Many of you were involved in the miracle known as What Child Is This.

That's where in lieu of a "traditional" Christmas celebration, the people of Good Shepherd gave $207,000 to the International Justice Mission and its ministry of freedom for sexual slaves and bonded servants around the world.

So where does that money go and what does it do?

Just this week, some of it supported work in Chennai, India. Check it out:



That's an indication of where the money went and an example of what you did.

The series that comes after Easter is as important as what comes before.

That's why we knew we had to do JesusTweets as our Easter follow-up.

JesusTweets? You bet. Why?

Because Twitter is all about followers. It counts people who follow people.

Sort of like Jesus.

"Follow me" he says again and again, and what comes next is usually both unexpected and unsettling.

Starting with this week: "The Rudest Tweet Ever."

The series looks something like this:



Sunday.

8:30. 10. 11:30.

Here are reflections & observations for a resurrection well celebrated at Good Shepherd:

1. Opening with a raucous rendition of Mike Farris' Ain't No Grave was the ideal way to start out. We laughed that people came to Good Shepherd for some "Resurrection Blues."

2. So many people who call Good Shepherd home willingly sat in our "Backstage" area so that newcomers could have the prime real estate of seats in the Worship Center. Those are the kind of people we are trying to grow at this church.

3. The 11:30 crowd was larger than 10:00. Wow. That only happens rarely on "regular" Sundays and never on holiday Sundays. I have to believe that the natural exuberance of that service is powerfully contagious.

4. This weekend represented our first time ever over 3,000 worshippers. God is good.

5. I'm glad the YMCA was closed on Easter. I would have been tempted to work out. Instead, I needed to veg out.

Here's what to expect from our "Lines" this Holy Weekend:

Good Friday Worship: 7:00 p.m. TONIGHT
Message: "Flatline"

Easter Sunday Worship:

7:00 a.m. -- Sunrise Service at the Corner Campus

8:30 a.m. -- Easter Celebration in the Worship Center

10 a.m. -- Easter Celebration in the Worship Center

11:30 a.m. -- Easter Celebration in the Worship Center

Easter Message: "Fault Line"

And . . . don't just invite people; bring them!

Here's a slice of what I'm doing this week:



The 2011 edition looks a lot like the 2010 version. Except maybe better.

Here are the Top Five Things about Spring Breakthrough:

5. Students spending their spring break at the Charlotte Rescue Mission, Uptown Men's Shelter, and Samaritan's Feet instead of at Myrtle Beach.

4. Adult volunteers doing the same.

3. Cool orange T-shirts.

2. Good Shepherd staffers providing devotional moments each morning.

1. A community learning together what it means when Jesus said, "whoever loses his life for my sake will find it."