Easter from the church pew...

...looked pretty good to me yesterday. Jesus was preached. The resurrection celebrated.

The sunrise service had about one third of the attendance of the main worship service, that would be at the sacred 11:00 hour, and the weather was near perfect, cool not cold, with the timing just right on the sunrise, and no trains noisily rumbled by during the short service.

The light breakfast ('light' would be Southernese for heavy but just not as heavy as it could have been, sausage and biscuits light) was very good and the fellowship was warm.

I attended the church I used to pastor and was greeted warmly. The interim pastor is doing a great job, always preaches well, and I enjoy hearing him. He is among the sensible brethren who communicate to the Easter crowd that he is genuinely glad they came to worship.

In what promises not to be the beginning of a new Easter tradition, my family and I ate lunch at the Waffle House which was serving purple waffles in recognition of Easter. While I believe I understand the thinking behind that, I'm not sure it works well, purple not being a very appetizing color no matter what sits on the plate ready to be consumed. Think beets here.

God is good. Jesus is wonderful. Bless His holy name.

Easter Sunday from the church pew...

...I'm going to give it a try for the first time since 1981. Unless an emergency call comes in (and I have, uh, about thirty years of Easter Sunday sermons ready, although I would warn anyone that they are all on the same subject), I'm a happy pew sitter this Sunday.

Wonder what will happen?

Will the pastor cajole the suddenly swelled crowd in their Easter finest for not making it the other 51 Sundays or will he say, "I'm glad you are here...today...on the Day of the Resurrection...God bless you!" I rather like the latter approach.

I may skip the sunrise service this year...haven't decided. I always led them for the past ten consecutive years.

Will the pastor have anything new to say about the Resurrection. I hope not. The old story cannot be beat and sometime we preacher types overthink things and try and reinvent the wheel. Stick with "He is risen!" and you cannot go wrong.

Will the pastor have some stolen illustrations to use? Will he trot out the old stand-by illustrations that everyone has to have heard forever? Maybe not...but I wouldn't bet on it.

Will I beat the Methodists to the restaurant?

It's going to be an adventure Sunday and I'm not letting anything stand in the way of a great day.

Have a wonderful Easter Sunday (and give NAMB a rest...at least until next week).

Easter

How's that for a riveting blog title?

What do people do who live in places where dogwood trees are not blooming on Easter? Whatever date Il Papa sets for Easter, from late March to about where we are now, late April, dogwoods are always blooming here. Wouldn't seem right without them.

I showed up at my first church in mid-February, so I was the newest pastor in the community when Easter rolled around about six weeks later and was asked to preach at the community sunrise service. “Asked” is a euphemism for “ordered.” I dutifully showed up and took my place at the outdoor service with my back to a very nice pond. About six seconds into my Easter message some huge bass jumped behind me. Jesus could walk on water. I can call the fish right out of the pond.

Easter Sunday afternoons are the best nap times of the year.

Easter is not a good time to beat up the people who show up just that one Sunday. They’re already beat up. Say you’re glad they’re here. If you aren’t glad, that’s mixed up thinking. Get glad. Really.

I will not live to see an Easter any later than this year, April 24th. I’d have to make it until 2038. Probably not going to happen.

Easter egg hunts at church are great…on Saturday. I get to tell The Story to the kids. Last year a kid on the front row was transfixed. No, not by me. He had the largest, slimiest emission slowly dropping down from one nostril. Longer and longer it grew. How low can this thing go before it snaps? Why, it's a wonder of nature unfolding right before me and 75 other adults and kids. But I’m thinking, How’s this going to end? The kid was paralized, not knowing what to do except permanently cross his eyes trying to look at it. I commanded a paper towel to be brought to me, post haste. The kid fixed it. Plodder the wonder pastor. You don't learn that stuff in seminary.

Have a great Easter. He is risen indeed.