One perspective is that the hardcore church goer would say that we should be in church on Christmas. It is about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, not about opening gifts under a tree. This same perspective would say that cancelling church on Christmas just further affirms that as believers we are constantly shifting our focus away from Christ. 

Another perspective is that Christmas is a time for people to spend with their families. There are many Christians that do not want to be in church on Christmas. It is not that they don't love God or love to worship him, it is just that they place high value on spending time with their family. Quality family time is one of God's biggest desires for us. 

Another thing to consider is that while many of us go to church to worship and have a good time, that is not the case for all of us. Holding a church service is a lot of work for many people. Think about the worship team, the people that run the sound system, the people who work in the children's ministry, and many others. For these people, Sunday is a working day and in many cases, a working day where they aren't getting paid. Don't these people deserve a break on Christmas day?  

As an alternative, many churches around the country will hold service on Saturday night. Many would argue that the Bible doesn't clearly instruct us to worship on Sunday, so people still get to have their weekly large group worship while maintaining the ability to spend time with their families on Christmas.

What do you think? Should Christians be in church on Christmas? Is it wrong to cancel Sunday services?

Even though the deadline to file taxes has passed, individuals are being led to believe that they will receive refunds, tax credits, or rebates if they file a tax return. 

Signs have been appearing in churches all over the country enticing people to take part in this scam. The IRS is warning people to be very cautions of any advertisement that sound too good to be true. 

If you have any questions about tax credits, you should contact the IRS by calling (800) 829-1040 or by visiting www.IRS.gov. 

A Doritos ad will be shown during the Super Bowl and some Christians will likely find the ad to be offensive.

The minister featured in the ad is searching for a way to maintain and increase attendance at his church. So, like any minister would, he prays for an answer. The solution he comes up with is to serve Doritos to all of the congregation.

Is this commercial making fun of communion? Is this commercial making fun of the church? Do you find this to be offensive.

Click here to view the commercial

Post a comment and let me know what you think.

Having said that, I also believe that social networks are completely unreliable. You may be using them today to advertise your events or to minister to people, but tomorrow they could be completely gone. That is why it is important for ministries to have their own websites.

A couple of years ago, MySpace was the big thing. I would frequently see music artists using MySpace as their presence on the web. This is a huge mistake. Everyday, MySpace is moving closer and closer to being irrelevant. If MySpace ever shuts down, it is likely that those people will lose all of the information that was stored there.

Whether you are a church or a Gospel artist, it is important to know that in many ways you are a brand. Your brand needs its own website. You need one central location where people can find information about you and connect with you. Social networks like Twitter and Facebook should be used to augment your presence online.

The advantage of using social networks is that they are easy to setup. You don’t need a lot of technical knowledge. While setting up a website may be slightly more difficult, it is definitely an investment that you need to make.

You may not have the money to hire someone to build a website for you. If money is an issue, then there are plenty of free and simple tools online like WordPress.com and Weebly.com. These sites will allow you to have a simple but effective website up and running in just a few minutes.

If you do decide to have someone build your site, make sure it is updated frequently. In a perfect world, it would be great if you could hire someone to do this for you. I understand that this probably isn’t an option for most people. An alternative would be to have some build your site using a content management system (CMS).

The use of a CMS allows someone else to initially create your site. Then, you will easily be able to add and edit content without the need of a lot of technical knowledge.

The world does business and ministry on the web. The web is our present and the web is our future. If you are serious about your ministry (preaching, teaching, music), then having a website is crucial. If you depend solely on Facebook and Twitter, you could live to seriously regret it.

The other day I started thinking about what would happen if churches started owning other types of businesses. So, here is one thought on the subject.

If the church owned an airline…

• They would take up an offering for the pilot at the end of the flight.
• Female flight attendants would wear white dress with white shoes and white gloves.
• Male flight attendants would wear black suits, white shirts, black ties and white gloves.
• The flight attendants would begin the pre-flight instructions by saying, “First giving honor to God, who is the head of my life.”
• Your choices for an in-flight meal would be either a chicken dinner or a fish dinner.
• The in-flight movie choices would be Left Behind, Fireproof or The Passion of The Christ.
• There would be a separate section of the plane just for children.
• Departure and arrival times would not be announced. Everything would be “subject to the move of the Holy Spirit.”

Do you have anything else to add to the list? Post a comment and let me know.

Take a look at this picture. This church is clearly expressing their stance on the issue. I’m assuming they are referring to women. I can’t imagine a church telling men to to wear pants, but you never know.

Is holiness really connected to a person’s attire? What are your thoughts on this?

(This picture was sent to me from an anonymous source. I think they got it from a facebook page.)

Chances are, your church could probably do a better job at things like welcoming visitors, children’s ministries and multimedia. There is no such thing as a perfect church.

Try visiting another church on a Sunday in the near future. Being in another environment can give you some new ideas to take back to your ministry.

Here is another benefit. For many of us, going to church on Sunday is like work. We get so caught up in the work of the church and it sometimes becomes difficult for us to hear God. When you are at another congregation, you will have a lot less to worry about. Hopefully your heart and mind will be more open to hearing God.

What do you think about taking some time every now and then to visit another church? Please share your thoughts.

These are all good and helpful things. I am confident that all of our contributions are needed and valued. However, we should not neglect our main priorities to support the people of Haiti or anyone else in need. I know this may sound harsh on the surface, but I believe that this is God’s will for our lives.

When I speak of priorities, I am referring to tithes and offerings. I know you may feel compelled to give, but I urge you to not take money out of your tithes and offerings to do so. That is God’s money. Yes, realistically, you are giving this money to the church. Please understand that God wants His money to go there. When we don’t give according to Gods’ purpose, we end up robbing God. (Malachi 3:8)

You may belong to a church with a million dollar budget. It is easy to tell yourself that the people in Haiti need the money more than your church does. I encourage you to ignore what your eyes see and stay faithful to God’s word.

If a church is functioning properly, it is using portions of the money you give to support outreach initiatives. You must have faith and believe that your church’s leaders are listening to the will of God and acting accordingly. If they are not, then God will deal with them.

If you are looking for money to donate, check your budgets for things like groceries and entertainment. Go to the concerts. Download the songs. Text until your heart is content. Give out of your heart and give generously. Leave God’s money alone!

Please share you thoughts on this. Is it OK to give less to your church in order to support those in need?