So, three years ago I wrote a post about Halloween titled, “Halloween = Satan?

I had almost forgotten that I wrote it. Since Halloween is coming in a few days, I figured I’d address it.

Like I said before, I didn’t celebrate Halloween as kid. We always went to the church to hide. It was a fun family night of games, bon fires and candy. If we did stay home that year, we turned the lights out and locked the doors. We were not going to celebrate this evil holiday. I’m not saying that this behavior was wrong or that I have any regrets, but my wife and I have decided to make different decisions about this holiday.

Three years ago we decided that Halloween is a huge night for our culture. If Jesus were here today, he wouldn’t be at the church hiding or he wouldn’t have his door locked and lights out. He’d be at the party or trick or treating with the neighbors. So, we decided that we’re not going to hide, but we’d meet our culture where they’re at.

So, three years have passed now and I’ve got something to say. We got complacent and missed the point. The last three years we’ve attended Halloween parties where Titus got to dress up and do a little trick or treating. It was so much fun and it created some great memories. However, the three parties we attended these last three years were parties with church friends. We didn’t meet our culture like we decided three years ago, we just did what the culture did. Oops!

I feel that what we’ve done the last three years is just the polar opposite. We isolated ourselves with our church friends just like we did 30 years ago at the church, but now we’re just celebrating the holiday like everyone else does. This is just my opinion and personal conviction (so don’t at all feel judged or anything), but if this holiday based on a premise of evil, even though it isn’t really that on the surface today, then why is it okay for us to just celebrate it.

This year, Sara, Titus and I are on mission and doing what he thought about three years ago. We have a small group and we’re going to set up in the driveway where we meet. We’re going to provide free hot chocolate, games for kids and lots of candy. We’re just going to use it as an opportunity to meet our neighbors. If it’s the one night that our neighbors come knocking at our door, then why not take advantage of the opportunity and keep them in the driveway a little longer while they sip hot chocolate and their kids play carnival type games? Sara and I are really excited about this as it’s a way our whole family and be a little more on mission on this holiday.

BTW, here is a great article on the origin’s of Halloween.