Remember last year's Christmas wars, when Christian groups took on the liberal secularists who wanted to rip the Reason right out of the Season? Get outta here with that "Happy Holidays" stuff; these Christians were going to wish the world a "Merry Christmas" whether they liked it or not!

Seriously, I realize that our culture has become increasingly hostile to public displays of Christian affection (particularly the born again/evangelical variety), but I wonder if we're overreacting a bit when we stage boycotts and use the media to strike back at those we perceive to be against us. Is there a better way?

Dr. Joel Hunter, a conservative pastor who leads Northland Church in Longwood, Florida, is the author of a provocative book titled Right Wing, Wrong Bird: Why the Tactics of the Religious Right Won't Fly With Most Conservative Christians. My wife and I attended Northland when we lived in Florida in the late '90s. In his book, Dr. Hunter is asked how Christians should respond to the secular movement to remove religious symbols like manger scenes and the Ten Commandments from public places. Here's what he said:

We live in a secular society, and so many of the loudest voices are the most afraid of organized religion because they feel most condemned by it. And that really is a reproach on us, isn't it? Because if Christians were loving people and really making a huge difference in this society, nobody would mind our displaying the Ten Commandments or manger scenes at Christmastime. As a matter of fact, they'd be reminded that there is a group of people who are really improving the society.

Some folks will dislike us no matter what. But we can do a better job demonstrating God's love, especially when it comes to defending the faith. Rather than get mad, perhaps we need to get more compassionate.

What does that compassion look like? There are several examples in the latest issue of Today's Christian magazine—a Minnesota shoe repairman who has raised millions for the homeless, an Anglo church in Missouri that has opened its doors and heart to Latino immigrants, a retired businessman in Illinois who prays for strangers on the street. These are just a few of the ways God is working through His people to change lives and improve society. As we celebrate the holidays—uh, I mean Christmas—this year, let's remember that our love for others should be even mightier than our sacred symbols.

Edward Gilbreath is editor of Today's Christian and the author of Reconciliation Blues: A Black Evangelical's Inside View of White Christianity.

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