Week 13, so what did happen at Easter?

So what do the regular round of Easter weekend services actually produce?

Been hearing a little of the big crowds at various GHC churches across the region, including our own (just on the 1,000 people).

But what does it all produce, or mean?

Leadership has to define reality. Void of reality, leadership can be morass or deluded.

Easter weekend. Hours of preparation. Big services. Extra services. More people than usual, many more people than usual.

What's happening?

Be a good blog discussion - join in.

Is it a tradition thing, pseudo-Christians in a pseudo-Christian land. Time to go to church on 1 of the 3 times people think about going each year.

Is it the 1 or 2 Sundays of the year that all the church come at the one time. Average church in the US sees only 60-70% of church any given weekend. But on Easter they all come?

Where is spiritual seeking on Easter Sunday?

Is it happening?

Or is it more conscience seeking than spiritual seeking?

Is it 'our turn now' celebrating; the Christian celebration of the year and Easter special services are filled with Christians together celebrating the resurrection.

Perhaps this coming Sunday tells us more what happened on Easter weekend than Easter weekend itself tells us.

Maybe counting this weekend is more important than last weekend.

What happened at our Easter services?

Righteously, we could say 'only eternity will tell us'.

Diligently, we need to try to find the answer now.

Any ideas out there?

One of the staff discussions about Easter services I got involved in revolved around regarding many people who might come to Redeemer's Church would be self-righteous Christians coming one of the three times a year.

Questions is - do you engage as Jesus did with the self righteous and give your severest warning, or do you see them as lost souls needing to find Christ.

Do you treat them as Jesus did, or as spiritually needy?

I don't think any pastor out there does not for one minute think that some of the Easter surge is the self-righteous, three-times-a-year thinking they are Christians. But none of us preached judgement on their self-righteous heads!

So why don't we do what Jesus did?

The Gospels are pretty clear on this.

Why do we treat them differently?

Of course they weren't the full crowd - but in most of our churches they were many of the crowd.

So, who's bold enough or obedient enough to start planning Easter 2011 and a sermon Jesus style?

Just a thought.

Any other out there?

Beyond our staff discussion, here's my leadership thought:

I'm thinking the next three weeks will tell us what happened at Easter ....watch carefully. Define reality well.