What to do with Santa?

As a Pastor, every Christmas I'm asked the same question by at least one person..."what about Santa?" It's already happened this year! I was thinking about writing an email giving my personal thoughts but never got around to it. What sparked me today was the new Western Recorder (our state Baptist Paper) that came out. In it was a very interesting article entitled "The real Santa Claus is worth remembering"

The article can be found here

http://www.bpnews.net/BPFirstPerson.asp?ID=36780


Ultimately you need to let the Spirit guide your conscience in your decision about Santa, but remember we are "not under the law but under grace" (Romans 6:14-15). I would challenge you to at least teach your kids about the real Santa this year. What most people do not know is the fact that Jolly Old Saint Nick, was actually a real historical person. On top of that he was a real historical person who LOVED JESUS!

If you read the article above you will discover that Nick was a passionate man of God who was a Pastor. That's right, Santa Claus was a Pastor! St. Nick actually saved young women from a life of prostitution by paying their wedding dowries, he defended the Orthodox view of Jesus Christ as God, and he faithfully preached God's word and lead churches.

The mythology of Santa Claus stems from the real man St. Nick. It is no coincidence that Nick gets associated with Christmas, due to his passionate belief in the "incarnation" (God becoming man) and his giving of gifts to help the poor and broken. Regardless of how you handle "Santa" in your home, I encourage you tell your children of Santa's origins as a passionate preacher of God's Word who loved Jesus and gave gifts to help people. By doing so, Santa takes his rightful place at Christmas.....a man who honors the Christ child.


Another great article (highly recommended) is this one entitled "What we tell our kids about Santa":

http://onfaith.washingtonpost.com/onfaith/panelists/mark_driscoll/2010/12/what_we_tell_our_kids_about_santa.html

I hope these articles are helpful to you, as they are to me. What a comforting thought that Jolly Old Saint Nick was a passionate Man of God!

Merry Christmas

Bro. Kenny