July 30 – “You got me”

I love surprises.  Well, of course I mean good ones.  And I had a really good one waiting for me when I got to church Sunday morning.  I’m usually the first one there.  I have to get the computer loaded and ready for the Pastor’s class that I teach at 9:00.  It took me a bit longer than usual to get inside yesterday because I went over and said hello to some of the folks staying in our building this week.  Among the mission action teams there was also a group from the Texas Baptist Disaster Relief Team.  They are doing some training and have set up in our parking lot.  After exchanging pleasantries I finally entered the worship center and surprise number one greeted me.  The entire room had been decorated with balloons and streamers and a letter banner across the front that read “Happy 16^th Anniversary Seaside.”  Great surprise. 

I continued with my Sunday morning routine, making coffee, loading the Visual Verse for the day, setting up the power point for the class.  The folks from the disaster relief team began coming in, as did our Seasiders, and the mingling and sharing was fun to watch.  In fact I scrapped the teaching plan for the day in favor of letting it continue.  People were talking about ministry and life experiences they had had, and plans in the works for where they were heading next.  Most assuredly more valuable than Introduction to Church History 101. 

More and more people gathered, from the ministry team, an array of visitors, and of course, more Seasiders.  By the time we began, the room was pretty full.  We started with our usual intro song, and I began my welcome.  And that was the occasion of surprise number two.  I wanted to explain the balloons and decorations to the visitors, so I casually remarked that it was the 16^th anniversary celebration of Seaside’s being constituted as a church.  And when I said the word “anniversary” everyone in the room (except me, of course), pulled out one of those loud, obnoxious noise makers like you see on New Year’s Eve and blasted me with honks and squeals and blurts and squawks.  It sounded like somebody opened the door on one of those concerts where you can’t understand any of the words and the music doesn’t make much sense either, but it is ... loud.  Gotta admit, you got me on that one.  Later on my friend Jim called to mind a little surprise of my own that I pulled the first time I ever preached at Seaside.  I stood on my head at the podium and asked, “What did you expect when you came to church today?”  The only answer I got came from the back of the room, “Not that.”  Jim knowingly asked me that question, and I responded with a “not that” of my own. 

The third surprise came at lunch.  The disaster relief folks invited everyone to stick around for lunch.  Come to find out, the Seaside instigators of the surprise had already planned a lunch, so they pooled resources.  As we enjoyed hot dogs and cold cut sandwiches, Jennifer showed up with an anniversary cake.  Very cool.  It even had an edible Seaside logo on it.  And as she pointed out, she didn’t even drop it as she walked down the stairs (although that would have certainly added to the “surprise” theme).  Rita led everyone in a rousing chorus of “Happy Anniversary, dear SeasideandPastorKelleyandMamaChris.”  Great day.  Great surprises.  You got me.

Psalms 18:31 says, “For who is God besides the Lord?  And who is the Rock except our God?”

Father, thank you for our Seaside family.  Now help me come up with a new way to surprise them.  Amen.