Running In the Wrong Direction

On October 25, 1964 an NFL Vikings defensive end recovered a fumble and scored a touchdown for his team. The only problem was it was at the opposing team’s end zone! He got a pat on the head from his teammates with sarcastic encouragement and humor.  Although the Vikings team would end up winning the game, the touchdown run to the opposing team signals a sad reality in our cultural moment today. 

Sociologists and pastors across the country are saying this about our current cultural moment: we are in the fastest religious shift in US history, but going the opposite way! More people are exiting church buildings more than they were entering them during the Great Awakenings just a century prior. Pastors around us teach with deconstructed faiths, church hurt is rampant, and ministries are closing their doors. This is the reality we’re facing as God’s people in a broken world. 

This Christmas season we’re reminded that in the face of great opposition, Christ has come to bring peace to the world through His kingdom reign. He will bring peace to the world, and will use people from an unlikely place to do so. Little did the Jews in Jesus’ time know that those outside of Israel would be among the first to herald this great news! Join us this Sunday as we peer into the story of the Magi and learn from their faithful response to the birth of Jesus Christ.