It's part of the 8-year-old church's efforts to remain relevant in modern society. Watch video
MORRISTOWN -- Pastor Tim Lucas was 6 years old when the first Star Wars movie came out, and he remembers, in the Christmases that followed, replacing the tiny figures in his mother's Nativity scene with Han Solo, Princess Leia and R2D2.
"I didn't care about the star of Bethlehem," said Lucas, the lead pastor at Morristown-based Liquid Church. "I cared about the Death Star."
Now, Lucas -- no relation to George, sadly -- is doing the same thing on a wider scale as a new installment of the franchise is about to hit theaters. Services in the coming Sundays at Liquid Churches around New Jersey will weave the Star Wars story together with Biblical theology in what they're calling a "Cosmic Christmas."
This Sunday, Lucas will deliver his second weekly sermon dressed as Han Solo, reading from the Bible and playing Star Wars clips that are thematically similar (instead of a choir, dancing Storm Troopers; instead of Santa, Darth Santa).
And on Christmas Eve, Cosmic Christmas is culminating in a live, Star Wars-inspired live performance with costumed characters; at the end, instead of lighting candles, congregants will wield glow sticks shaped like light sabers.
The parallels between the Bible and Star Wars, Lucas said, are striking, particularly in the good vs. evil cosmology, the story of the resurrection, and a savior of dubious parentage.
Even that famous phrase -- "may the force be with you" -- is cribbed from Christian theology.
"It's going to be a real fun way to take a fresh look at the greatest story ever told," Lucas said.
The church has locations in Morristown, Mountainside, New Brunswick, Somerville and Nutley. Lucas expects the live Christmas Eve performances to draw 7,000 people, a high water mark for the 8-year-old church.
"People hear the name Liquid Church and assume they're either a cult or a drinking fraternity," Lucas said. "And of course they're completely wrong on the first one."
The name, rather, is a nod to a church that is trying to be refreshing -- the opposite of the dry services that might keep contemporary Americans from attending services, Lucas said. The Star Wars gambit is just one part an attempt to be culturally relevant in an increasingly secular world.
It's a nondenominational Christian church, and they welcome "Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Jedi knight -- it doesn't matter, they're welcome at Liquid."
The Star Wars: The Force Awakens film, the latest in the series, will be released Thursday night.
Of course, Lucas will be there.
"Star Wars changed my life," Lucas said. "Second only of course to Jesus Christ."
More information about the church's Star Wars services can be found on the church's website.
Brian Amaral may be reached at bamaral@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @bamaral44. Find NJ.com on Facebook.