SRO in Dijon for Noël !

The Creator cares so much that He sent His Son to reconnect with the very people who disconnected with Him. Jesus was born. He forgives. He loves. Emmanuel is with us! declared the musical duo Den-Isa.

Den-Isa in Dijon, France (December 3, 2005)

Everyone knows the French are indifferent about the religious, right? Right, if you mean people sensing the need to belong to a religious institution. Wrong, if you mean indifference concerning spirituality. We have found Noël to be an especially propitious time to share Jesus, to connect the dots for people who have not made the link between Tannenbaums and candles, gifts of perfume and scarves, escargots and Yule logs, family, friends and… Christ’s birth.

It was standing room only for the Christmas concert in Dijon

Religious and irreligious French people attended the standing room only (SRO) performance on Sunday at the Protestant Evangelical / Grace Brethren church of East-Dijon. Only a minority was from the church (Sunday attendance averages around 55); I did not recognize most of the people. Church members extended almost 2000 invitations-many personal, others in mailboxes-which resulted in tripling, possibly quadrupling, their numbers for a family celebration of Christ’s birth.

Here's a quick panorama of the festivities:

A young woman who came to Christ through our campus group brought her mom. (At the woman’s wedding I had met the mother who was unabashedly hostile to her daughter’s faith.) I chatted with a young man, not a Christian, whom I had met while helping a friend move. He and his wife were thrilled and their three-year-old loved the event.

During the concert I had a flashback-oh, fifteen years or so ago-to a Christmas celebration that we organized with Dijon church; there were about fifteen present. As I looked at the SRO crowd, tears filled my eyes and joy welled up in my heart at what God has done here. People have bowed the knee to Christ. Believers are now reaching out to families, friends and community. The Prince of Peace has his rightful place of honor.

Joyeux Noël !