Hi! Welcome to Wal-mart!

If you attended one of our three Christmas weekend services, then you know that our theme for the morning centered all around the Charlie Brown Christmas Movie. As a result, I “humbled myself” and dressed up like the blockhead himself, Charlie Brown. The feedback I have received after dressing up as this cartoon character for all three of our Christmas weekend services has been . . . well, let’s just say . . . interesting. Here are a couple of related stories:

About a week after Christmas, I was talking with one couple who attend our church very regularly. The wife commented on how much she enjoyed the Christmas service and how she thought it was neat that I dressed up like Charlie Brown. At this point I was feeling pretty good. However, I noticed that the husband had a real quizzical look on his face due to her comment. He tilted his head as if he were trying to solve a very deep and intellectual problem and said, “So that’s why you were dressed like that!” Come to find out he never put it together that I was dressing like Charlie Brown. I asked him what he thought I was trying to do. He said, “I just thought you were being goofy.”

How do you like that? Now, I don’t want to say that it was obvious, but I did say for several weeks prior to Christmas that Charlie Brown would be at all of our Christmas services. And let’s not forget that there was a giant blow-up Snoopy on top of his doghouse sitting up on the stage. We showed a total of 7 minutes of clips from the Charlie Brown Christmas video and I even spent the first 5-7 minutes of my message talking about none other than Charlie Brown.

Yet, I had another church member tell me that one of his relatives was visiting and didn’t put together that I was Charlie Brown either until later that day at the family dinner when everyone was talking about the service. Now, come on. Who else wears a yellow shirt with a black zigzag around the bottom of it? That’s as bad as when I dressed up like Robin Hood when I was a youth pastor and all the little kids thought I was Peter Pan.

But here’s the best story that was told to me recently. In fact, it was told to my wife first and I knew it was good when I saw her nearly hyper-ventilating due to laughing so hysterically. One family had their son in town visiting for the Holidays who had never been to our church. He came into the auditorium and I greeted him as I did everyone that weekend while dressed in my yellow Charlie Brown shirt, black shorts, yellow knee socks and brown shoes. Though I realize that this is not a politically-correct term, he later told his parents that as he sat down he thought, “How nice. This church allows that little retarded man to stand at the door and greet people.” Imagine his shock and horror when a little bit later that same “little man” was now preaching on stage!!

Well, as is the case with every event in life, there is a silver lining to this whole issue. At least I know that if I ever decide to get out of the ministry I could always get a job as a greeter at the local Wal-Mart. “Hi! Welcome to Wal-Mart!”