Thoughts about Easter Weekend...

i trust all is well with you. i have some thoughts as we walk into this big weekend…

in times past for me and jeff as pastors, easter weekend, was our biggest church event of the year. we planned months in advance…all the details of this glorious, easter sunday service, created and refined over and over again. we brought in and hired extra support, reminded our volunteers of their early arrival times, made sure the songs and lights were up to date.

we went over the top.
it was a production.

more people would come through the doors that day than any other day that year.

this weekend is the super bowl of the church world.

we had to get it right…our ego demanded it. we needed to share “the numbers” with our friends and mentors. it felt really good when those numbers were bigger than the previous year. it was a marker…on how the church, our church, was doing.

were we actually changing lives for the better?
not sure.

the overall church numbers world-wide, especially in america, are in massive decline right now and have been for at least the last 10 years.

make of that what you will.
after all…numbers don’t lie. 

personally, we would spend multiple hundreds of dollars on our clothes for that day. “the king deserves the very best” is how we would frame that expense while consequently placing pressure on the beautiful people walking through those doors…sending an accidental, yet subtle message, they needed to incur that same expense as to fit in and feel good, while most of them were living on a third of my personal income. 

it makes me sick…
the fact that *i* led people in a system that glorified power and authority to a few, disempowered an individual while they were seeking life change, and created a budget that more fully supported the central operation, instead of the majority of that budget going back into the community where we could see tangible change. 

i remember feeling really good when we implemented a tithe of our church budget going toward missions one year…imagine that. ten percent of the budget going back to the community and not the central operation to support my income, the customer’s experience, building maintenance/enhancements, programs, and the staff.

what a joke, miquell. you were fooled.

the american church is a business.

and it looks like, from what i can tell, is the very thing jesus lost his shit over when he turned tables at a temple.
and the system of the church, comprised of blind individuals, me being one of them at one point in time, can’t even see it.

“blind guides” jesus said.
“bowing before the law, violating the heart.”

“bowing before the law” can take on many interpretations. i have more on this topic, typed out and ready to send to you next week. i’m taking us somewhere, i promise.

in the meantime, for those of you who have released the rhythm of attending church this easter sunday, to those of you who still find beautiful meaning in the rhythm of gathering in a building with other’s in the name of god, and to everyone in between…be present, be aware, be mindful, be grateful, be centered, be forgiving, be open, and most importantly, be love and be loved.

there is good in it all, my friends.

next week we’ll talk about my ever-evolving posture on what jesus possibly meant when he said, “you bow before the law…” heads up…he was speaking to all of us here. we represent the pharisee in one way, shape, or form while also finding ourselves as blind followers. remember, it’s all a mirror, a reflection, and we are always somewhere in the reflection if not right in the center.

if you find yourself with more time than activities this weekend have some fun googling the following questions:

• where does easter come from?
• why do we celebrate easter with eggs and bunnies?
• did easter exist before jesus?
• then go watch dan if you want an educated, researched perspective. click here for the tok and here for IG . it's some really good stuff. i'm a sucker for some good public discord. it's how we learn best, in my opinion.

send me your thoughts on the socials if you need to release your voice and truth after reading this.
your truth has a place here…no matter what that truth is or how different it is from mine.

and lastly, because of the culturally enhanced focus of this weekend, i'd like to express gratitude to jesus for truly laying his life on the line in an effort to show us what our lives can look like when we love outloud, allow everyone to our table, and do not cater to systems, the crowds, or people's opinions. some of us may get killed, canceled, or ostracized for it…but we are free…free indeed.

i love you big time.
thanks for reading this in its entirety.