What do we do after Easter? That's a tough question for most Baptist Christians. Our typical response is to "let down." It's almost as if the end of Easter marks the beginning of summer vacation! Sure, the children are still in school, but otherwise we relax, step back from church a bit, and figure we'll gear back up spiritually come September.

The New Testament presents a better option: life-changing engagment with the risen Christ. Over the next few weeks I intend to lead our church to think about how the risen Christ changed the lives of individuals and the emerging Christian movement. Did you know no one is beyond the reach of Christ or too humble for His service? Have you thought about how Jesus has leveled the playing field and so made possible the development of a new kind of community? Are you as flexible as God needs you to be? Have you bought into the agenda of Christ? What would it feel like to be part of Christian community that tried very hard to emulate the ways of Jesus?

All such questions arise from specific New Testament texts long associated with the weeks following Easter. Acts 9, 16,1, and 2 especially deserve careful reading.

What do we do after Easter? We engage the risen Christ and become new persons in a God-centered community.