By Thaddeus M. Baklinski
December 18, 2009 (LifeSiteNews.com) – A growing number of Christian churches are joining forces with a grass-roots movement known as the Advent Conspiracy, which is seeking to “do away with the frenzied activity and extravagant gift-giving of a commercial Christmas.”
The group was founded by Portland pastor Rick McKinley, who with a group of fellow pastors realized that their own, and their congregations', focus during the time of Advent revolved more around secular consumerism than preparing to celebrate the birth of Christ.
“What was once a time to celebrate the birth of a savior has somehow turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists,” McKinley observed.“And when it's all over, many of us are left with presents to return, looming debt that will take months to pay off, and this empty feeling of missed purpose. Is this what we really want out of Christmas?”
“None of us like Christmas,” McKinley said in a Time.com report, adding, “That's sort of bad if you're a pastor. It's the shopping, the going into debt, the worrying that if I don't spend enough money, someone will think I don't love them.”
McKinley, whose church donates money to dig wells in developing countries through Living Water International and other organizations, saw that a fraction of the money Americans spend at retailers in the month of December could supply the entire world with clean water.
As a result he and his friends embarked on a plan to urge their congregations to spend less on presents for friends and family, and to consider donating the money they saved to support practical and tangible charitable works.
“If more Christians changed how they thought about giving at Christmas,” he argued, “the holiday could be transformative in a religious and practical sense.”
McKinley observed that at first church members were uncertain. “Some people were terrified,” McKinley recalled. “They said, 'My gosh, you're ruining Christmas. What do we tell our kids?'”
Soon though, the idea caught on and McKinley found that not only were people “relieved to be given permission to slow down and buy less” but were “expressing their love through something more meaningful than a gift card. Once church members adjusted to this new conception of Christmas, they found that they loved it.”
According to the Time.com report the Advent Conspiracy movement has exploded, counting hundreds of churches on four continents and in at least 17 countries as participants.
The Advent Conspiracy video has been viewed more than a million times on YouTube and the movement boasts nearly 45,000 fans on Facebook.
To find out more about the Advent Conspiracy please visit their website here.