The Magnificat and Culture

Both in our churches and in the public square, we face daily the questions of what influence the followers of Christ should have in society. An early glimpse of the impact the church would have on culture was provided by his mother.



The movie The Passion of the Christ is the most significant spiritual event of 2004, and Mary’s significance in Jesus’ life is one of many reminders the movie brought up about our faith. After many years of ignoring or diminishing her role, many of us Protestants, although far from the Catholic view, are--thanks in part to Gibson’s movie--opening our eyes to her importance.



In addition to the striking spiritual challenge of Mary’s humble obedience to God ("I am the Lord’s servant. May it be to me as you have said” [Luke 1:38]), the song of Mary, the Magnificat in Luke 1, gives us what Catherina Hurlburt at Breakpoint calls “a first glimpse of what the Church was to become and what God would accomplish through it.”



She writes of three revolutions introduced by Mary:



The moral revolution she helped set off is the death of pride. “His mercy is on them that fear Him . . . He hath scattered the proud in the imagination of their hearts” (Luke 1:50-51). Later we hear her Son describing His Kingdom where “the last shall be first, and the first last” (Matthew 20:16).



The social revolution brings about a world in which all are equal. The mighty and the lowly will walk together: “He hath put down the mighty from their seats, and exalted them of low degree” (Luke 1:52). “Every knee shall bow,” and Jesus will be lifted up.



Lastly, economic inequality will be overcome. “He hath filled the hungry with good things, and the rich he hath sent empty away” (Luke 1:53). We hear Jesus preach against “laying up treasures” on earth (Luke 12:14-21) and praise the widow for the two mites she gave at the temple (Luke 12:43-44).



In these three spheres of change we see the beginning of setting the world aright, as the Father intended when He created it, where pride and self-absorption have no place. From Mary in the Magnificat we see a picture of what the Church should be and how it should fulfill God’s plan.



The coming of Jesus was the birth of a revolution and the dividing point in history. Even as many in our culture seek to extract the church from public life, the revolution continues and the church’s impact is profound and beneficial even to those who seek its demise.

--James Jewell

A School District's Intelligent Design

The ACLU has filed a lawsuit in a Pennsylvania court, objecting to the Dover Area School District’s October decision to present to students alternatives to the theory of evolution, including what is called “intelligent design.”



This was believed to be the first school district in the nation to mandate that the intelligent design concept be included in the science curriculum.



It appears this school district has been careful and legal in its development of a balanced curriculum. It does not accept every aspect of evolution as fact. And it includes an alternative theory that the earth’s origins and the development of species are so complex that they require an intelligent designer—a higher being, without presenting the spiritual components of that theory.



The Fox News report says:



Last month, the Dover district issued a statement saying that state academic standards require the teaching of evolution, which holds that Earth is billions of years old and that life forms developed over millions of years.



But the statement also said Charles Darwin's theory "is still being tested as new evidence is discovered," and that intelligent design "is an explanation of the origins of life that differs from Darwin's view."



Additionally, district officials said they would monitor the lessons "to make sure no one is promoting but also not inhibiting religion."



The ACLU has said intelligent design is a more secular form of creationism, a Biblical-based view that credits the origin of species to God, and may violate the constitutional amendment that bars establishment of religion.



A more secular form of creationism? Yes, exactly. Isn’t that what those who are looking for strict separation of church and state want?



Or are they now saying that if a premise, theory, concept, virtue, or principle has religious adherents, parallels, or explanations, in addition to secular, that eliminates them from public discourse. That’s absurd. If that’s the standard, the Golden Rule is in trouble.

This, or a case much like it, will end up at the Supreme Court, so the lower court decisions will be only a prelude.

--James Jewell

God Help Us, Everyone: Unweaving the Christmas Fabric

This Friday, the people of Kirkland, Washington will not be attending a performance of Charles Dicken’s A Christmas Carol, which was to be presented by a private group on the campus of Lake Washington High School. The show was cancelled by the principal in part because he feared it would raise questions about the place of religion in public schools.



The cancellation surprised a lot of folks, including Seattle Times columnist Danny Westneat, who describes himself as a "secularist and agnostic.” Pointing to a wider trend, he wrote "even a lifelong doubter like me can see that something crucial is being lost, especially in the schools."



Merry Christmas ACLU

Reflecting on this same subject, Blogger-in-law Doug chuckles at the tactics of one group that protested the actions of the ACLU last week by singing Christmas carols in front of their Washington, D.C. offices. Good humor.



Presidential References to God

Presidential speech writer Mike Gerson says in an interview with the Washington Post that some people seem to think that all references to God should be banished from presidential speeches.



"As a writer,’ Gerson says, “I think this attitude would flatten political rhetoric and make it less moving and interesting. But even more, I think the reality here is that scrubbing public discourse of religious ideas would remove one of the main sources of social justice in our history. Without an appeal to justice rooted in faith, there would be no abolition movement or civil rights movement or pro-life movement."



A Christmas Special

On the tube last week, a new kid on the music block made a grievous error, according to a NY Times music critic Kelefa Sanneh, who was upset by the Christmas celebration that broke out during the Clay Aiken Christmas special.



Sanneh writes: “Don't worry: this second act wasn't some vague celebration of friends and family and fun. Since Thursday was the third night of Hanukkah, Mr. Aiken turned his second act into a celebration of Jews. Well, one Jew: Jesus. Whereas other seasonal gatherings evoked a secular or multifaith "holiday spirit," Mr. Aiken's concert was one party where the birthday boy got all the attention.”



Imagine that.

The big problem is that we cannot untangle Christianity from the culture because it is woven so deeply into the fabric. It’s not an accent color, but the weight-bearing thread that holds together the most important traits, institutions, instincts, habits of the heart, the arts, the economic engine, and collective character of the nation.



Cleanse the culture of Christianity and you strip it of much its moral imagination and creative energy. Cleanse the culture of Christian influence and you lose many of its virtuous impulses—which resulted in the nation’s first hospitals and institutions of higher education. Those who seek to remove the Christian thread--we’ll call them the unweavers--are methodically trying to remove that which holds together a nation.



A Secular Christmas?

Can’t we just do Christmas without all of that religious stuff, critics are asking. Mostly without the Christ part, which some people find so very offensive (Jesus found that to be true during the Incarnation, as well).



What does Xmas look like:



Peace on earth is still a popular notion, but no, you can’t have that. It’s the call of the angels announcing the Savior. That’s won’t do.



Same problem with the good will to men bit.



Joy to the world. Nope.



We’re left with Santa Claus. Oh wait, the original Santa Clause was Saint Nicolas, an Eastern Orthodox monk. Really Christian and just not permissible. Scratch Santa.



The holiday is a great time to give to those in need, which is a nice way to celebrate the unweaved holiday. Problem. Giving to meet the needs of the less fortunate in society, although adopted by others, is straight from the Jewish and Christian scriptures. Keep your money to yourself, you religious zealot.

So good we can revert to just Happy Holidays. But wait, my friend Stan Guthrie cites additional consequences to the secularization of Christmas today and he points out that "holiday comes from holy day. Oh well, back to the drawing board!”



Be very careful with the classical music, please. An awful lot of those composers used biblical imagery. Let the Queen stand up for the Hallelujah Chorus. Handel is much too Christian for us Americans.



The dead white male authors are often overly spiritual. Dickens isn’t alone. Victor Hugo, Tolstoy, and Dostoevsky will have to go. It a good thing there isn’t a fourth The Lord of the Rings book and movie. The Christian thing is getting much too obvious in Tolkien’s material. Can you say book burning?



To paraphrase a quip from Chuck Colson: “If only Charles Dickens were a lesbian Comanche.”



One more thing: Tomorrow has been cancelled. The year 2004 is an A.D. date – literally Anno Domini Nostri Jesu Christi. In the year of our Lord Jesus Christ! We can’t have that.



As Ken Schram of Seattle’s KOMO-TV said concerning the cancellation of A Christmas Carol: "God help us, everyone."

--James Jewell

What Are They Teaching Our Kids About Sex, and Why?

The only sex education that I remember in 7th grade was in the isolated hallways of Emmaus (Penn.) Junior High School, where the boys passed around a crumbled Playboy centerfold and discussed the female anatomy. There weren’t any classes. Birds and bees 101 was taught by fellow classmates and the advanced course was taught at home.



Although it is not a new development, the Waxman report and resulting discussion and media coverage have brought us back to good question: How did we come to the place in America where government schools are teaching our children sexual morality and the techniques of sexual behavior.



For a good examination of Congressman Henry Waxman’s committee report on the content of abstinence-only sex education programs, see Evangelical Outpost's piece. Waxman’s report has been adequately exposed as political drivel, lousy research, and probably pure dishonesty.



There are a few more things that can be said.



There is plenty of evidence that abstinence-only sex education programs are gaining in popularity in the schools, and that they are working. More students are making the choice to delay sex. This is a piece of good news for America, except for some odd politicians and liberal activists.



Those who object to abstinence-only content not only don’t trust that young people have any chance of behaving themselves, but they don’t in their heart-of-hearts believe that it is necessary. They just don’t (although the politicians can’t be honest about that.) If premarital, extra-marital, basically any sex between consenting adults is permissible, why should we teach our youth otherwise. Just don’t knock somebody up, and don’t get or transmit a disease and everything’s fine. In fact, everyone’s a little happier. And less stressed out.



Don’t Do It; Here’s How

Of course what is positioned as a reasoned and balanced approach is to teach that abstinence is preferable, and also teach the safest way to practice non-abstinence. This approach assumes that a strong percentage of the students will not choose abstinence, and therefore must be taught safe technique, in order to reduce pregnancy and the transmission of disease.



The problem with this approach is that teaching safe technique undercuts instruction on abstinence—it undermines the integrity of the moral teaching and immediately puts in question the moral, emotional, physiological, psychological, and practical advantages of remaining abstinent.



Imagine this approach in other areas:



--Don’t do drugs because they will kill you and fry your brain and wreck your life. But if you do, and we know some of you will, use clean needles, and know the source of your cocaine, and do it in moderation, and snort with a friend.



--Don’t rollerblade without a helmet, but if you do, don’t go down hills or reach speeds exceeding 30 mph



--Don’t talk with strangers, but if you do look around for clues on where you are.



--Don’t play with matches, but if you do, have a fire extinguisher handy and. . .



--Don’t get in fights at school, but if you do, let me show you how to make your first shot a good one.



Choosing the Best

To get more information on at least one of the abstinence-only programs that is gaining in popularity, but came under fire, we looked at information on a program called Choosing the Best. There are elementary, middle school, and two high school courses. The one for grades 8 through 10 includes the following topics:



Sex, Emotions and Self-Respect: Teens learn how guys and girls view sex differently, while grappling with the emotional impact of sex before marriage.



Sex, Alcohol and Respect: Teens hear painful stories of mixing alcohol and sex, as they learn startling statistics about alcohol.



Sex, STDs and Honesty: A powerful video introduces students to the consequences of sexually transmitted diseases. They see for themselves the damage of specific STDs.



Sex, Pregnancy and Responsibility: A real-life teen couple shares the struggle of an unintended pregnancy. After teens evaluate choices and consequences, they see the value of being abstinent until married.



Sex, HIV and Compassion: After watching two young adults share how it feels to live with AIDS, teens separate myths from facts about HIV/AIDS, and in the process, learn compassion.



Sex, Love and Healthy Choices: Teens hear others share why they’ve chosen abstinence. After evaluating the options for themselves, students are given the opportunity to commit to abstinence until marriage.



Sex, Limits and Self-Discipline: Beginning with self-discipline, teens learn practical ways to handle sexual pressure from peers and others.



Sex, Saying “NO”and Courage: Practical role-plays enable students to develop and sharpen assertiveness skills.



Choosing the Best completed a federally-funded study on its program, which showed a 26% reduction in sexual activity among participating 9th grade students nationally, and a 47% reduction in Pike County, Georgia, where the curriculum was presented by more experienced educators. Amazingly, when all three of the Choosing the Best programs were taught, there was a cumulative reduction of between 50% and 60%.



One Academic Study

The Waxman report ignores academic research that is underscoring the effectiveness of abstinence education. The findings of An Analysis of the Causes of the Decline in Non-marital Birth and Pregnancy Rates for Teen from 1991 to 1995, Joanna K. Mohn, MD, Lynne R. Tingle, PhD, Reginald Finger, MD, MPH included the following:



This study demonstrates that the higher proportion of teen females abstaining from sex accounted fro most of the reduction in single teen births and 67% of the decrease in single teen pregnancies from 1991 to 1995. These findings support the significance of the growing movement of teens choosing to abstain from sex. . . .The increase in teen abstinence has been attributed to the fear of HIV/AIDS and STDs, and to the rise of abstinence-only sex education. Empirical studies are beginning to reveal effectiveness of the abstinence-only approach. For example, Bearman & Bruckner (2001) found that teens who took a plede to abstain from intercourse by an average of 27 to 36 months. The end result from teens abstaining, as this study demonstrates, is fewer births to single teenage women. The fact that more teens are abstaining also means fewer teens are at risk fro sexually transmitted diseases.



The best use of time in our schools would probably be to teach math instead of sex. In the results of an international study released last week, we’ve learned that American students have fallen further beyond most of the world in math scores. The U.S. students were behind most other countries in overall math literacy and in every specific area tested in 2003, from geometry and algebra to statistics and computation. We’re just better than Mexico.



“The international test is not a measure of grade-level curriculum,” says ESchoolNews (free registration required), “but rather a gauge of the skills of 15-year-olds and how well students can apply them to problems they might face in life. It also aims to give the United States an external reality check about how it is doing. “



How about teaching proper math skills and less on how to properly use a condom?



Just a thought.



If parents are going to capitulate to the schools in this area of responsibility, however, the abstinence-only programs are the only approach that makes any sense at all. And there are plenty of quality programs, such as Choosing the Best, to choose from.

--James Jewell

Blogview from a Hot Tin Roof

Sex, Islamophobia, Sports, Iran and Much More

Perspectives Discovered During the Week Ending Dec. 10, 2004



Pearl Harbor and 9-11: In a post that cites the service of his 77-year-old father who survived a kamikaze attack later in the war, Douglas at Belief Seeking Understanding asked on the 63rd anniversary of the Pearl Harbor attack what will be remembered of 9-11-01 after the same number of years elapses. Two generations later, his oldest child will be 77 on that day. He writes: “I hope (my children) will have gratitude for the hard-won victory of the free nations.”



John Stott: Since David Brooks wrote his column on Stott last week, there has been a lot of blogging on the Brit Brooks says would be the evangelical pope, if there was one. Daddypundit provides his notes from a lecture by Stott in 1986 on developing a Christian impact on society. I couldn’t find mine from a Stott Green Lake (WI) series in 1972 or from Urbana 73 (man, am I aging myself).



European Islamophobia?: Mark Kilmer suggests at Political Annotation that it is the Europeans who aren’t handling Islam responsibly. He writes: “I'll argue that the people of Europe do not live in free territory, being slammed together in a morass of social democracy. Their "Islamophobia" thus manifests itself in violence, leaving the European planners confused that the European masses could slip from control in the utopia they're fashioning. In the United States, any anger at Islam manifests itself as words written on the internet and angry talk. And we deal with it.”



Ideological Diversity on Campus: David Mobley provides a Physicist’s Perspective on the need for different viewpoints in academia, agreeing with a Jeff Jacoby column in the Boston Globe. David writes: “As a scientist, I know that the work we do always benefits from healthy criticism. It makes you do more careful science and make more certain your evidence is bulletproof. If you're only trying to persuade people who think what you're trying to prove is correct, it's easy to get lazy and not do the best job you can. Sure, it's EASIER. But the quality of the product -- the science -- isn't as good.”



Iran Watch: It is increasingly evident that Iran is the next country in the Middle East to keep an eye on, and there are both good and bad signs. It Is What It Is points us to a BBC report: “Iranian students have interrupted a speech by President Mohammad Khatami to mark Student Day at Tehran university. Students chanted "Shame on you" and "Where are your promised freedoms?" to express their frustration with the failure of Iran's reform movement.”



Thinking About Sex: Joe Carter at the Evangelical Outpost is upset by Henry Waxman’s one-sided report on government-funded sex education and provides a critique and wish-list for sex education that would “incorporate critical moral reasoning.”



Steel Nazi: Derek Gilbert, a Weapon of Mass Distraction, has an interesting news bit called No Steel for You, on the shortage of steel, because of production problems in Japan and the building boom in China. This may impact the price of everything from cars to washing machines in the next few years.



Democracy on the Move: Wes Roth stayed up late and to watch the Karzi inauguration, a great moment in the world movement from thuggery to democracy. He files a report —with pictures.



Trailer Trash: Jan Bear at A World of Speculation says the Clinton library looks like an enormous single-wide mobile home on stilts.. That’s perfect, when you think about it.



Sports, Circuses & Politics: Long Island attorney Tony Iovino at A Red Mind in a Blue State writes a great little column on the state of sport, and how we are as much to blame as the sportmen, even the Islanders. A good read.



The UCC Television Ad: Kent at Trolling in Shallow Water doubts the networks are being straight with their reasons and adds: “Yes, there are aspects of the UCC ad I find objectionable. But they are not necessarily the things that UCC claims the networks find objectionable.” And Eric Ragle feels that churches advertising to draw in homosexuals is dead-on. Eric says: “If there is any place on earth that those who are guilty of an abomination to God should be, it’s church. But if this message cannot be expressed via truthful means, then I reject this ad. Which is why I support those stations not showing this ad, although I agree with the message.”



America’s Worst Threat: Blogger-in-law Doug Payton (he coined the title) answers the Homespun Blogers Symposium question “What, in your mind, represents the single greatest long-term threat to the United States of America, and what should be done about it?” with a compelling argument that it is the collapse of personality morality, because without individual character there is nothing to build a common morality and “our society becomes more and more held together by the wisps of law rather than the steel of ‘common thought.’”



The Most Politically Incorrect Words: Tim at Broken Masterpieces suggests, rightly we think, that the most offensive words come from John 14:6: Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me."



Interview Horrors: Colin Rowley includes a lot of fun and interesting items at An Idle Brain, including one this week on mistakes made while interviewing. He quotes Katherine Hepburn: “Death will be a great relief. No more interviews.”



Lobster Talk: Read about the similarity of lobsters and those who seek to limit the life and liberty of others, as Aaron Curtis at American Chronicle continues a discussion started at Metamorphosis. Aaron writes: “I found myself wondering: ‘Why would a lobster (human as described above or real) deny another lobster the chance of life, opportunity and freedom?’”



Same-Sex Marriage: At Let’s Try Freedom, Robert Hayes tip-toed into the perilous topic of homosexuality and same-sex marriage with a very good six-part series, drawing on his own understanding of Christianity and Catholic teachings. The last in the series calls for a division of sacramental marriages and other civil unions. Hayes says:



There will also be sacramental marriages, unions formalized by the church and following its teachings and principles. To receive a sacramental marriage, of course you must first have the approval of the church in question. . .



In essence, we will be renaming the institution of secular marriage, as currently practiced, to "civil unions", and removing the religiously-based restrictions on its composition. We will also be strengthening the notion of religiously-organized marriage as being an entity separate from what happens down at the country courthouse.

Although I may have some quibbles, I think this thought and others presented in the series are worth considering. Take a look.



Saving the “Offensive” Redlands Seal: Ric Ottaiano at Release the Hounds highlights Redlands, California’s battle to save the city seal from the ACLU. He writes: “Although this happened several months ago, I recently came across this story about the ACLU's thus far successful effort to strong-arm the City of Redlands to redesign its 80+ year old seal and remove the cross from its lower right quadrant. This came on the heels of the also successful effort to coerce the City of Los Angeles to remove a Latin cross from its seal.

--James Jewell

Jonathan Edwards Wisdom in a Post 9-11 World

In the days after 9-11-01 Americans turned to God for solace and church attendance increased, if temporarily. The smell of death and the fear of vulnerability quickened our spirits and sobered our thoughts. While the horrors have faded in our consciousness, as post-9-11 people we do tend to view the world more cautiously and eternity more closely.



An interview done by PBS’s Religion and Ethics Newsweekly with Notre Dame history professor George Marsden on great American theologian and preacher Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) is pertinent for both a 9-11 world and for the newly visible evangelicals. Marsden is author of Jonathan Edwards: A Life.



Here are a few excerpts from Marsden’s comments on Edwards:



The Tenuousness of Life: Edwards had a sense of the tenuousness of life. He talks about how we're "walking on rotten canvas." In the 18th century that was easier to understand; lots of people lost most of their children. Cotton Mather, who lived just before Edwards, had 15 children, only two of whom lived to adulthood, and he went through three wives. When there was always that possibility that you or anybody else you knew might die at any time, there was a much greater sense of the need to depend on something else. Post-9/11 America has gained a little bit of that sense -- that things aren't necessarily just upward and onward; that lots of things can go very wrong. Edwards's kind of theology is addressing the dimension of the human condition that consumer culture tends to ignore -- that most people don't succeed, and things do go wrong.



We tend to live with the illusion that we're going to live forever. Of course, we do live longer than people then did, but we don't face the reality that life is limited. I think you can learn from 18th-century people. With the precariousness of the world today, things can go very wrong. It's good to be reminded that we're not here forever, and one ought to face that.



A Model for Evangelicals: Also, Edwards has something to say to American evangelicals. They would benefit by having him among their spiritual founders. For one thing, it would be good to have more emphasis on a founder who was a profound thinker. There is a tendency toward anti-intellectualism in American popular religion. In some ways, that's its strength, because it's very easily shared and spread. But that also leads to some shallowness. Edwards has a very deep theological expression to propose to people. I think there would be a good basis for recovering some more depth in evangelical theology -- particularly a tendency within evangelicalism (to which I am essentially sympathetic) to make one's own religious experience the center of what the religion is about. It loses sight of God as the real center.



The Centrality of God: The most striking thing about Edwards's theology is its God-centeredness. He is always starting everything with reference to "What is God doing?" and then trying to understand us in that light. He has a very dynamic view of how God works in the world -- that God is essentially love, which means that God is essentially an active being who is relating to creatures. The whole purpose of creation is to express God's love to creatures. Creation isn't simply something that went on long ago -- that God wound up the universe and then it runs on abstract laws. Creation is an ongoing process. Edwards could go out in the fields and get a sense of the beauty of God's love in the beauties of nature; they are pointing toward the love of God, the redemptive work of God and Christ. He's constantly emphasizing that the essence of religious life is true affections directed toward God. Even in the Awakenings that he was dealing with in the 18th century, he was criticizing people who were celebrating their own experience too much, in a way that religion could get them to talking about themselves or what they get out of it. He was always referring them back to the centrality of God in all that they talk[ed] about.



Edwards is a fascinating and important founding father and this entire interview is worthwhile reading.

--James Jewell

Ten Things to Do Before Being Generous at Christmastime

So you’re feeling generous. The Christmas season does that to many of us. Perhaps it’s the recognition of the great gift of God, His Incarnation.. For some it’s just time to get a tax write-off before the year ends. Whatever your motivation, it’s a good idea to give--because when you give you take the focus off yourself and at least temporarily release the grip money has on your life.



You may have favorite charities, or you may be looking for something new. How should you begin?



Here are the ten things you need to do before giving away your money or your time to a charity:



1. Start with your values. Think about the things that are important to you—hunger, evangelism, children, curing a particular disease, etc. What needs push your buttons? Think about your obligations. Search the Scriptures.



2. Don’t forget your church: While there are many needs met by organizations that spend a lot of money presenting their work and raising funds, don’t forget your local church. The Scriptural teaching on giving is quite clear that the local body of believers should be your first concern.



3. Support your friends: If you have a friend who has to raise his or her support as a missionary or works at an organization that has their employees handle their own fundraising, that’s a good place to start. They need your help, and if you trust their values and judgment, it can give you some assurance.



4. Think about it: While its not a big deal to be spontaneous with small gifts—dropping a few dollars in The Salvation Army kettle or similar on the spot decisions—if you’re going to give a sizeable gift, don’t do it immediately, in response to a strong, emotional appeal. Allow your head to catch up with your heart. Think about it. Do some research. Pray about it—ask God for guidance.



5. Consult the charity watchdogs: If you are thinking about giving to a Christian organization, you can get information on a group’s legitimacy, efficiency, financial transparency and practices, and other information online from Ministry Watch. For organizations that are not expressly Christian, consult GuideStar.



6. Find new missions to support: These two groups and others such as the ECFA or the BBB Wise Give Alliance have lists of organizations that address every possible need. You can also consult publications such as the Chronicle of Philanthropy.



7. Determine if a group needs your money. Check out the size of an organization’s endowment; determine how much of a cash balance they had remaining at the end of their last fiscal year. Charities should be spending most of their money every year—it keeps them accountable to donors, and its why you give them money.



8. Be clear about a group’s programs: Before you send money or volunteer time, get detailed information from the organization on its mission, its goals, what programs it has to address problems, what it sees as success. Do its passions match yours? Is it forthright about what it is doing and why? Get literature or at least look at a group’s website.



9. Can you get the kids involved?: Particularly at Christmas, it’s a great idea to involve your children in a project, whether it’s a service project or a giving project—such as packing shoe boxes for Operation Christmas Child, or shopping to help an inmate’s child through Prison Fellowship’s Angel Tree. Helping kids learn about the joy and value of giving to others is a great new priority for the holiday season.



10. Find the joy: What would give you joy? God loves a cheerful giver and so does everyone else. Get a kick out of giving a little beyond your means. Find some up close and personal enough to see someone smile as a result of your efforts.



Go ahead, get generous! If you do it the right way, it will become a tremendous Christmas tradition.

--James Jewell