what do the original cups with the trees and ornaments have to do with the real Christmas story found in Scripture?   I just wish that Christians would be shown in the news for protesting a real injustice in the world, not complaining about the color of a cup.

But my favorite thing about this story was Dunkin’ Donuts response to Starbucks, which was to launch a new holiday cup emblazoned with the word “JOY” on it; surrounded by holly in Christmasy red and green.  It's game on between the coffee giants!!

I suppose that those who have a problem with Starbucks can just find the nearest Dunkin’ Donuts to get their cup of holiday cheer.   Who's got the better holiday cup?  I'll let you be the judge.  

Frankly, if I hadn’t heard about this on the news, I might not have noticed the cup change at all.  I haven’t heard any outrage against the classic poem, “A Visit From St. Nicholas” this year and he smokes a pipe (not exactly a role model for children).   The poem and the red holiday cup are what they are; they are just cultural symbols, but they aren’t the real thing.  

The Night Before Christmas

The real story of Christmas, found in the Bible is the best story ever.  It’s about the incarnation; God taking on flesh and coming to live among us in order to save us.  The night before Christmas is really exciting for us at Lightshine.  This will be our third Christmas together, but our first Christmas Eve Worship Gathering (@ 5:00 pm. 2500 Townsgate Rd. Suite D in Westlake Village).  It will be a time to contemplate and celebrate what God has done in the arrival of Jesus.  I know that it will be beautiful.  From all of us at Lightshine Church, we sincerely hope that you, your family and friends will join us for worship. 

If you want, you can show up on Christmas Eve with your red Starbucks cup or your Dunkin’ Donuts "joy" cup as neither will get in the way of the true reason for the season (just don’t spill on Joe’s floor or I am going to have to stay and clean it up)! 

Robert Douglas - Organizing Pastor - Lightshine Church

Lesson Learned From Zach Efron

High School Musical

Nobody is more surprised by this than me, but Zach Efron taught me an important lesson.  I know, it’s hard to believe, but it’s true.  When I first thought about this post, the song, “We’re All In Together” from High School Musical popped into my head.  Crazy right?  But not really if you consider that my two teenage daughters played that teeny bopper movie in our house with their friends singing these lyrics at the top of their lungs more times than I care to admit.  There was a time when I might have had that thing practically memorized!

“Together is what makes us strong”.  “Together it shows when we stand hand in hand, make our dreams come true”.  Of course it’s ridiculous (it’s teen superstars singing and dancing; how could it not be?).  But these lyrics made somebody a lot of money!  And let’s face it, maybe Zack is on to something.  Maybe together we can make our shared vision a reality.

Church planting can be a lonely world as can any entrepreneurial endeavor.  The entrepreneur risks it all to chase after a dream but the fact is that a dream shared by others has a much better chance of success. 

When we planted Lightshine Church, I knew a total of two church planters; my coach and Northland Village Pastor, Nick Warnes and my fellow Moorpark planter and friend Em Blattner (Grow Community).  I soon discovered that planters can often feel isolated and alone.  I learned this through personal experience and from widening my network of planters and listening to their stories.  

Fish Bowl

This past October, I was selected for some unknown reason to join a group of 10 church planters from around the country to go to D.C. to receive training in how to coach other planters and help them start new churches.  This was quite an honor as these were some smart and savvy Pastor’s.  During this training we had to practice what we were learning on each other in some “fish bowl” coaching scenarios that our teachers observed and critiqued (very nerve wracking).  In my final coaching session, I was asked to coach a very creative Pastor from Chicago through a real issue that she was having in her ministry.  My job was to uncover what was at the core of the problem and to help her come up with some possible solutions that would enable her to get “unstuck”.  

It didn’t take long to uncover the root of the problem.  She shared about the struggle of trying to find a new facility that would meet her church’s needs (a problem for most church plants).  But when I asked her how this struggle made her feel, the flood gates of tears started and didn’t stop for 20 minutes.  The bottom line was that she felt alone in the struggle and no one else knew how she really felt.  Heartbreaking.

Feeling Alone When Surrounded By A Crowd

The feeling of being alone even when you are surrounded by a crowd can be hard to take.  I could feel her pain and it really struck a chord with me.  She came to the realization that she needed to share how she was feeling with people that would surround her with love and care; people that would remind her that she wasn’t alone in this work.

Even in community we can feel isolated and alone.  I am incredibly thankful that even when I feel isolated, I know that I am never alone in this mission, in this dream.  I trust that God’s got my back and that we really are in this together!  I am thankful for Lightshine Church; for it’s members, friends, and mission partners.  Together we can accomplish far more than we can apart.  No one in our church community should feel alone.  We all need to pay attention to the people around us, letting them know that we care, reminding them that they are not alone.  This is the lesson that I learned from Zach Efron; well, sort of, but you get the idea. 

Robert Douglas - Organizing Pastor - Lightshine Church

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