I am writing this on Christmas Day with a full heart of appreciation to God for all he has done and continues to do among us, but also for his people and what they do. Christmas Eve was a beautiful example of both of those things coming together. It was an amazing experience. To put on eight services back to back. To have our amazing staff and volunteers serve the 6000 people who came through our doors with love, and welcome each and every service. To watch Eric and Kenzie and Jordan and Greg on stage singing that much music and keeping energy and joy like it was new each time. Thank you guys! You are amazing!To see the church invite so many family and friends to experience the love and community of our church, with hopes that their lives could be touched by Jesus in an amazing, life-giving way even if they don’t know they need it yet. And for me to have the privilege of carrying that message – about who Jesus is, and what he’s done – to each of those precious people that God found worthy enough to come and suffer for – is why I do what I do.
Thank you Eric for working tirelessly building up to this day and executing it so well – with your classic Christmas jazz /carol feel – I know you found it a long day as well, but as Paul says none of this work is in vain my friend (1 Cor. 15:58). It will all last and stand on the last day as we point people to his glory.
So was it hard preaching that much? People ask. Yes it was, but hard work is always relative. It’s hard when work of any kind is done and you see no fruit. But it’s less hard in the end when you do. When I get off the stage and chat with the atheist who has become a Christian. When I look out and see Muslim and Jewish friends of our people in the crowd listening and engaging respectfully. When I see the kiddos singing hand in hand with their parents about our souls ‘feeling their worth’ because of Jesus. When I see volunteers of all ages and stages of life serve all day long. Parking, connect desk, kids, production, ushering.
And then when a whole new group shows up to do tear-down at 7 PM on their Christmas Eve (mostly young people by the way, before you scoff at millennials for being lazy). Amazing. The body of Christ working hard together.
For what? The mission we are on under Jesus. Because maybe 500 of those 6000 people had simply never been to a church before. Or sang with thousands of others in a room. Or heard the gospel. Or maybe a few had lost loved ones this year – or this week. Or their marriages are dissolving. Or they have an addiction no one knows about yet. And maybe they realized that Christmas Eve is the answer to all those pains. And maybe a person or two, or ten, needed to be told that the only way to have true peace and joy in life is to believe in Jesus Christ. And maybe they did just that on the spot Saturday night. That’s what drives all of this for us.
And in light of that, it all becomes less hard.
It becomes worth it.