HOUSTON (ABP) — Alongside the greenery and candles usually associated with Advent, some churches this year are using lions, witches and wardrobes to help worshipers experience the Christmas story.
Drawing on images from Narnia — a mythical world created by Christian author C. S. Lewis — these churches are leading members on an Advent journey from a cold land where it is “always winter and never Christmas” into a vibrant country where “the spell is broken” and believers encounter “deeper magic before the dawn of time.”
Congregations are capitalizing on renewed interest in The Chronicles of Narnia series of children's books, sparked by a new movie version of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”
As worshippers enter University Baptist Church in Houston, they pass through a cardboard wardrobe in the vestibule — provided by Disney and Walden, makers of the new Narnia movie — before they enter a sanctuary decorated with a winter theme.
When Lucy, one of the main characters in the story, entered Narnia, one of the first images that caught her eye was a lamppost in the middle of a snowy field. Similarly, a lamppost on the side of the sanctuary chancel captures the attention of churchgoers.
The decorations set the stage for a series of Advent sermons by Pastor Robert Creech that share titles with chapters from “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe.”
“I've tried to avoid treating the book like an allegory,” said Creech, a Lewis fan who first read the Narnia series when he was in high school and more recently read the books aloud to his children.
“Narnia serves more as an introduction into the sermon, not as the basis for the sermon. The Narnia references drop off after the first part of the sermon, once I get into the Scripture.”
University Baptist introduced the Advent theme at a Narnia night that drew about 800 participants.
Costumed actors portraying Jadis the White Witch, Tumnus the faun and other characters from Narnia offered refreshments, such as Turkish delight, hot chocolate and tea.
Creech's wife, Melinda, wrote a 30-minute readers' theater version of “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe” that was performed at the event to help introduce the story to people who hadn't yet read it.
Participants also received an Advent devotional guide the Creeches wrote that incorporated the Narnia theme into spiritual preparation for Christmas.
After learning about Narnia in the winter-themed fellowship hall, Narnia night participants moved to a spring-themed chapel, where they learned about a variety of opportunities for ministry and missions involvement during the Christmas season.
University Baptist decided against using the Narnia emphasis overtly for outreach.
“It's mostly to help our folks think about their faith in a new way,” Creech said. “We didn't know how well people outside the church would connect with this. We're not treating the book like a tract.”
Leaders at Park Cities Baptist Church in Dallas likewise resisted the impulse to turn Narnia-mania into an exercise in child evangelism. But the church encouraged the community at large to attend its Narnia event, which attracted about 700 participants.
“We had people who are not affiliated with any church who came, along with ministers from other churches who came to observe the process and get ideas they could take to their churches,” said Minister to Children Tommy Sanders.
The Park Cities event offered children a chance to learn about Narnia through interactive games and activity centers in the church gym, while Pastor Jim Denison and Sanders met with their parents.
Sanders prepared a parents' guide and computer slideshow (both available on the Baptist Standard website) that provide background about The Chronicles of Narnia.
The materials are designed to help parents make informed decisions about how to approach the stories with their children — whether as simple adventure stories that teach moral lessons or as serious literature containing Christ-centered images.
“We didn't want to try to interpret the story as an allusion to the gospel for children,” Sanders said. “We wanted to equip parents.”
First Baptist Church in Athens, Texas, has combined elements of education for Christians with outreach toward the unchurched. Pastor Kyle Henderson is preaching a series of sermons connected to themes in “The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe,” and church leaders are planning a Narnia party for children and youth.
In November, the church sponsored a training session for Sunday school teachers, parents and leaders from other churches to teach them about Narnia, help parents know whether the movie is age-appropriate for their children, and explore ways the cultural conversation about Narnia can be used to discuss spiritual matters.
“We want to help people use the movie as a way to connect and talk about their faith,” Henderson said. “We want them to see how the movie allows them to talk in a neutral, nonthreatening way about the big issues, like why the world is broken.”