What Color is Easter?

While most people plan Easter in a rather linear way - which Easter Egg Hunt do I take my kids to -- what am I serving for dinner- ham or spring lamb -- which church has the most convenient Easter service times -- those of us in ministry are trying to see and present the Easter story in a not-so-linear, relevant, high-impact format. We focus with fierce precision on seamless transitions from countdown to opening jam to music/worship to video to testimony to message to closing song to brunch. Along the way we manage to drag a team of people down the road of chaos with us. Oh, and the family. Well, a spectacular brunch will make up for any lapses in temper that occur directly prior to and after the big event. I actually have a chance this year to thoughtfully plan and pray through simple elements that will infuse hope, conviction, and inspiration into the Easter message that many have memorized but few have let wash over them and change the way they live, breathe and think. This is a task that I take seriously. I, more than anyone, need this message to change my life. I want Easter this year to not be represented by the lovely pastel colors of our favorite candies (you know what I'm talking about) but by bold colors representing sin, death, agony on a cross, resurrection, forgiveness, life and celebration.