Stephanie Gilliam, director of children’s ministries at Highland Baptist Church in Florence, Alabama, said she grew up in a “Santa family.”
She said she likes the advice that Josh Straub, a contributing author at Lifeway Christian Resources, gives on the topic.
RELATED: Check out more stories from TAB Media’s Ground Level Reports series on Santa Claus and the Church here.
“He said in his family, when a kid asks about Santa, their response is that Santa is pretend and in our family we pretend,” Gilliam said. “Those were not words that were used in my house growing up, but I think it sums up what we did. We thought Santa was fun, but he was never the big deal of Christmas.”
Pretending is fun, she said — it’s a way that kids learn.
“I definitely think it’s possible to pretend about Santa and also at the same time to make sure Jesus is the focus of Christmas,” Gilliam said, noting that that could include advent devotionals with your kids, a nativity that they can play with or a birthday party for Jesus, she said.
Gilliam was one of several church leaders who shared their thoughts on Santa this week as part of Ground Level Christmas Edition. From embracing Santa as part of their Christmas traditions to avoiding him altogether, they offered a range of possibilities for how to handle St. Nick at the holidays.
Christmas ‘anchored in Jesus’
Ben Bowden, pastor of First Baptist Church Enterprise, Alabama, said he looks at it through the lens of 1 Corinthians 13:6, which says love “rejoices with the truth,” when he thinks about how his family should handle Santa.
“As Christians, we want to tell our children the truth,” he said, noting that he also doesn’t want to perpetuate a false gospel with his kids.
“Santa runs on works, the gospel runs on grace. Santa says you get gifts because you’re good, but the gospel says you’re not good. You’re on the naughty list, and you get the gift of salvation only because God is gracious,” Bowden said.
He also said he doesn’t want to “let anything overshadow the beauty and the brilliance of the incarnation.”
“What do we do in the Bowden household? We’re all about Jesus. We have a blast at Christmas. We’re not going to let anyone out-celebrate us during Christmas — we have the gifts, we have the family dinners … but the meaning of it all is anchored in Jesus,” he said.
Pastorally, Bowden tells his church to follow their conscience — just “make sure that the gospel is unmistakably clear.”
St. Nick as ‘a brave defender of Christmas’
Terry Boshart, pastor of Beacon of Hope Church in Grand Island, Nebraska, said he believes the history of Santa Claus rooted in the story of St. Nicholas can be a help in keeping the focus on Christ.
“Nicholas played a very important part in church history,” he said, noting that he was a part of the First Council of Nicaea, which established in church doctrine that Jesus was the son of God. “There was this fellow by the name of Arius who was going around trying to say that Jesus was not God’s son and trying to spread all this false doctrine in the church. History tells us at this meeting, Nicholas put Arius to shame not just in word but in deed.”
While Nicholas was initially removed from his post for his response, he was reinstated after public outcry and eventually granted sainthood.
“At a time when a pastor had to stand for right and for truth, Nicholas did,” Boshart said. “Therefore, St. Nicholas is not a distraction for Christmas — St. Nicholas is a brave defender of Christmas.”
Michael Abrams, pastor of Chelsea Community Church in Alabama, said sharing the story of St. Nicholas was helpful with his oldest daughter.
“I got to share with her the story of St. Nicholas and who he is, and what he’s done as far as what Christ calls him to do as far as caring for the poor children and needy children,” he said. “Being able to give her the history and help her see the spirit of Santa Claus and that that spirit of giving and generosity comes from God’s Spirit and from Jesus, I think that was really helpful.”
Santa as ‘the front door, not the message’
Ryan Flanders, a missions pastor in Virginia, said he believes the central concern for Christ followers is to decide what Santa’s purpose is.
He said Santa can be “just an ambassador, an ambassador of Jesus Christ and he points people to Him.”
“That is the tool, and that is the opportunity,” said Flanders, who has also played the Old Dominion Santa for the past four Christmases.
He said he sees Santa as “the front door, not the message” and said Santa can offer avenues for community outreach.
“He’s not the reason for the season, but he’s an opportunity in the season to share the good news of the gospel of Jesus Christ and the love of Christ,” Flanders said. “That’s what missions work is all about. In missions work, you’re going to contextualize the message to your audience and to that culture, and really that’s what you’re doing with the gospel. You’re taking something they know — Santa — and introducing the unknown, potentially — Jesus Christ and the story of His birth.”
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