Christmas Eve presents a dilemma for family-oriented churches because it’s a time when parents want to bring their children but it is difficult to provide programming for all ages.
Do you offer an adult service that is high on solemnity but bores children? Or a family service that includes kid-friendly moments but little reverence? Or one of each?
As a pastor I’ve faced this dilemma for years.
Nobody likes the term church shopping, but nearly everyone finds themselves looking for a new church home at some point. Undoubtedly, there are some who swap churches too casually, applying the same consumer mindset to worship that they do to buying groceries or appliances. But many are driven by some legitimate need such as relocation, a major life changes like marriage, or unresolvable conflict.
For years I swore I’d never become a church shopper, but when Heather and I got married and began blending a family, we found ourselves doing exactly that.
Most Christians never read the Bible outside of church. So when you have an opportunity to read Scripture aloud during a worship service, you are providing all the Scripture most people will hear that week. That makes Scripture reading a critically important part of any worship experience.
Too often we think of the public reading of Scripture as a perfunctory part of the service or as a fill-in between the offering and the sermon. That’s tragic, because Scripture reading has always been a cornerstone of worship among Christians, and it is always an opportunity for God to speak.
