Halloween And Church Autumn Festivals: Different Name, Same Game

"No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him." John 6:44

Here's an article that is sure to be controversial. Let me preface this by saying that I'm guilty in not actively dealing with this issue in the church when it arose in the past. I either ignored it or just left the church, because it raised a huge red flag for me. After avoiding attending church for quite a while, I began to think that maybe the Lord may have wanted me to remain at those churches... to use me in a way that would bring more focus to something that the majority of the church leadership and the congregation just didn't seem motivated to acknowledge. Maybe there was some deeply repressed conviction about recognizing Halloween (or celebrations trying to replace Halloween), or maybe a lot of people didn't, and still don't, take issue with it. Either way, there wasn't enough impetus to make a change before the Lord plopped me down in these congregations, and I wasn't about to make waves. So here I am, in this present day and age, attending a new church, and about to stir up conversation about something on which many people just don't want to focus.

The Halloween conversation is an easy one for many of us. I think that the majority of born again believers understand that light has no fellowship with darkness, so we don't celebrate the day. Still others hand out candy and tracts at the door. I understand their mindset... this is the one day when people come to YOU, so it's easy to hand out tracts to the unsaved. I don't think that logic is sound, because it gives us the excuse not to evangelize the world by actually leaving our house, but it, unfortunately, helps to reinforce the traditions of Halloween, especially for the little ones, by just our participation in the day. There's an old saying, "The end doesn't justify the means." But as is with many things, each person is convicted by the Holy Spirit concerning this issue at different stages of their life, and no two people are the same. So, I practice patience and grace, understanding that this is not a salvation issue. 

Now we get to the crux of this article. We come to those individuals or groups who attempt to redeem Halloween by giving it a new name, celebrating it on a different day, and adding Jesus to the mix. In my mind, that's counterintuitive, because you can't just add a Jesus sticker or wrap things up in a Jesus ribbon and take what is evil and now call it good. Halloween isn't suddenly redeemable because you've added the name of Jesus to it.

In Deuteronomy, God's people were instructed by God to tear down the Canaanite's altars, smash their sacred pillars, burn their Asherah poles, and cut down the carved images of their gods. The command was comprehensive, requiring the complete eradication of all pagan worship sites and the obliteration of the gods' names from the land. Remember, everything the enemy creates is just a poor counterfeit of God's creation. Question: Did God command them to repurpose anything? To melt down the idols and fashion instruments of worship for Him? Did he say to rededicate the alters to Him? Did God command them to rename the temples to honor Him? No. Why? Because God doesn't repurpose that which is an abomination to Him; those things that the enemy has created. God called for it's TOTAL ERADICATION! Now, we can't completely eradicate Halloween, since society is bound to it, but we can eradicate it from our own spiritual life. We're to tear it down, smash it, burn it, and cut it down in our own lives and to use it as a teaching point for our children and the Christian community at large. 

Instead, what do some of us do? We do the exact opposite. Nostalgia kicks in and we remember the Halloweens of the past, when we were younger, and then we ask ourselves how we can deprive our own children of this "innocent fun," especially when their friends are out trick or treating. We participate in celebrating a counterfeit Halloween (Autumn Harvest Festival) without actually celebrating the "real" Halloween. We attempt to make it more palatable by changing the name, changing the date (notice how it's always one week before Halloween), changing the outward appearance, and all the while, we're just redecorating and renaming those poles, idols, and pillars, and white washing those things that lay upon the alters of what we call Halloween traditions. We affix the name of Jesus onto everything, because that's one surefire way to make this all acceptable in God's eyes, which makes it acceptable in ours, or so we convince ourselves.  

Shall we play a game? Let's play a game of True or False!

Rebranding Halloween to "Autumn Harvest Festival" distinctly separates us from the worldly tradition of celebrating Halloween. FALSE. Renaming something doesn't make it less sinful. Fornication is fornication whether it's a one night stand or between two people who love each other. Love doesn't negate or redefine the sin of fornication. 

The outward appearance (Christianizing everything) totally changes the nature of the event. FALSE. The traditions and customs may be slightly altered, but they're just two sides of the same coin. Pagan is pagan. Demonic is demonic. Putting a Jesus twist on it doesn't make it acceptable. You can't redeem a pagan or demonic holiday. 

Choosing the week before Halloween is proof that this event is totally separate from Halloween. FALSE. In an effort to avoid the appearance of evil, the church has moved the date of the event, hoping to distance themselves from even the appearance that they're celebrating Halloween. It's good for those Christians who want to appear as if they abhor the holiday, because it gives them the opportunity to take their children out trick or treating the next week. So they can participate in both events. Be honest, now. How many of you who are born again believers are planning on taking your children out for some "harmless trick or treating?" As long as they're not wearing anything that would be considered "evil," of course. Compromise upon compromise. I can claim that because I did the same thing when my children were young. 

The church keeps a lot of the culture of Halloween intact, and only changes the outward appearance to try to reflect a more Christian culture. TRUE, but like the old saying goes, "You can put lipstick on a pig, but it's still a pig." 

Other examples of how the Christian events are like the worldly celebration of Halloween are: 

• The haunted hay ride (worldly) becomes just the hay ride (church). 
• The Trick or Treat bags (worldly) become just Treat bags (church). 
• The candy handed out house by house (worldly) is, instead, handed out station by station at the event (church). 
• Face masks and costumes (worldly) are substituted with face painting (church). Pumpkin carving (worldly) becomes pumpkin painting (church). 
• Haunted house or fun house (worldly) becomes candy land (church).

I went to a church that held annual Autumn Festivals, and they encouraged children to wear costumes. They even had a costume contest! One church even had a Trunk or Treat event in their own parking lot! When we offer, or attend, these Autumn Harvest events, are we really separating ourselves from Halloween if we're just participating in slightly altered versions of the day in which the world takes part? These events are primarily geared toward entertaining children. You know, the ones who are expected to go out into the world trick or treating. Aren't we supposed to be bringing them up in the way of the Lord so that they won't depart from it, or is it our task to raise children who are used to being compromised Christians?

I also need to ask... who are we hoping to attract? I've said this before and I'll say it again. If a church body uses worldly methods to attract worldly people, you'll end up with a worldly church. If you compromise on Halloween (even if you change the name and date), then any new people coming into the church as a result of that event (which, for the most part, are few to none) is an opportunity for the enemy to introduce other worldly influences. What I'm saying is that if you crack the door open for the enemy in this little, what seems to be insignificant, area in the church, then other things begin creeping in, because once that door has been opened, it's very difficult to close it again. Suddenly a conservative church starts becoming a little more liberal in order to appease those compromised Christians who came walking through that cracked door. However unlikely you think that is, compromise enters the church at a snail's pace at first, without much fanfare. Once it has a firm foot in the church, it grows, and when it's finally noticed, it's difficult to correct.  

Let's not get there. Let's not crack that door open. Let's not attract the compromised believer who will look for other ways to fulfill their compromised ideas of how to reshape the church into something that becomes comfortable. We're a peculiar people. We seem to forget that it's the Father who draws people to Jesus through the Holy Spirit, "No one can come to Me unless the Father who sent Me draws him." So why are we using worldly means to try to do the work of God? Are our ways better than His? It has never worked out for God's children when they made the decision to take control back from God. Let's not do that. 

We're not called to fit in. We're not called to be like the world, in their thinking and behavior. We're strangers and aliens in this world. We're citizens of Heaven. Sometimes the decisions we make goes against the flow, and many people, including myself, have, in the past, avoided making those choices or remained quiet while we saw sin in the church. We can all come up with excuses not to say anything. "I'm the new guy. I shouldn't make waves." "They'll label me as someone who has a divisive spirit." "They'll call me rebellious or difficult." They'll say, "If you refuse to follow the direction of this church, then maybe you should find another church." You know what? I'm beyond caring what the church says when it comes to issues like this. I choose to speak instead of remaining silent, and to let the Lord handle the fallout. I'm not leaving the church, this time. I'm choosing to stand my ground and weather the storm, because the Lord has brought me to a church where He wants me to fellowship for the time being. That doesn't mean that we'll all be of one mind when it comes to Halloween or anything else for that matter. As long as we're of one mind when it comes to Jesus, that's the most important thing. 

So I'll end with this. Halloween is Halloween, whether you celebrate it on October 31st or you change the name and celebrate it the week before October 31st. Calling something "Autumn Harvest Festival" doesn't redefine Halloween tradition and culture. Different name, same game. That's my take on it, anyway.

REPENT, AND BE FORGIVEN!

BELIEVE, AND BE SAVED!

TRIBULATIONHARVEST.NET

My Personal Journey In Finding Healing From Church Hurt

If you're a regular visitor to my website, you'll know that I wrote an article about my experience with church hurt. If you haven't read it, you can find it HERE.

I've been dealing with the pain and deep sorrow of church hurt for quite some time. I've searched for fellowship, and I seriously contemplated re-visiting those red-flag churches I left, just to see if things had changed, but after mulling it over in my mind, visiting their websites, and reviewing their other online material, I came to the conclusion that none of them had changed (in fact, some of them were worse), and therefore weren't worth visiting again. The Lord had told me about a year ago that I needed to stop fighting Him and that I needed to find fellowship, but I couldn't find any non-denominational churches that didn't raise serious red flags. What was I to do? I sought God, but still... nothing. How could I obey God, if I had nowhere to go?

Of course, the church hurt spilled over into other areas of my life and the hurt I experienced from unbelievers seemed to spill over into the church hurt issue, each poisoning the other. For years I've been saying that I trusted no one but God, but I was deceiving myself, because even that relationship was somewhat strained because I was cutting myself off from the rest of the body... the other pieces of the living temple of God, so, in a sense, I was cutting myself off from a part of Him. People inside and outside the church had stabbed me in the back, marginalized me, overlooked me, spread lies about me, and some were even able to hurt me deeply, including former pastors. What hurt the most was that although I could deal with those things to some degree when the unsaved did that to me, I couldn't bear those same behaviors from those who called themselves, "Christian." So to protect my heart, I erected a few walls in strategic areas of my life, walls that no one could breach. I was done grieving, and I was now in "safe" mode. 

So I spent over a decade half-heartedly visiting churches and trying to ignore the red flags, but you can only ignore the red flags for so long until you become convinced that just by being there, you're enabling the red flag behavior, so you leave. There's a song by the group For King and Country called "God only Knows." Some of the lyrics say, "God only knows what you've been through. God only knows what they say about you. God only knows how it's killing you, but there's a kind of love that God only knows." There's another part of the song that says, "For the lonely, for the ashamed, the misunderstood and the one to blame, Lord if we could start over, we could start over, we could start over.... And that's where I was... grieving... wanting to start over in a full gospel church with a congregation that wasn't perfect, but was striving to be like Jesus every day. Not faking it, but living like true born again believers, doing their best to live a life that was pleasing to God; doing their best to walk in the spirit, however imperfect, but living a life in submission to Jesus and being led by the Holy Spirit. 

So what does this have to do with my personal journey in finding healing from church hurt? Well, just as unexpected as it was for God to reach out to me all those decades ago and call me to salvation through a television show, I was unexpectedly introduced to a local church through a post on Facebook. It was a local church one town over. I checked out their Facebook page, their old YouTube videos, and their website. I stepped out in faith, as difficult as that was after all the missteps and negative experiences in many of the nondenominal churches I had attended in the past decade or so, and I contacted this church, asking if they were a non-denominational church. The answer was yes, and I was told that it was a conservative church. I decided to take the opportunity to visit the church, and there I was two weeks later. 

You know the feeling you have when you're visiting a new church? The questions... What will my experience be like? Will they be awkwardly friendly or genuinely friendly? What will the worship be like? Am I going to feel like a stranger from the moment I enter to the moment I make my way out the door? Will the congregation be divided into their cliques? Will anyone acknowledge my presence? How do the people worship there?

Well, as I said before, I had done a little online prep work...lol. I knew what the outside of the church and the sanctuary looked like. The location was so convenient that I had no excuse about having to jump through hoops to get there. The night before, I had no concerns. The next morning, I had no doubts or concerns as I got up and got ready to go. The drive there was peaceful. I walked up to the church entrance with a sense of peace. What I didn't know until later, was that the Holy Spirit was already welcoming me into that church from the very moment I saw that initial Facebook post. That's the only way I can explain the peace I felt from the get-go. 

When I entered the church, a gentleman, who I found out later was the pastor, met me with a handshake, a warm welcome, and a genuine look of gladness to see me when I walked in the front door. Usually when I visited a church, I'd get a generic hello (and maybe a handshake, but most likely not) from an usher who would just hold the door open for me. This was different. I actually felt that I was welcomed there and that they wanted to share the love of Jesus with me. After a genuine welcome from another gentleman as well, I walked into the sanctuary and chose a seat in the pews where I wouldn't be isolating myself from the congregation, but at the same time not positioning myself where I'd make myself the focal point... you know... the new guy. This whole time I'm feeling peaceful, not at all feeling like I'm out of place. I just told myself at that point to just convince myself that I'd been going there for a year or so... that this was my church, but to tell you the truth, I didn't have to psyche myself up like that, because I wasn't feeling anything negative about being in a new place with a group of strangers. I felt like I belonged... like this was my family.

The sanctuary was lit with regular lighting, not dark like many other churches. The lighting on the alter was just the same, not the purple and pink concert stage lighting like some of the other churches I'd been to. The worship team was two guys on guitars and one playing electronic drums. The worship wasn't what I was used to. It wasn't loud and blaring like a concert, but personal, like they were part of the congregation, not trying to command attention. Where normally I'd emotionally separate myself from everyone and just observe the entire service, I actually became part of the service. That's just one more sign that the Lord was already lowering my defenses.

We had a guest speaker (I'll give a shoutout to Noah Proudfoot), who shared a good message. This will come into play at the end of this article as I connect the dots, so keep sharp...lol. The scripture for the sermon was Ps. 63:1-11. The message was about God having a history of meeting people in the wilderness, and that when things are tough, it's not a sign that God's love has diminished. That whatever we go though, we need to meditate on God and His promises. We may go through the wilderness at times, but God will never leave or forsake us. Christ alone is enough for us and His timing is always perfect. I thought it was a good sermon. 

I decided to forgo the after service meal (I have particular dietary needs) and I walked toward the door. The pastor was there, as was one of the other men in the church, and I had a conversation with them at the door. There were a few times when I answered their question or made a comment, and they looked at each other. I began to think that this was more than just a question and answer thing... like they were interviewing me...lol. I didn't take it personally, in fact I though it was a little humorous. I think they were just trying figure me out and to gauge how I would possibly fit in with that church family. Long story short, after the conversation, the pastor and I talked about meeting over coffee so he could learn a little more about me and so he could tell me more about the church. 

Later that week, we met for coffee and discussed quite a few things, among which were some of my experiences in the other churches that I had attended. I shared with him that the feeling I had been experiencing up to and including the church service on Sunday was still with me. An easy, calm, gentle feeling of belonging and that I was where God wanted me to be. I could tell by the expression on his face that he was deeply touched by that. 

I haven't felt like this since I was part of my first church family, when I was a new born again believer. It was a small church with no frills. The congregation was like a small family. Now, with this new church, it's like I've traveled full circle, back to the beginning, and I'm glad for that. I had walked through this dry season for so many years until this very point... until coming to this very church. 

The next week, I attended the Saturday Men's Breakfast (with no trepidation) and met a lot of other men from the church (it's going to take me so long to remember their names...lol). I participated in the discussion as if I'd always been part of the group, at which time I was honest with all of them, telling them that although I seemed jovial and friendly, I may seem distant at times, keeping them at arm's length, because of my experiences in the past. I told them I admitted that I was damaged goods, and I knew that keeping people at arm's length wasn't how I should be behaving, but it was where I was right now. Also, no hugging. They seemed to understand and seemed willing to give me my space. 

I attended church again the following day (Sunday) and said hello to some of the guys that I already met at the Men's Breakfast. In fact, one of the guys from the breakfast came over to shake my hand and he came in for a hug. I physically pushed him away from me and just said, with a slight smile, "No hugs." He said, and I'll paraphrase, "We'll get you." Little does he know that it's not just those walls keeping me from hugging anyone. LOL. There's another issue at play that no one is yet aware of. So it makes me smile to know that he thinks this has everything to do with what I shared with him and the other the guys, when that's only part of the reason why I don't hug... lol. Everyone gets one gentle reminder, though, and he's had his... lol. 

My heart has been heavy for so long, that I'm just now appreciating all that God is doing to change that. I told my daughter that all the hard, cold walls around my heart seem to be warming up and softening. The edges aren't so sharp. The walls are still there, but they're being transformed by God. My flesh wanted to stop what God was doing and harden those walls again, but that momentary thought was discarded when I knew I'd be wrong in resisting the Lord. The walls are going to come down, and I trust that God is going to do it in a way where He'll gently place my running feet down on the ground so it's not so much of a huge transition. I never would have said this before, but after attending the church for a second week (and I did go in for an after service meal this time), I'm looking forward to going to church; to getting to know the men in the church and hopefully forming some type of friendship with a few of them. My trust issues have prevented me from developing a healthy relationship with anyone, and I'm hoping that the Lord continues healing my heart so that maybe, just maybe, I might find a friend to fellowship with inside and outside of church. 

Side note: My daughter's client list had her working on Sundays, so she couldn't attend church services with me. I told her that maybe the Lord would work something out so she could come with me on Sundays. Well, it didn't take long, because days later, her client list was updated, which freed up her weekends, so now she'll be able to come to church with me!!! Praise God!!! It means so much for me to know that she'll be able to start attending church again and maybe even make a friend or two there so she can have some fellowship as well. You don't know the joy it brings to my heart to know she'll be attending church services with me. I'm praying she'll have a good experience upon her initial visit, just as I did. 

Am I completely healed from all that church hurt? No, not yet, but I feel God working on it. The Holy Spirit has some work to do, but He's the perfect One to do it, so I have trust that He'll do what needs to be done, how it needs to be done, and when it needs to be done, and eventually God will bring me out of the other end of this valley I've been in for so very, very long. Each wall I've built protects a different part of my heart, so I look forward to God taking down those walls one at a time and leading me forward, bringing me healing, until the next one comes down and he does the same. Then the next, and then the next, until they've all been torn down. After that, I'm sure He'll reveal other things in my life that need to be dealt with, because we're all a work in progress. Our striving for perfection doesn't end until we're with Him. 

Remember what I said about that sermon from Noah Proudfoot that I told you to keep in mind until the end of the article? The sermon about God having a history of meeting people in the wilderness, and that when things are tough, it's not a sign that God's love has diminished? That whatever we go though, we need to meditate on God and His promises? That we may go through the wilderness at times, but God will never leave or forsake us? That Christ alone is enough for us and His timing is always perfect. Tell me that the sermon he gave wasn't God speaking to me. The perfect sermon, at the perfect time. I was in my wilderness all that time, and although I often pushed him aside, God never forsook me. More than a decade of wandering in the wilderness, and Christ alone was enough for me for all that time. Year after year of searching, sometimes thinking that I had nowhere to go, but God keeps His promises, even if it's not in our own timing. Wow! What a wonderful confirmation that is for me. That sermon was a reflection of what I had just gone through. I think this time I will cry... to the Lord. You know, a lot of times it's just words, until you go though the experience yourself, then it becomes real, which is something we discussed at the Men's Breakfast. My wilderness experience, the sermon, the Men's Breakfast... all dots connecting to bring me confirmation that my wilderness experience was at an end. 

I had no idea where the Lord was leading me all these years, but I see where He's led me to today, and I look forward to what He plans to do in my life for the time that I have remaining here on this earth. It's going to be one adventure until I'm absent from the body, or the Lord returns! Whichever comes first. Here's hoping I can accomplish more for Him in the time I have remaining than I've accomplished for Him in my life up until now. Now THAT's an awesome hope and a great goal to have!!!

REPENT, AND BE FORGIVEN!

BELIEVE, AND BE SAVED!

TRIBULATIONHARVEST.NET

Sometimes It's A Step And Sometimes It's A Leap

I've reached a point in my life where I'm actually looking for ways to step out in faith in areas where, in the past, I felt uncomfortable entering. I don't know if it's age or the stretching of my faith, but I'm more willing to step out in faith in areas in which I have no knowledge or experience.

My daughter knows me. If it's a challenge, I'm more apt to take it, just to see where it leads me, even if I don't have any experience in dealing with that particular situation. It oftentimes frustrates my daughter, because I'll sometimes walk into a situation in blissful ignorance, having no idea what I'm getting into or what the end results will be...lol. It's my deep belief that there's so much growth to be had in our relationship with God when we take steps or leaps of faith, trusting that God has already prepared the blessings and provisions for us when we get to where He wants us to go.

Yes, there are times where failure is at the finish line, and those are the times when I learn much. On the other hand, there are times where I succeed, and the blessings are unexpected and transform my relationship with the Lord. Every challenge is an opportunity to advance my relationship with the Lord, win or lose, since even the losses can be placed in the "win" category, because everything brings glory to God and strengthens that relationship between me and Him. The way I look at it, I may have lost, but the Lord was with me the whole time and He held me in His hand the entire way.

I'm what you would could call a "fill in the gap" type of born again believer. I don't hold to one ministry or another, so I'm not tied down to a particular ministry in the church. I fill in where the Lord needs me, so I'm a more flexible and available servant of the Lord. He leads me and plunks me down where He needs someone to fill in the gap. I'm one of the "Here I am, Lord, send me" crowd. That's one of the reasons why I don't think I'd ever be an effective ministry leader in my local church. That's not who God made me to be. I'm not knocking anyone who is called to serve in a particular ministry in the church, I'm just saying that God created me to serve Him in a particular way, and, to me, it doesn't quite fit in with the normal way the church operates, but that's okay, because God made me and others with a unique purpose, and that's to serve Him in any way and at any time He wants me to.

I have my own personal ministry that I take care of (Tribulation Harvest), and that's more of an extra-church type of ministry, a ministry that operates outside the normal church structure, so that's the ministry on which I focus. It's an outreach ministry not only to evangelize here and now, but to evangelize even after I've been taken from this earth in the Rapture. THAT's my main focus, and with that being a ministry outside the church, I'm able to be used in other ways within the church body by God. 

I encourage everyone to take stock of how active you are in your local church and in the community. If you've had trepidations about stepping out in faith to volunteer in a ministry in the church, I say take that step of faith (for some it's a leap, and I completely understand) and see where it leads you. Through volunteering, your fellowship will grow and I promise that your relationship with the Lord will grow as you give of yourself to serve Him through serving others. Months after making that decision, you'll be able to look back and see how much you've grown, which may encourage you to take more steps, or even a huge leap, in faith as you work to advance the kingdom of God, both in your community and around the world. Whatever you do, remember that it's all for Him. We're called to serve Jesus and use whatever gifts He's given us to bless others in His name. To Jesus be the glory and honor forever and ever! Amen!!!

REPENT, AND BE FORGIVEN!

BELIEVE, AND BE SAVED!

TRIBULATIONHARVEST.NET