So this is the time of year where “pretend” rules the culture.  We pretend we have money, so we spend a lot. We pretend we believe in something so we either go to church or Macy’s, whichever suits. I could go on, but since this is Black Friday and many have already seen the best and worst our culture has to offer today, I will save the rant for another time.

As a congregational leader, I am always looking for ways to make this season significant.  I deliberately protect Main Street from being over scheduled with “church stuff” all month-long and I try to teach truth absent of the acceptable pabulum of sentimentality attached to the next thirty-three days.

Every year I take a risk with the teaching topic for the month.  This year I am jumping out of the plane. I have actually jumped out of a plane before, would do it again. It was totally worth it.

I digress.

It is my firm conviction the generation coming is going to be the last American generation unless there is a revolution toward renewed culture unlike anything seen before. I will write about the basis of the conviction as we move through the month, but a click back here or here or here will give some background.

In the month to come I will tell the story of Jesus’ advent from the perspective of his parents. The narrative begs for this to be done by someone, so I am going to take my shot at exploring the subject. It occurred to me that Joseph and Mary were not exempt from the same terror of uncertainty known to every first time parent: how do I take care of this child? Their challenge was arguably more intense than most, but their day-to-day reality was deliberately similar to that of every parent before, and since.

How did God know Mary and Joseph wouldn’t mess up His son? What was God thinking dropping Jesus off naked, needy and with little to no instructions? I believe God knew exactly what He was doing and that we can learn much from Jesus’ upbringing as we try to guide our children today.

Here is a treat I discovered through a friend of mine in the northwest (thanks Denise).