Post-Easter Ministry: What Pastors Should Do After Easter Weekend

Easter has passed—but your work as a pastor isn’t done. In this honest and refreshing episode, Mike Glenn from the Engage Church Network speaks directly to pastors and ministry leaders who are feeling drained after one of the busiest seasons of the year.

• Transcript

  Mike Glenn: [00:00:00] Hi, it's Mike. Listen, I hope you had a great Easter service, and I know you're sitting in the chair or riding down the road, you're listening to this, and you're going, "Well, Mike, honestly, I don't know what kind of Easter service I had." Nobody ever does. You bring the best you can bring in that moment. You bring the best sermon you can, and then honestly, you have to trust the Spirit with the rest.

  Over my career, I've had sermons where I would walk out of the pulpit and say, "That was the best sermon I've ever preached," and I would hear crickets from the congregation. There'd be other times when I would walk out of the pu- pulpit and say, "You know, I need to go sell insurance or something. I don't need to be preaching.

  This was terrible." And I would have people stop me during the coming week and say, "Hey, what you said Sunday changed my life. Here's what happened since I heard you use that particular phrase." So I gave up trying to figure out w- which sermon [00:01:00] worked and which sermon didn't. I suggest you do the same. Do the best you can, and let the Spirit do the rest.

  Now, let's talk about what you do after Easter. There's a lot of discussion about what you do before Easter and how you do the Easter service, but what do you do afterwards? Well, one, you're exhausted. Uh, you don't have a whole lot of enthusiasm for anything. All the dopamine you had ramping up for the Easter service has long been dissipated.

  Now, let's take a clue from the early disciples. What did they do after Easter? Nothing. Nothing. We have a few stories of them gathering together in an upper room. We have a few stories of them praying. But it's a good few weeks, 40 days or so, after the resurrection before anything significantly happens at Pentecost.

  There's some small discussions. There's [00:02:00] conversations among the disciples. There's conversations with Jesus confirming His resurrection. But there's a whole lot of nothing. Maybe that should be a hint. You are exhausted. Nobody does good work, nobody is a good person if you're exhausted. So rest. And I mean take Sabbath.

  Take the full rest. Disconnect. Uh, unplug. Uh, do things to take care of your total self. Uh, do things like, yes, unplug your phone. Disconnect from your phone. You don't need to be talking on social media. You don't need to be watching anything on YouTube. You need to be quiet. You need to be still. You need to read.

  Replenish your mind. Replenish your thought processes. Read a great novel. Uh, read whole books of the Bible, especially great narratives like, uh, Exodus, Joshua, uh, Acts. Uh, read stories that bring [00:03:00] energy to you. Hang out with people. You've been pouring yourself into other people. Go find people who pour into you.

  I've got a couple of friends that make me laugh no matter what we're talking about. I've got one friend who is so funny, he can crack me up telling me the weather report. Now, that's who I'm gonna be hanging out with after Easter. He brings energy to my life. I'm gonna use it for quiet reflection. I'm gonna spend a lot of time writing in my journal about what I want to see happen in the coming year.

  Remember, Easter in the church is when it all starts. It's not the end of your sermon series. It's the beginning of every sermon you preach from now on. If we don't have the resurrection, we don't have anything to preach about to begin with. So use this time to sit quietly, restore, rest, sleep. That's right.

  Take a [00:04:00] nap. Take a long nap. Don't set an alarm clock. It's the way the body recharges. Listen, this journey doesn't get easier. In some ways, it's gonna get harder. That's the reason in the story of Elijah, remember when he ran from Jezebel? The angel finds Elijah asleep, exhausted from his run from, uh, uh, from Jezebel.

  The Lord gave Elijah three things. These were important. One, he let Elijah sleep. The angel watched over Elijah while he slept. Two, he made homemade bread and, and brought fresh water to Elijah and told him, "Get up and eat. The journey's too hard for you." So whatever it is, you have to eat. The scripture is our bread.

  Prayer is our water, 'cause this journey is gonna get hard. And he gave him a friend. In the next chapter, he [00:05:00] gives him Elisha. So find these three things this week after Easter: rest, fresh bread, fresh water, and a good friend who can make your soul laugh. We got a lot to do. It's a long way to go, and I'm glad to be on this journey with you.