RIGHT-WINGERS "FOCUSING ON LEGALISMS"

My own pastor gets into the "war on Christmas" fray.

Lake Pointe Church, an evangelical megachurch based in Rockwall, has three services scheduled for Christmas Eve, a Saturday, but none on that Sunday.

Lake Pointe's pastor, the Rev. Steve Stroope, said: "I respectfully disagree with Jerry Falwell. ... We're going to have 16,000 people who come joyously together to celebrate Christ's birth on Christmas Eve."

He's encouraging his congregation to spend Christmas Day with family and friends. "Long before the church was established, God established the family," he said.

On years when Christmas does not fall on Sunday, his church has no Christmas Day service. Those who object to not having a Christmas service this year are focusing on "legalisms," he said.

"I'm kind of blindsided that anybody would make a big deal of it."

For more on the issue, read my post "God didn't ordain Christmas."