Was it us, or was it you?

{This post was written, but for some reason didn't post to the blog as thought, after our 2011 Easter service}

I've heard it a thousand times already:

"That was what Easter should sound like."

"Today's worship was incredible!"

"Man, you guys were on point today..."

"Why can't we have worship like that every week?"

I tell you what - in my role, that is music to my ears. My goal each week is for what we do on stage to engage the hearts and minds of the assembled church. Nothing is better for me on a Sunday than seeing the faces of people who are letting it go in worship of our God who loves us. It really was a beautiful day on Sunday.

And, elephant in the room, when people say the music was good we know that they're really talking about Eben Franckewitz putting it down on a gospel blues tune.

Don't get me wrong, I love the feedback, and I saw the congregation going all in on Sunday, so there was something going on. I mean, we had people clapping to the beat at 8 a.m.. Usually the 8 o'clock folks are still rubbing the sleep out of their eyes (and we love every single one of you!). I'm just not sure what we did that was so different.

Sure, we had a few more folks on stage. The Easter choir is in session, and was up there helping to lead. We had Charly playing Hammond sounds on the keyboard, and an extra electric guitar player in Greg Hansen, but other than that, I didn't really add anything.

In some ways, in fact, it was just the opposite. We usually do six or seven congregational worship songs in one Sunday service. This week we only did three, and the third one didn't come until 70 minutes in. The songs weren't new. One of them we've been doing for a few months, another for a few years, and the third has been sung since 1739. There weren't any new faces on stage, aside from Eben, who hasn't been up there since he played Linus in "A Charlie Brown Christmas" 4 years ago.

It could be that you enjoyed us a little bit more this week. It's possible that we pushed the congregation in a different direction. Or, perhaps the difference this week had less to do with us, and more to do with you...

I saw a people who were ready to worship when they walked through the door. In all three services there was an expectation and an excitement as people entered the room. Where hands were usually in pockets, they were up or clapping. In those chairs where lips are often closed, praise choruses and hymns were belted out.

It makes sense that on the holiest of our holidays, we come ready and excited to celebrate our risen Lord. And while it may be true that there was a little bit of extra energy on stage, I'm more inclined to think we had a congregation that was a little more ready to tell God of their gratefulness, and ready to proclaim death to death. To be honest, I think the entire praise band could have taken the day off and the congregation would have gone on without us, and had a pretty similar assessment of the morning's worship service.

How do we enter our gatherings on Sunday morning? With expectation? With excitement? Do you need us to rev you up, or are you prepared to worship no matter what? If there was no music at all, could you still declare who God is? Do you celebrate Easter each and every week? Each and every day? I can't say that I do, but I think that's what God expects of me. And when it doesn't feel as good as Sunday did, that can be difficult.

The fact of the matter is that there will be mornings when worship feels different than it did on Sunday. The question is: what do we do with that? On the mornings when the sermon is about loving your enemy, and the only instrument on stage is a bassoon, what does our worship look like?

It's the honor of my life to lead you each week in worship. It's my hope that what I do, and what all of our worship leaders do gets better and better every time we're together. I hope we get your heart stirred each and every week. Perhaps its true, however, that what we do on stage lands on your heart in a way that's been prepared before you walk in the room. Perhaps that is what happened this Easter Sunday.

Let's make a deal. If you keep showing up each week like it's Easter, then so will I.