Posted on 12/15/2023 9:06:57 AM PST by Morgana
This isn’t the first time that JD Greear, former president of the Southern Baptist Convention has canceled church services around Christmas in order to accommodate the majority in his church that value consumerism over gospel. In fact, for the last several years, Summit Church has closed its doors for Christmas services. But, in a disquieting turn of events, Summit Church is not only closing its doors on campus for the week of Christmas, including Sunday morning on Christmas Eve, but will be charging money for tickets to attend a worship service that is being held at the DPAC Coliseum in Downtown Durham that Sunday.
The decision to cancel in-person services during the Christmas week and, more egregiously, to charge for attending a special Christmas Eve service at the Durham Performing Arts Center, is a proverbial middle finger to God’s command to gather and worship Him. This not only places barriers to those who would like to worship, it is also a blatant commodification of the sacred assembly.
Charging for a church service, especially on a Sunday morning—a time historically and biblically dedicated to communal worship without financial barriers—is an affront to the very gospel itself. It is a clear sign that Summit Church, under Greear’s leadership, prioritizes superficial, entertainment-driven experiences over spiritual depth and biblical fidelity.
This disturbing trend is symptomatic of the culture permeating most modern megachurches, where the focus shifts from shepherding the sheep to catering to the whims of a consumerist audience. In this climate, the church morphs into a theater of entertainment. Sadly, the congregation comprises more goats than sheep—followers drawn to spectacle rather than to Scripture, to convenience rather than commitment.
By replacing a week of reflective, communal worship with a ticketed extravaganza, Summit Church is not just neglecting its duty to nurture its flock, it is actively leading them astray. The Bible’s exhortation to gather, especially during significant times like Christmas, is cast aside in favor of a model that seems more suited to a corporate enterprise than a house of God.
Nobody saves you for free.
You really do not know what the real facts are so how can you determine it is wrong. I certainly would not take that blogs word on anything. They lack transparency.
You are just looking for any excuse the try and hurt the Christians.
Never mind the fact that The Dissenter posted what is either an X image or image from the churches website explaining all of this.
I’d just deduct the ticket price from our pledge...times three.
Agreed. I’ve been in church-sponsored events at large auditoriums in which they asked for an amount to cover costs, but didn’t require it. It may be that this church is doing the same.
What if church members can’t afford the price of the tickets? That means they can’t attend?
Its all about $$$.
If you can’t recover the cost of putting on a special Christmas event, it becomes a big problem fast.
Read my post that you're replying to: "I’ve been in church-sponsored events at large auditoriums in which they asked for an amount to cover costs, but didn’t require it." For those of you in Rio Linda, that means people who can't afford the price can still attend.
I don't know if that's how this church is handling this event. I'm just saying it's how I've seen it done like this before.
I went to their website...
Under FAQ
“
Do I need a ticket to attend the service?
DPAC’s regulations require all attendees to have a ticket to enter the venue. No one will be admitted without a ticket, and all tickets will be scanned upon entry. If you have a ticket your party is not using, please turn it in at the box office.”
Do I need a ticket for my child?
Whether your child is attending the service or joining us in Summit Kids, the corresponding ticket is required to enter the building. Due to limited space, children who do not have an RSVP for Summit Kids will not be permitted to stay. If you choose to take your children into the service (which you should!), all children must have a Ticketmaster issued ticket for the service time.
https://summitchurch.com/christmas-dpac-2023#christmas-page-faqs
what say you now?
I am on the mailing list for this church. They did move the services to DPAC (and DPAC requires that every attendee has a ticket). However, I didn’t see anything about the tickets costing money. This seems to me to be a conservative, bible-believing church.
Here is the church’s direct message on their return to holding services at a local performing arts center (Which they have done previously):
Christmas with the Summit at DPAC is back! For the first time since 2018 we will be returning to the Durham Performing Arts Center for our Christmas services.
Christmas with the Summit at DPAC started in 2012 out of a desire to be the church for our community, in our community. Through the years, we found that many in our community who wouldn’t ordinarily accept an invitation to a Summit location would readily join us in a familiar, neutral location like DPAC.
As we gather as one church over the course of the weekend, you can expect to worship, hear a message from Pastor J.D., and show our community Jesus in a way that many have never experienced before.
Have zero idea who this charlatan is
I was just on their website and under FAQ
Under what if they should have to return tickets.
Guests should be able to return tickets through their Ticketmaster accounts at any time:
Log into Ticketmaster using the account used when reserving tickets
Select “My Account” in the top right corner
Select “Upcoming Events” under the “My Tickets” section
Choose the Christmas with the Summit at DPAC
Initiate a chat with Ticketmaster and request a cancellation (bottom left)
Guests can also transfer tickets to someone they know:
Log into Ticketmaster using the account used when reserving tickets
Select “My Account” in the top right corner
Select “Upcoming Events” under the “My Tickets” section
Choose the Christmas with the Summit at DPAC
Select “Transfer Tickets” (you will need the recipient’s name and email address)
Now from what I know of Ticketmaster if using them you are paying for that.
I like churches that teach through the bible, ignoring all human holidays.
We’re adding a couple of extra services to get us up to 5 on Dec 24. So Baptists are welcome to come visit us.
Always when I was growing up all the local churches, no matter the denomination in town were advertising for Christmas. Some were putting on shows like those ones with the hand bells, others had fancy singing, some had Christmas plays that their children did. They always said “everyone welcome”.
I never once heard them say you needed a ticket to get in that is why this story shocks me so much.
If you can’t have Christmas service in a church and need to rent a fancy Colosseum then it’s just lost something in my book.
Our church has free tickets for concerts - it’s necessary to limit the size of the size of the attendance to the capacity of the room. We do take donations, but that doesn’t come close to covering the expenses.
On the other hand, the local Baptist megachurch has always charged admission, but they have live animals, and angels sailing out over the audience suspended from tracks in the ceiling. They probably have more cast members than we have seating capacity.
Suspended from tracks in the ceiling? Can't we just have the kids dressed up as Mary, Joseph, the wise men and some shepherds with maybe a baby doll for Jesus or even someone's kid baby brother?
Those were always adorable.
But don’t the wise men look better if they come down the aisle with peacocks and camels? And what’s a shepherd without a few sheep? And Santa Clause sailing down from the upper balcony in his sleigh to land on the stage (using one of the track and pulley systems also used by an angel in another part of the program.)
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