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RE: [WORSHIP] Christmas Ideas for Small Churches

My eye caught Kelly point number 5 - If one person rededicated his life to God, then it was worth it - remember the lost sheep?  Kelly, you got one report back, but you don't know how many seeds were sown.

Personally I'm not keen on Christmas, and would like to remember Good Friday a bit more.  Easter Sunday is good to remember, but I'd like to have a quiet reflective Good Friday service but not enough people are free willing and able to come along.  We'll have another go next year!

Regarding point 1 - quality:  I have been in amateur operatics and dramatics for over 20 years, and watched my mother's operatic involvement from as early as I can recall.  When we as Christians talk about God, we are saying that he is better than sliced bread, not just the best thing since sliced bread, to alter a popular saying.  I firmly believe that if we put on dramas which non Christians are to see, then the production - every part - should be AT LEAST as good as a non Christian production which people would have to pay for.  If not, we could be seen to be saying that anything is good enough for God.  I know that we are not perfect and that we don't have to wait until we are perfect before we come to Christ, but I have seen Christian street drama that has been embarrassing because it has not been thought through and was not well performed.

Children, however, can get away with blue murder!  It's great seeing children getting involved and the majority of adults will pay attention to what they do/sing/say and will forgive any and all errors, even correcting them in their own minds.  You may find that a message will get over more with the children that the same message through the adults, as children are less threatening ...  Just a thought!

Thinking about points 2, 3 and 4 - work, stress, attendance, perhaps it doesn't matter how many attend.  Anything we prepare and do in our Fellowship is only going to be performed once, but that doesn't matter - don't forget, I'm the person who is in "am dram" and expect to perform y "Come to our dramatic presentation!"
    It ranges from poor community player's productions to just bad.

2.  Work.  Everyone involved puts in hours and hours of extra work for,
    weeks, if not months, during the holiday season.  

3.  Stress.  Everyone involved gets really stressed out trying to do the
    best they can with what they got.

4.  Attendance.  Usually the people who are in the production can get 
    their friends and families to come, but not much of a community draw.

5.  Message.  I have yet to see a production change people's lives.  We 
    were excited after one production that we worked on for 10 weeks, and
    performed 5 nights to about a total of 400 people, and we got 1 report
    back from a man who rededicated his life to God.  

I've done the big choir thing.  I've done the big drama thing.  I've done
the kids thing.  I've done the multi-church thing.  

I guess my question is: "is it worth it?"  Is God's kingdom being advanced
through Christmas Plays and Easter Cantatas?  Would we be better off
packing up the worship team, a few volunteers, going downtown somewhere
and giving stuff away during a free concert/praise time?

Maybe the ones on this list who have had wonderful results can respond and
say that it was definately worth it.  I hope so.  After being involved in
over a dozen of these things, I took last Christmas and Easter off.  

Sorry, Joe.  Don't take this post as directed at you.  I'm not angry or
challenging people, I just thought I'd get that off my chest and also
see if my perspective is skewed.

Kelly Dodge


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