Six Ways the Church Can Hit Reset on Easter Sunday
*This post is an updated and revised version of a previous post on April 3, 2021.
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That first Easter Sunday was the ultimate reset for the followers of Jesus. The old order of things had passed away and the new had come. Death had died and life in Jesus Messiah was now the ruling order of the day.
In a modern age ruled by anxiety, division, and violence, it would appear that the spirit of a dark, ruling tyrant has taken control.
Easter Sunday reminds us that Jesus wins. He wins over death, Hell, and human hatred.
“Easter Sunday is still the ultimate reset for the followers of Jesus”
Easter Sunday is still the ultimate reset for the followers of Jesus. Just as the Church was awakened to a bright new reality 2,000 years ago, so too, the modern Church needs to embrace again the life-giving power of the resurrection of Jesus.
There are six ways the Church can hit reset on Easter Sunday and chart a new trajectory for generations to come. This Easter in the year 2023, the Church should affirm the following pledges:
We pledge our loyalty alone to Jesus Christ, the King of Kings. The ways we participate in American politics must change. Yes, we can still participate in the electoral process, but not with the same idolatrous, power-grabbing, partisan activity that has sullied the Church’s reputation. We can no longer afford to operate in partisan wars that pit us as Christians against other groups or each other as enemies. The Kingdom of God must become our first priority. If political parties call for loyalty that damages our Christian witness, we must prioritize our loyalty to King Jesus.
We pledge to be loving bearers of the Good News of Jesus in word and deed. The Church must become known again by our love. Christ is the Head of the Church, and we are His body. The pulpits of our churches must resound again with a clear Gospel message that reaches the heart of her people. Our members can be sent forth as ambassadors of the love of Christ into a world that is broken, despairing, and hurting. The Good News needs to begin to sound really, really GOOD again. The Church has a long tradition of caring for the poor, of building hospitals and schools, of reaching people on the margins. When the world loses compassion and empathy, the Church will continue on in the spirit of Matthew 25:31-46. We will move on from the tiring and silly ways we have tried to be cool and relevant.
We pledge to live in loving Christian unity with each other. The Church is badly divided. Post-COVID, we should seek to find unity around the core essentials of the Christian faith. We can reaffirm our commitment to the early creeds of the Church and begin to respect our non-creedal doctrinal differences even while occupying the same congregations. Old denominational lines can be erased as we seek the strength that comes from loving one another and working in Christian mission together.
We pledge to make more disciples, especially of our own children. We can no longer afford to take a passive role toward disciple-making. We will establish thoughtful programs to reach those who do not yet believe and to form them into faithful and thoughtful followers of Jesus. Our worship services must become formative activities that engage the heart, mind, and souls of men, women, and children. We will equip parents to raise their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord in the midst of an increasingly complex and dark age. We will not give up on the discipleship of our children but will dig in, relying on the wisdom and strength of the Holy Spirit. This will require that we prioritize faithfulness in our own lives and in our marriages. We will offer our time and resources so that discipleship is a priority.
We pledge to not be driven by fear but by faith. There will be numerous challenges in the generations to come toward the Christian faith. Technological advances, global conflict, the further advance of secularism, the prospect of discovery of aliens (yes this sounds nutty but everyone is talking about it), and the increasing sense that a 2,000-year-old religion is out of touch, will strike fear in the heart of many Christians. It may even seem for the remainder of our years that we are fighting a losing battle. The Lord Jesus promised to build His Church and that even the gates of Hell would not prevail. Our God will not be caught off guard. He is with us to the end of the age and we will not fear.
We pledge to work for the prosperity of Babylon while we look for a Better Country. We will return to the spirit of Jeremiah 29 where we seek the peace and prosperity of the foreign land we inhabit. We have forgotten that we are pilgrims and aliens in this place. We are longing for a Better Country (Hebrews 11:16). To that end, we will be people that are filled with tremendous hope as we face whatever lies ahead. Christ our Lord has gone ahead of us to prepare a better place (John 14), and one day we will inhabit a new heaven and a new earth where the glory and goodness of God will shine forever.
The Church of Jesus still needs an Easter reset in 2023. Jesus is already at work to make all things new just as He was 2,000 years ago on that first Easter Sunday. May He once again do a new work in the Church He loves, and may we be eager and ready to join Him.
