On Easter morning I grabbed a cup of coffee and sat on the couch with my one-year-old nephew to catch a classic episode of Barney. He had his sippy of milk and a snack of Cheerios and Life cereal. I just had the coffee.
It was a great episode, something about telling the truth and identifying shapes or colors. My nephew was totally in to it. I mostly enjoyed my coffee.
But last night on our way home from easter worship at The Rock Church in SanDiego, some thoughts came to my mind: things I learned from Barney on Easter, that also seemed to define the highly effective outreach ministry of The Rock.
1. Smile while you talk.
The twelve-year-old child actors (can you call them actors?) on Barney clearly have this down. These guys have been coached to smile when they stand, when they dance, and when they talk, even if they don’t feel cool.
But sometimes, in the church, we take ourselves too seriously to smile like that. We would rather appear spiritual, focused, or cool. But at The Rock, we were greeted by no less than a dozen smiling church-goers, not just volunteer greeters, between the front door and our seats.
It sure goes a long way towards making you feel welcome.
2. Sing like you mean it.
How do you get a pre-teen boy to sing about kindness? It’s not a joke, I’m just really not sure how they do it on the set of Barney.
I wondered the same thing about the young vocal prodigy on the worship team at The Rock. Her voice was incredible, but she had more than that.
Just as I was beginning to wonder if she was a paid vocalist, just here for the experience, she put her hand out and sang about the resurrection in a way that couldn’t be faked.
She clearly meant what she was singing. And it made for a powerful moment.
3. Keep it simple.
Nearly 20,000 people participated in The Rock Easter services this weekend. Clearly, with that kind of audience, the pastor must have some sneaky hook or keenly insightful message to share. But the reality was, he just spoke simply and clearly about why Jesus had to come to earth and why he had to live, die and rise again.
“Jesus didn’t come to die for his own sins,” he said, “He came to die for ours.”
It was nothing fancy, nothing a child couldn’t understand. It was just the simple truth, and it was a refreshing message coming from such a large stage.
4. Focus on the main character.
As good as the children on Barney can sing and dance and act, the show isn’t about them. The show is about a talking, purple dinosaur whose bottom line is love.
It’s the same in the church… or at least it should be. Christianity isn’t about the singers, the videos, the lights and sound, or even the pastor. It’s about the God of the universe, who came and lived among us, died and rose again to conquer our sin… all because of love.
That’s the story of Easter. That’s the story of love that matters.
