5 Lessons Learned in Preparing for Easter

Mar 26

It has been said that Resurrection Sunday is the Superbowl Sunday of the Christian calendar year. Pre-COVID, “Easter” was the Sunday where churches of all sizes saw their highest attendance of the year as Christians packed into high school gyms, movie theaters, homes, and churches expecting an uplifting worship experience and to hear a fresh word from the Lord.

Last year things changed as believers worldwide celebrated Jesus’s resurrection from their living rooms watching Livestream services or joining in via Zoom or Google Meets. And, although churches are slowly regathering, many churches will remain online this Easter.

Whether you’re meeting in person or online, as a pastor, you have a deep desire to offer an experience that is meaningful, gospel-saturated, and hopeful. Through the years, I’ve learned some lessons that have helped me be holistically prepared for Easter Sunday. Here are five lessons that I’ve learned that have helped me rest and be ready for Easter service.

First, remember that because of Christ, you have nothing to prove to others and nothing to lose.

If you’re anything like me, there’s a constant temptation to work “as unto man” and not as “unto the Lord.” The thought of receiving immediate feedback or a glowing review can crowd out the call to “work as unto the Lord.” This is especially true when it comes to Easter Sunday. There’s a constant desire to want my sermon, the worship experience, and everything surrounding the day to be great. I imagine that you know the feeling too. If this is your first Easter, this feeling of “I have to get it right” might even be crippling you, and planning an Easter celebration in the middle of a pandemic only complicates things. So, my word to you is what a mentor of mine would often remind me before important engagements: “Jamaal, you have nothing to prove and nothing to lose — if you live with something to prove, everyone loses.”

Pastor, in Christ, you are 100% loved and accepted. Whether live or on Zoom, your Easter sermon does not define you if you allow Christ and His goodness towards you to define you.

“If you live with something to prove, everyone loses.”

While as leaders, it is healthy to do our best and strive for the “good” outcome, we get to do this from being perfectly loved and not for love. So, as you prepare for Easter, I invite you to silence your inner critic with the Gospel. You can do this by constantly reminding yourself that in Christ you are enough; and that you will be a blessing to God’s people as you show up with a non-anxious presence that simply wants God to be glorified.

Second, create margin in your schedule.

The first several Easter Sundays were challenging for me as a lead pastor because it seemed like the two weeks before Easter were busier than normal. For most pastors, including me, “normal” is too busy. Each year on Easter morning, I entered into the pulpit on fumes, carried only by adrenaline. Then, after several years I learned to protect my schedule leading up to Easter.

Part of protecting my schedule was recognizing a pattern from previous years that showed that every year the weeks leading up to Easter had major or unexpected crises that arose. After 13 Easters as a lead pastor, this pattern remained true. Because I have come to expect these crises, I’ve been able to preach and lead from a place of deeper communion with Christ and be more present on a day that means a lot to our congregants. Creating margin means at least three things to me.

First, it means communicating with your leadership team clear goals for the Easter season ahead of time so that everyone knows what’s expected and has a clear picture of “the win.”
Second, it means being intentional in delegating so that Passion week and the week before aren’t overcrowded. If you can, create a team to help plan Easter service and the events around it.
Third, creating margin means saying no to meetings, lunch hangs that can wait, and other engagements in anticipation of unexpected issues. Often a week or so into Lent, I begin to communicate with members and those in our community who desire to meet (non-emergency, of course) that I would be happy to meet with them once Easter has past. Most people understand and know that these seasons are usually our busy times.

Third, empower and organize your team to love the community well.

While Easter is a time for believers to celebrate the greatest miracle the world has ever known, it’s also a great time to love the communities around us. While having events is more difficult in these COVID times, create and empower a team at your church to think creatively about engaging the community. An easy win that everyone seems to enjoy is an Easter egg hunt.

I was recently reminded of this when a man in our neighborhood who isn’t very welcoming to Christianity stopped and asked me if our church would be doing the Easter egg hunt in the park this year. After telling them that we wouldn’t due to COVID restrictions, the person seemed disappointed. However people feel about your church in the neighborhood, they generally expect churches to be a positive presence for kids. Easter is a great time to establish Christ’s presence through your local church. It’s also a great way to remind members that Christ’s death and resurrection didn’t occur so that we would keep it to ourselves, but rather God allowed us to believe the gospel message so that we can be conduits for its proclamation.

Fourth, prepare a sermon that is gospel-saturated, clear, thoughtful, and concise.

On Easter, people come to church dressed in their Sunday best. Last year during the pandemic, many families in our church said they got dressed up for Easter and watched the service from home. I was glad to hear this and will encourage those who are staying home to do the same this year because the resurrection of Christ should be celebrated.

“Our members want to celebrate what Christ has done for us by eating spiritually and physically with those they love.”

Also, Easter Sunday means that after the service there is usually a feast. Just as football fanatics wake with anticipation to watch the game on Superbowl Sunday, Christians wake with anticipation of worshipping Jesus with their church. While that’s good news, it also makes for both an exciting and distracting audience to preach to on Sunday morning. I learned this very early in preaching Easter services. Each year at the beginning of the sermon, people were more engaged than usual. I heard more “Amens,” “Preach it, Pastor,” and head nods than usual. I also noticed that around the 25-minute mark, people began to look distracted, anticipating the closing of the service. While people are excited to hear the Word on Easter Sunday, they are eager to celebrate with their families afterward. This doesn’t make them unspiritual, just beautifully human. Our members want to celebrate what Christ has done for us by eating spiritually and physically with those they love. Because of this, I’ve learned that less is more on Easter. I’ve learned not to be fancy and deeply philosophical, but rather clear, intentional with every word, and appropriately brief.

Fifth, slow down to enjoy those closest to you.

The final lesson that I’ve learned, which is often overlooked in reflections like these regarding Resurrection Sunday, is the importance of being present with your wife and kids (for those married). I grew up as a pastor’s kid and remembered how big days could be for a pastor’s family. The pastor is so focused on everything being in order and the sermon being “on point” that often celebrating the resurrection with one’s family gets pushed out. Easter can be a very formative time for your children and family. Don’t squander it by being so concerned with feeding the flock that you forget your first flock.

“Easter can be a very formative time for your children and family. Don’t squander it by being so concerned with feeding the flock that you forget your first flock.”

What does it look like for you to pause this week and plan some meaningful times of prayer and words with your children and your wife? How can you get the most out of this Passion week to communicate to your family that the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ changed your life by bringing you salvation, reconciliation with God, and eternal life, peace, and joy? Those closest to you will be encouraged by what you believe when they see you slowing down for loving union, communing with God, and being as present as possible with them.

Pastor, you are so loved and liked by the Triune God and he has equipped you for “such a time as this.” Lean into his love, trust how he has gifted you, be intentional with your schedule and enjoy all that he has given you — especially this Easter season.