Easter
Deep Thought: I think a good novel would be where a bunch of men on a ship are looking for a whale. They look and look, but you know what? They never find him. And you know why they never find him? It doesn’t say. The book leaves it up to you, the reader, to decide.
Then, at the very end, there’s a page that you can lick and it tastes like Kool-Aid.
Kind of crazy huh? That is the only way I can describe yesterday. Total God day. Yesterday started back in January when God gave me the idea for the Easter message while I was working out at the gym listening to the new Coldplay song “Lost”. And it just progressed from there.
I remember sitting in a Shoreline Insider meeting back in the fall and saying we could have over 1,000 people in attendance on Easter, but not really sure if I believed it myself. I remember saying a couple of months ago on a Sunday morning that the Rave’s corporate office gave us permission to do a 9:45 service in another theater, but that the only way this was going to happen was if God miraculously brought us all the equipment. Thanks to Tom Longefellow and East Bay Church in Daphne, AL, who graciously offered all their equipment and even some of their staff to run it. East Bay’s last service was on April 5th and we are in discussion right now about absorbing them and Tom helping us launch a Fort Walton Beach campus in the fall. But just like this endeavor, there are a lot of obstacles God is going to have to get us through. A big thank you to Tom, his family, and team.
Finally, all the volunteers… wow! Words cannot describe how proud I am of all the volunteers who stepped up yesterday. Volunteers who never attended one of the services yesterday because they wanted to give up their seat to someone who was far from God. Volunteers who cheered me while I was walking between theaters and I was thinking I needed to be cheering you. You are the reason this is happening. I actually felt like a boxer between rounds as I walked between theaters. Volunteers were patting me on the back and sending me into the next theater with encouragement to “get another knock out.”
What I really loved about seeing all the volunteers serving yesterday was that they all “got it.” That it wasn’t just about doing their duty, but it was about the vision. You could see it when they started showing up at 5:30 yesterday morning. You could feel it when you walked through the lobby at 8:30. You could sense it in the pre-service meetings in the adult and kids services. The feeling that we are part of something that God is doing that is so big. Bigger than ourselves individually and bigger than us as a church.
If you volunteered yesterday, I say a big thank you! I thank God for you. I have already received e-mails about what yesterday did in the lives of people. I would like to encourage you to attend Shoreline Insider this Thursday, 7 pm, at the Destin Community Center and bring some of your stories with you.
Now, for numbers, after a better count from our children’s department and adding the service from PJ’s in last night, we are sitting somewhere around 1,100 people who have attended our 4 Easter Sunday services. But we still have 1 more to go tomorrow night at McGuire’s. I am really excited because the people I have invited and have been praying for, my neighbors who are all bartenders, told me they are coming tomorrow night.
I can’t wait to see what God does next with us. Hopefully it won’t involve whales or Kool-Aid.
April 13th, 2009 at 7:40 am
I think they shouldn’t be called “obstacles”.
I think they should be called “Godstacles”.
Kind of a reminder whose job it really is to overcome them, you know?
You did great a great job yesterday!
April 13th, 2009 at 8:27 am
Lisa, good point.
You did a great job too. Thanks for being available.
April 13th, 2009 at 11:10 am
What an amazing Easter morning! I was walking through the halls between both theaters and realized that there were more people walking around with badges than people without! What a testament to the commitment of the people to the vision of Shoreline!
Knockouts happened with the music as well. I love the mainstream music and how well it works. Plus, I love Coldplay!
Shoreline rocks! Leslie and I are proud to be a part of it.
April 13th, 2009 at 11:17 am
Robert, yeah I agree. I was inspired by all the volunteers yesterday and I teared up this morning talking about it, which I know is amazing because everyone knows I am a tough guy and that I hide my feelings.
April 13th, 2009 at 11:27 am
Eric, Great Job. Message was very good.
I want to thank all the ushers who stepped up!!
Great Day!
Mark
April 13th, 2009 at 11:40 am
Pastor Eric,I just wanted to thank you for having me at your side for such an important event. You could`ve choose anyone,and hearing that message three times I still heard something different.I thank God for you being my Motivator!
Thank you again,and I enjoyed being apart of the team,they are awsome people to work with.
April 13th, 2009 at 11:44 am
Mark, thanks. The ushers did a great job. I am very proud of them.
James, are you kidding me? Do you know how stinkin’ awesome it was to have a body guard? I was hoping someone would mess with me so you could take them out.
April 13th, 2009 at 11:56 am
Yesterday ROCKED!!! Pastor Eric and Darlene, YOU ROCKED! Go Shoreline! GO GOD!! I am STILL amazed at how smoothly it all went!
April 13th, 2009 at 12:52 pm
Yes!! Yesterday was amazing!! I am so blessed to be part of your vision! We love you guys very much!
April 13th, 2009 at 1:41 pm
4:30! Our early volunteers got there at 4:30am to start setting up.
April 13th, 2009 at 3:27 pm
I must say, it was a WHALE of a good time yesterday, I was loving every minute of it! I guess you could say, I drank the Easter KOOL_AID (in the best possible way!).
In all seriousness, what an absolutely incredible day! God is so awesome and faithful to place this message in your heart months ago, cultivate it and allow us all to experience His word come alive in our hearts as God spoke through you.
April 13th, 2009 at 4:57 pm
It was amazing to watch God move the children in Shorebreak! It was an absolute gift to be a part of this wonderful Easter Sunday! Thanks for giving Marty & I such an amazing opportunity to share in such a special day!
April 13th, 2009 at 5:10 pm
Heather, thank you so much but honestly I look at you… that’s it, I just look at you. Kidding; I look at you and see how much you and Amanda do and the excellence that you bring to the kids ministry and I am so grateful. Then, you will tell me thank you and I’m like… are you kidding me? NO, THANK YOU!
Paisha, you did a great job with that last song. Finally during the last service, I got to hear you sing it.
Pastor Sam, wow…4:30. That is amazing.
Hillary, thank you and your team for your great work on the back drops.
Lisa, when I came into your meeting in Shorebreak before the service, I could sense God was going to do something amazing.
Thanks everybody.
April 13th, 2009 at 6:26 pm
Pastor Eric, some of your comments are cracking me up! I thought our Easter service was awesome. Great message, powerful music, awesome new kiosk, wonderful volunteers… everything was A+! I hope a lot of the visitors come back regularly. This next series is going to be so good.
April 13th, 2009 at 7:19 pm
Yes!! Yesterday was amazing!! We are so blessed to be part of your vision! We love you guys very much! And thank you for obeying the voice of The Lord.
April 14th, 2009 at 9:20 am
“Ding-Ding” (sound effect)
And now for Round Five.
Le-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-e-t’s get ready to r-r-r-r-r-r-umb–l-l-l-l-l-l-l-le!
I predict another knockout service at McGuires on Tuesday. Can’t wait to be there!
April 14th, 2009 at 10:46 am
It is so amazing to see what GOD has done at Shoreline Church!! A REAl representation of the Body of Christ! I cannt wait to hear the message tonight! See you there!
Wait, did I hear you say there wasn’t enough explination points in my comment yet? Well here you go!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
April 14th, 2009 at 1:26 pm
Pastor Eric,
I’m always amazed at want this church has done since it started. You are truly blessed…so is Darlene and the rest of us who love you so much. Sunday service was terrific,amazing, outstanding….and much much more. Thanks for all that you do…..and thankyou volunteers you did good!
April 14th, 2009 at 8:33 pm
Pastor Eric,
I live in GA and was vacationing w/ my family from LA down in Destin. We tend to skip Church while on vacation- but I really didn’t want to miss worship on Easter, so I rounded up the crew, planned ahead, and found a Church to go to. I couldn’t have picked a better one. Wow. Your message was awesome, so was the music, and your volunteers shined with genuineness. I started browsing through your archive and just listened to the identity message. Plan to go back and listen to some more. Thanks for making Easter-09 a memorable one for me and my family.
Dan Chatelain
Macon, GA
April 15th, 2009 at 5:17 am
Eric,
Thank you for being the creative genius that you are!
God Bless YOU and Darlene!
December 18th, 2009 at 2:31 pm
Hiya!. Thanks for the blog. I’ve been digging around looking some info up for shool, but i think i’m getting lost!. Yahoo lead me here - good for you i guess! Keep up the great information. I will be coming back over here in a couple of days to see if there is any more info.