Sen. Jim Inhofe (R-OK) kicked this year’s War on Christmas into high gear last week when he announced that he wouldn’t participate in Tulsa’s annual “Holiday Parade of Lights” because the city renamed the parade, replacing “Christmas” with “Holiday.” This week, First Baptist Church of Dallas pastor Dr. Robert Jeffress joined the war effort. Jeffress announced on a local radio station this morning that his church is launching a website — the Grinch Alert — “dedicated to showcasing businesses that do not show outward signs of supporting Christmas.” The top of the site reads: “Help us keep Christmas everywhere!”:
Have you encountered a “Grinch” this Christmas season? Share your experiences here at GrinchAlert.com! Here, you can nominate businesses and organizations that shut-out expressions of Christmas in their interactions with the public via marketing, advertising and public relations. When companies use misplaced political correctness to halt the celebration of Christmas, they belong on the “Naughty List.”
We also want to know which companies are celebrating Christmas with excitement and meaning–especially those who keep Christ in Christmas where He belongs! Those companies and organizations will be placed on our “Nice List.” Help us preserve Christ this Christmas.
The Dallas Observer reports that every morning on KCBI-FM radio, Jeffress will read the names of businesses submitted to his Naughty and Nice lists:
[I]t all started last week with the public shaming of a bank in Southlake that decided not to put up a Christmas tree in its lobby; says the morning-show host, the bank has since changed its mind due to the divine intervention. To which Jeffress adds: “I wanted to do something positive to encourage businesses to acknowledge Christmas and not bow to the strident voices of a minority who object to the holiday.”
There’s no word on how far Jeffress’s crusade will stretch geographically, but perhaps the Florida State government may be next. A spokesperson for the Florida Turnpike Enterprise said the agency banned all holiday decorations two months ago after some Christian groups complained about Halloween decorations. Thus, she said, turnpike leaders have now decided to ban holiday decorations of any kind.