21/12/2025
Christmas Message 2025
In 1990 I went to Willow Creek Church in Illinois on a Sunday during my business trip to USA. What impressed me was, first, the theatre-style auditorium. Second, a well-prepared performance in music and drama. Third, a bustling café after service. Fourth, being alone among the crowd. It was my first thrilling megachurch experience when I exclaimed, “Wow, the church can be operated like this.” At the same time, I wondered what the church meant to be because I felt like standing in a shopping mall with a book shop, a café, and a theatre.
The Willow Creek model was so prominent in those days that it attracted attention all over the world. Some churches adopted it and eventually emerged to be megachurches. Now thirty-five years have passed. A generation has gone. Having looked at observations and evaluations on megachurches, I find their future not quite optimistic. People are now wondering what the church means to be. Apparently, they are not confident in the megachurch model for the rest of the 21st century.
I remember the words of a church leader I met in my doctoral program a few years ago. He was a senior pastor of a very large congregation, if not a megachurch, in Dallas, USA. He was struggling with his role of being a CEO of an organization rather than being a pastor of a church. He said he missed the moments of having fellowship with church members when he experienced spiritual vitality. Listening to him, I thought “How important it is for us to share life together as the church,” which includes knowing each other's name, caring for each other's needs, being aware of each other's circumstances, understanding each other's concerns, being mindful of each other's difficulties, and praying for each other. Isn’t it what the church means to be?
Jesus’ birth in Bethlehem has a great theological significance: God came to the world in a human form. God was lying in a lowly manger, not sitting in the heavenly throne. So, the coming of Christ declares that God is not an abstract being to us any longer, but a real being. It means that God is not distant from us any longer but sitting beside us, talking to us, walking with us, laughing with us, and eating with us. Now we know that our God likes sharing life together with us. From a soteriological perspective, the Son of God came down to the earth and took up the cross so that we might be forgiven and have eternal life and that we might enjoy fellowship with Him all our lives.
After a talk with the pastor from Dallas, I came to think of my ministry at Crossway and felt so grateful. We have matured and grown together as a Chrisitan community beyond differences in denomination, culture, race, language, and age. It doesn’t matter how small or large we are. It doesn’t matter how wealthy and resourceful we are. What matters is how we respect each other, care for each other, and pray for each other. I am grateful for the way we have enjoyed sharing life together as an exciting, vibrant, and compassionate congregation.
Christmas Day is approaching when we celebrate the birth of the baby Jesus. Now let us remember, first, the God we believe in is not abstract but as real as a good friend. Second, our faith is not abstract, either, but as real as the friendship we share. Third, our love toward each other is not abstract but as real as the gentle, kind, and warm smiles we exchange. Every blessing to you all at this season of Hope, Peace, Joy, and Love.
Christmas 2025
Joohong K.
