I am beginning a new series on holidays, focusing especially on Christian holidays.  This will give me the opportunity to explore the origins of some of our major holidays and share reflections on them from a Christian perspective.  Learning about the historical background behind some of our holidays can help us understand the origins of some of our holiday customs and provide perspective to evaluate our holiday practices.

Our English word “holiday” comes from “holy day.”  In medieval Europe the primary occasions for taking time off work and celebrating were religious festivals.  Many of our major holidays have a Christian origin, but they have also incorporated elements from pagan practices.  For example, the date on which we celebrate Christ’s birth just “happens” to coincide with a pagan Roman festival. Was that a brilliant evangelistic move or dangerous compromise with the world?  It’s not always easy to make that determination, but I hope that you will carefully consider both possibilities.

I will begin this series with Advent, because according to the traditional liturgical calendar used in the Western church Advent is the beginning of the Christian year.  The “Western church” refers to Catholics and Protestants in distinction from Eastern Orthodox churches which follow a different calendar.  Obviously the terms “east” and “west” here are used from a European perspective.

In the early church, the most important Christian festival was Easter.  Christmas began to receive more attention somewhat later, and these two major holidays along with the periods leading up to them formed the most important portions of the Christian year. In addition to these, early Christians began to honor martyrs by holding a feast on the day of their death. Churches that follow the liturgical calendar often use a lectionary, which is a list of Scripture passages to be read each Sunday.

Some Protestant churches follow the liturgical calendar, although they don’t recognize nearly as many saints days as the Catholic church.  Some Protestant churches recognize only Christmas and Easter, while others also include Advent and Lent. Since none of these things are commanded in Scripture we have the freedom to shape our practice according to biblical principles to edify the church.

For further reading:

• Seasons of the Christian Church (Nazarene perspective)
• The Liturgical Year (Wikipedia)
• The history of the Christian year (Catholic perspective, the first few sections are helpful)

This will be the last post in the series “30 Days on the Chinese Church,” but it won’t be the last time I have something to say about this topic. Today I want to pause and reflect on what it has been like to do this series.
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It’s already June, but since I took a break for a few days for Memorial Day Weekend I want to finish up this series with two more posts. Last time I wrote about advice to a young ABC pastor. Today I want to address the other side of the equation and address OBC pastors and church leaders.
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I’ve learned some important lessons over the years serving in Chinese churches both here in California and in Taiwan. I’ve also met my share of frustrated English Ministry pastors and had the opportunity to mentor some younger pastors. Today I want to share some suggestions to help younger ABC pastors serve effectively in a bilingual Chinese church.
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An increasing number of ABCs are being attracted to English only Asian American churches instead of bilingual Chinese churches. What should we make of this trend? What does it say to the Chinese church?
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When a missionary goes to another culture with the Gospel, he or she must learn to distinguish between biblical truth, which has authority over every culture, and cultural practices, which should be changed to adapt the church to each culture. There have been many heated debates about which beliefs go into which category.
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The most precious resource of any church is its lay leaders and co-workers. Yet all to often churches take these people for granted and fail to give them the care that they need. Today I want to share about how this applies to Chinese churches.
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