Easter's Coming. Ok?

I am a pastor and follower of Jesus Christ and I need to make a confession: I haven't gotten excited about Easter for several years. Sometimes I even dread it. Horrible, right? This is THE high holy day for Christians. This is the celebration of the empty tomb, a time of hope and love and life. And... it's exhausting and even frustrating. And it can be disappointing.

How can Easter be disappointing you ask? Well for one, its hard to live up to the hype. It's like the next Star Wars movie coming out. The hype train is in full motion. The anticipation is already skyrocketing. It's going to be great! Right? Maybe, but it will be near impossible to live up to the hype and expectations.

Easter can be like this, especially for us that lead churches. There is an incredible amount of pressure for everything to be amazing. Think of all of the visitors?! The folks who ONLY come for Christmas and Easter?! We need to wow them. They need to feel the Holy Spirit move. We've got to present services that will COMPEL them to come back next week and the next and the next... Everything has to go perfectly. The pressure. The stress. The desperation.

Of course, all of that word and stress takes its toll. As my friend and colleague Buck Cueni Smith called it after seeing this picture of me:

"The Hallelujah Hangover"

This leads to disappointment number two.

Easter is a tease. Don't pretend that you don't know what I'm talking about. Every year churches are packed. Extra services are needed to accommodate everyone. Here in our annual conference there is usually an article about Easter attendance numbers from around the state. MIND BLOWING! Praise God for so many people being transformed by the resurrection story! Or are they? We all know what tends to happen the week after Easter...

"Bueller? Bueller?

Where is everyone? Where is the orchestra? Where is the pastor? Yes, I know several pastors who tend to take this Sunday off. It is understandable. We need to recover from the hallelujah hangover. And on one else will be there either...

I should apologize. I know I am sounding way too cynical right now. But let me confess something else..

I also love Easter.

More correctly, I LOVE the Easter message. I love what Easter is supposed to be, what Easter is supposed to mean. I believe the answer lies in once again becoming a people of the resurrection. I believe that is the answer, not only for Easter, but for the future of the church and the Christian faith.

So what does it mean to be a resurrection people? Check out my next blog coming soon...

Chris