Why does a time of year when you get to dress your children up and go door to door and get FREE CANDY cause such a stir in the church? Because of it's origins. If you don't know where it started and what it used to be about, here is an article that will help:http://www.loc.gov/folklife/halloween.html
So Halloween has it's pagan roots and practices, some of which are still practiced today, others which have long since disappeared. I remember as a child dressing up as one of many different characters. One year I was Snoopy, another CP3O (because I was and still am a Star Wars geek), Batman and many others. We would go visit family members first, then go door to door worshiping the devil in several neighborhoods that we new were safe. Who didn't?
Okay, in all honesty, do you remember preparing to worship satan every Halloween, or do you remember getting excited for parties at school and getting free candy? Mine was the latter. Now my parents didn't let me dress up like anything scary, and at that time most kids didn't want to. Maybe the scariest thing you saw was a witch or a ghost costume. We used to have so much fun and got all the candy we could eat! But, as everything man touches, we perverted it and made it so much sicker now than it was so many years ago. Our children's innocence has been sold out for the higher profits that depravity brings.
Eyeballs hanging out, bloody butcher knife wielding psychopaths, disgusting looking zombies... and those aren't the worst. Look closely at the costumes for kids the next time you are at the store. I, being a children's pastor, like looking for costumes for dramas and musicals that we may do. Can you ever really have enough gray-haired wigs or beards? Angel costumes? But the playful focus that costumes had when I was a kid doesn't exist anymore. What I see is the blatant sexualizing of our children. There is almost no difference between "adult" costumes and children's costumes. Why? Because we live in moral decay. Our society is getting sicker and sicker. It's not enough to see a suspenseful movie anymore. It has to be blatantly over gory and twisted. A veritable blood bath for people to be scared. Once again, a society in decay...
But should we avoid Halloween then? That is a personal choice up to each individual. I think it's one of the greatest opportunities to witness to those around us the glorious grace of God. When, outside of Halloween, do you have that many unsaved people come to your door? Matt McKey said it best in his blog: "You can leverage it to build relationships for the future or you can boycott it and lose the opportunity." You can read the rest of his blog here: http://www.mattmckee.me/happy-halloween-church-kidmin/
Parents, I would encourage you return to the days of when dressing up your child as a princess, fireman, super hero or teacher was cool. Or maybe even their favorite Bible character? Back to a time when for one night we got to pretend to be someone else and get free candy. Lose the gore and depravity. Let's restore the innocence to our kids that society as a whole has taken away. And if you are staying home and passing out candy, leverage that opportunity by giving the best candy you can. God always gives us His best. Become that house that every child wants to go to because they remember your generosity. That's when real witnessing can begin...
Blessings,
Pastor Brian
PS - Everyone knows that a "Harvest Party" is the same thing as a "Halloween Party". Just like a "gospel illusion" is the same as a "magic trick". Get over it!
