Focus on the Family has a new campaign, called Stand for Christmas:
For millennia, CHRIST has been the reason for the season. Not only is Christmas a memorable family time – it’s the time when people worldwide celebrate the centerpiece of their faith…Jesus Christ.
In recent years, Focus on the Family has evaluated the advertising of major retailers and assigned ratings based on their level of “Christmas-friendliness.” We provided these ratings in an annual shopping guide. The response from consumers – and media outlets – has been remarkable.
This year, we’re excited to present a Christmas campaign with a twist! We’re placing shoppers in the driver’s seat. Through this site, customers can provide feedback directly to retailers and share their experiences with fellow shoppers!
By centering the battle on the money we spend to celebrate Christmas, we’ve already lost the war. We’re admitting that the “centerpiece” of our faith isn’t Jesus Christ, it’s our own desire for more stuff. We’re just making ourselves feel better about our crass consumerism by attaching Jesus to it.
A few years ago, Ted Olsen (a Kailua boy!) had an excellent response in Christianity Today to these kinds of campaigns:
Those who engage in combat to remind others of “the reason for the season” would do well to remember that the Christmas season as such has only existed for about a century and a half. The 1,500-year-old Christian season that precedes December 25 is Advent, a time of fasting, penitence, and somber waiting.
This was after loud-mouthed Christians bashed Wal-Mart over the head hard enough to make a secular corporation celebrate the birth of a savior they don’t worship. And bonus: Wal-Mart promised to have 60 percent more Christmas-labeled merchandise that year! Could it get any better than that?
Here’s an idea: instead of boycotting certain businesses who aren’t religiously-correct enough in their advertising, why don’t we boycott the whole thing? For the past few years, we’ve given a Christmas challenge to our church family at Harbor. Here’s what we announced yesterday:
It’s a subversive idea that’s slowly spreading: Christmas should be more about reflecting Christ’s love, and less about giving and receiving stuff we don’t really need.
As we do each year, we’re challenging the Harbor family to spend less extravagantly on Christmas presents, and use that money for God’s work. This year, we want to bless the church planters we are launching in [a country closed to the gospel]. Their ministry is currently limited by the number of people they can fit in a living room (around 8), so we want to help them rent an office. We need to raise $2400 to cover half of the yearly rent for an office that will hold 25 people for church services.
Think about cutting back on lavish gifts, and replacing them with something simpler but more meaningful. Think about setting aside the money you receive (you could even take the gift cards you receive and sell them on eBay). Talk to your family about getting less this Christmas so others can receive more.
If you’re not a Harborite, you can join us in our Christmas rebellion. Anytime before January 1, go to our Online Giving page, and look for the Christmas Conspiracy button under One Time Donations. You can use a credit/debit card or Paypal account to make a donation that will expand God’s kingdom around the world.