The word “conspiracy” is definitely not what comes to mind when most people think of Christmas. This should disturb us. The story of God becoming a baby, born to an unwed teenager; the story of a young Jewish man announcing the arrival of an upside-down kingdom, where the poor are rich, the weak are strong, and where forgiveness and mercy conquer violence and power; this is the very definition of a conspiracy
What would it look like to restore the scandal of the Christmas story and reclaim it from our culture of consumption? What if we celebrate what it’s really about, the arrival of God’s redemption project in our world? In 2006 four churches began to ask these questions, and the Advent Conspiracy was born, a grassroots network of churches who have decided to substitute Christmas consumption with compassion.
The movement is based on four basic principles:
Worship Fully: Christmas should first and foremost be a season of grateful worship.
It’s a time to remember the story of God’s overwhelming love for our world, and to celebrate the birth of the king. What if we worshipped with more than Christmas carols, by changing how we celebrate Christmas?
Spend Less:
Give More: When God expressed his love for the world, he gave a person, a relationship. What if we chose to spend less money on gifts that we will forget in six months, and gave creative gifts of time, special experiences, or relationship?
Love All:
Christmas stands as an eternal reminder of one sure thing: God’s passionate love for his lost and broken world. Perhaps we should let that story reshape what it means to give gifts at Christmas. What could happen if we pooled together the money we saved by Spending Less and gave it to those in dire need? What if we decided to act locally––meeting the needs of under-resourced families in our community––and give globally to fund clean-water wells, housing projects?
In 2007, the Advent Conspiracy network grew to almost 1,000 local churches, and three-million dollars were raised for international projects that provided food, housing, and clean water for impoverished communities in Liberia, Sudan, and Peru.
This Christmas, Blackhawk has chosen to join the conspiracy: you can learn all about it at www.advent.blackhawkchurch.org. What could it look like in your life to restore the scandal of Christmas? Imagine the impact we could have on our community and our world by combining resources into one large act of generosity. Don’t just imagine. Join the conspiracy, and let’s see what happens.