This year my wife and I will celebrate our 15th Christmas together. Early in our marriage we became interested in observing Advent in our home, especially once we had children (which we did 11 years ago). Neither of us came from families or churches that celebrated this season and we've had to find our own way of "doing" it, but it has been my favorite tradition that our family embraces.
I thank our current church (especially Ms. Sally) for introducing me to the warm, Christ-focused, wonderfully non-commercial aspects of the this tradition. I read that Advent is growing in popularity among evangelical (i.e. not liturgical) churches. I know that many of Nashville's Southern Baptist churches are observing it and I'm just learning about the Advent Conspiracy.
If you're curious about using aspects of Advent in your church or home, but need a primer, I recommend an excellent blog post from Presbyterian minister Mark D. Roberts or this article from LifeWay Research. For music suggestions, check out these songs from LifeWayWorship.com.
Do you celebrate Advent? What advice would you give to others who are not very familiar with the tradition? Why do you think it is growing in popularity?
I think it is healthy for some of us in newer and more free churches to pick up some of the traditions that have been shed along the way. Understanding how easily tradition can become empty ritual, we can still find meaning in some of these observances. Even when many of us are just learning them. It seems like Christmas and Easter are times when I long to feel a deeper connection to the larger history of the Church.
My family has celebrated Advent pretty much from the time my wife and I were married. Neither my wife's family nor my family did when we were growing up. We have an Advent wreath that we light each night during our family worship time. And for several years we've read through Arnold Ytreeide's Jotham's Journey.
The church I currently serve and the church I most recently served as Associate Pastor of Worship both celebrate Advent, and we're not the only church's I know of doing so. I would concur (from anecdotal evidence) that the number of non-liturgical churches celebrating Advent is on the rise.
I just started Jotham's Journey with my kids last night for the first time!