I've missed you all these past few days. I hope you all had a great Easter Sunday. We did. We had a free continental breakfast followed by our service. The service was very good -- several coming forward for prayer to receive a fresh touch from God at the close of the service. We went to lunch with our adopted son, Aaron, and his girlfriend, Hannah, to Buca Di Beppo. (have you guys ever been there?) Very good...I am having to really work out a lot more after that meal, ha ha!
I am so tired. Now that Easter is over I just want to sleep!!! Just checking to see if I'm the only one. I had the hardest time getting started today and I'm sitting here so tired to night but I am being held hostage to my computer. (Just kidding!) Actually Larry is having a bible study and I have my kids laying down in my room just to keep everybody quiet til' the guys are gone.
What's going on with you all? Tell me what's happening with you.
I am very tired too Deanna. I had a hard time getting up yesterday and least night I fell alseep at about 9:15pm. That is unheard of.
We had a very blessed weekend! I am so excited to see what God is doing. We had over 40 people at our Easter outreach on Saturday and it was so beautiful to see how everyone worked together as a team to pull everything together for this weekend.
Glad to know I'm not the only one...my family visited for the weekend, and they left about 4:00 Sunday - since then I've been curling up on the couch drifting in and out of sleep, and I'm STILL tired!!
Our men's ministry does a breakfast each Easter Sunday, and we did an Easter egg hunt for the kids. It all went smoothly...no one was injured, lol, so I guess it was a success!!
Another Easter, come and gone!! Now I am working on Wizard of Oz rehearsals, planning my Wednesday night, and working on a sermon for Sunday morning. For "big" church...next Sunday is the day my senior pastor will be on vacation and I'm preaching in the morning. YIKES! Without a license, even . That doesn't happen until April 19!!
Maybe my response will be seem harsh especially since I am not a PW just a Ministers (evangelist, associate) wife. But we were discussing how we did NOT enjoy our easter services. Our poor pastor was so stressed out becusae of visitors coming in and it all seems like programmed, formal tradition. And maybe part of my aggravation is from all the marketing that has crept in. Where people have to make apology for not having something new to wear (me being one of them) but my kids did. But there is so much pressure to look picture perfect on easter and it saddens me and makes me mad too. God couldnt even move in our service because of the program. Keep in mind we are not always like that. But some occassions (like easter, mothers day, ect...) it is just a routine and programmed service and I do NOT like the status quo that it is so easy to fall in to when you become a successful (aka large) church. We went to another church sunday night and saw a passion play and it was a really good production. But again, big fancy church and all I can do is sit there and think about how this church in particular have continuously warned their youth group to stay away from ours becuase we speak in tongues. I am like no wonder so many people in our city dont want to be in church on Sunday. Our easter just felt like a bunch of pomp and ceremony. I went to bed wondering if any church in our city really realized what the day was supposed to symbolize? Were we so busy entertaining ourselves and letting our tradition (and pressure) steal the very joy we were supposed to be experiencing? I hope you ladies can see the heart of what I mean. My girls looked pretty like everyone else's but I went home exhausted and spent and just wished I could have gone to church in my jeans and worshiped before God instead of the routine sermon that seems to be only to appease people that do their yearly duty to their mother. and the song service that was not allowed to "get out of hand" becuase of the visitors. I am sorry but I was just stirred down to my core about the whole thing. I was thankful that my dausghter woke up thinking about others and said she wanted to send all the kids in Mexico an easter basket and chocolate bunnies so they could "have easter" and I was sad that I had given the impression that that was what easter was about. I had to stop the car right then and there and set it straight but she bombarded with bunnies and fluff all day and I just dont think my sermonette did anygood. Well, I guess I have ranted enough. Hope you guys dont kick me off the board for all my venting. But I had to answer honestly. I will make it different next year.
No, you would not be kicked off the board...P-L-E-A-S-E!!!! Hello, I would never do that to you! Okay...re: your comments...
I can understand how you feel...I know many churches feel the "pull" to tone things down for Easter, but we never have. We figure, whatever God does, God does, the more the better -- and whatever happens we simply do what we would do in any service - we explain to the visitors what is taking place. I believe we should never be seeker driven, but we should be seeker sensitive to a degree. In our church we have complete freedom for the Holy Spirit to move 52 Sunday out of the year...and whatever happens that a visitor may not understand, we simply take time in the service to explain what just happened.
Here at our church, we had 48 hours of round the clock prayer believing God for miracles in our Sunday morning service. I have to admit, we did not have the response that I was hoping for...yes, we did have a "response" and several (I might estimate 6-8 people) came up for prayer at the close of the message. But we were really believing God for more, especially as many people as we had there. I believe as you do, that many were probably pre-occupied with thoughts of Easter dinner and activities. (And that's a shame.) I'm all for Easter dinner and activities -- I love them myself, but first and foremost the day is about church for me, and celebrating His life. After that, anything else is just extra.
I have been in churches before where they completely change things for Easter Sunday morning for the reasons you mention. I have never agreed with it because I think that if you only get those people (the Christmas/Easter people or the "Creasters" as I call them) two time a year...then for God's sake...you better pray the Holy Ghost comes down because you only have two shots at something getting through to them! My dh preached his heart out and told the people this past Sunday, "You may think that you are only here because your Mom begged you to come to church or promised you a free lunch, but that is not the reason you are here -- you are here under the divine call of the Holy Spirit, and you have an appointment to be touched by God today........" I believe as you do, why do we have all these visitors on Easter and give them the same thing they already have? (which is nothing)
I think it's really important as well to set the tone for what the whole thing is about. We need to have more outreaches at Easter where we truly share the life giving power of God with people.
We had over 40 people at our Easter outreach on Saturday and it was so beautiful to see how everyone worked together as a team to pull everything together for this weekend.
. That doesn't happen until April 19!!
