When Easter is more Easter Bunny than Easter Sunday

[Trey Finley]

It is the holiest week in the Christian calendar, the culmination of 40 days of liturgical practice, spiritual discipline, soul searching, and story-telling. Today is Palm Sunday, followed by Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, and finally, next Sunday, Easter. Jesus is risen.

The promise of resurrection makes Easter Sunday the holiest day of the holiest week. It is cause for celebration, and it echoes the unseen unceasing celebration around the Throne. As a Jesus follower, Easter Sunday calls me to look not only to an empty tomb, but to call forth life from the empty tombs which I encounter in the other 364 days of the calendar. Because He went first, resurrection is now possible not only in the life to come, but also in this life.

Still, the lifelessness into which followers of Jesus are called to breathe often reeks of death and decay. Let's face it, sometimes it just plain stinks. Inevitably, some of that stench finds its way into churches. Worse, some have become so accustomed to smelling it, they no longer notice that something precious is wasting away. All that is left behind is a stench which passersby smell, hold their nose, and walk away from.

Friends, the noxious stench of a decaying church is repulsive to Gen X. I know it repulses me. The only thing which smells worse is someone who claims not to smell it, either by choice or through ignorance. If you share that revulsion, I invite you to read a much better writer than I. Jennifer McCollum writes at the blog, "Are you there God? It's me, Generation X." Today's post captured my attention, so much so that I've read it three times already. It is a must read for all those who see a chasm between the resurrected Jesus and the church which celebrates that resurrection. Be warned--it's raw, authentic, and transparent.

When I Survey the Wondrous Hollow Chocolate Easter Bunny | jenX67 | are you
there God? it's me, generation x.

[Trey Finley]

So glad you asked, James. :)

I'll be writing on places where Gen X can bring resurrection on my Wordpress blog this week.

http://seekthequestion.wordpress.com

[James Nored]

Trey, thanks for the post, and for drawing us attention to Jennifer McCollum's blog. I became a fan of a Facebook page.

As a fellow Gen Xer, I can testify that many Gen Xers are indeed disillusioned with "church." Those that go do often do so mostly because of their kids. And many are indeed turned off by the church being a political arm of either the right or left.

So my question to you, my fellow Gen Xer, is, how do we recapture this generation for God, and yes, the Christian community (church)? With many of us now approaching middle age--I turn 37 this month!--will we experience a coming back to God and spiritual renewal, like the Boomers did in the 1980s?