#251. The "everyone is on vacation, anything goes" church service. (AKA tomorrow)

It is a poorly kept secret that the day before a big holiday, whether you live in Cleveland or Croatia, your church is going to do things a little differently than on most Sundays. That is, with a large portion of the congregation out on vacation, they're going to mix it up a little.

For instance, at a lot of churches, the younger ministers are always asked to preach the day before Memorial Day. Senior pastors know that it's a lot safer to have some rough around the edges minister saying something crazy to 400 people than 800 people. Same goes with music. Go tomorrow (in the United States) and you're bound to see some guy that's always been in the background step forward for a totally unexpected guitar solo. Or a woman that's always wanted to lead worship will suddenly be behind the mic for the first time.

I call it "Day Before Vacation Syndrome" or DBVS.

And because I am a huge dork and it's roughly 800 degrees right now in Alpharetta, Georgia, I thought I would offer a few suggestions for ways you can avoid DBVS:

1. Snakes
Ever thought about incorporating some pit vipers into your service? Why not on the Sunday when everyone is out of town? I don't know where you can buy a "bag o' rattlers" but surely someone near you sells poisonous snakes. By the way, I don't mean to be selfish, but it would really help me out if someone could invite me to a church service where they handled snakes. I'm dying to write about that but won't unless I've actually gone to a service.

2. Skittles
Why not throw skittles out during the service? Instead of saying, "watch this" or "listen to this" or another phrase that is designed to get people's attention, why not throw handfuls of skittles at them? Wouldn't you love to be hit in the side of the head with a bunch of fruit candy delightfulness? I would.

3. Weird instruments
Ever wondered what an accordion and triangle version of the song, "I can only imagine" would sound like? Got a kid in youth group that is really good at beat box? Do you need more cowbell but are afraid most people would hate it? Well they're all on vacation. Get the accordion out, it's go time.

4. Haikus
Do the entire sermon in haiku. It's not as hard as you think. Here's an example:
Jesus was so cool (5 syllables)
He gave His life for our sins (7 syllables)
Let's be close to him (5 syllables)

5. Have a "SCL Sunday"
Why not throw a "Stuff Christians Like" service? We'll play Sandi Patty and Carman songs. We'll take a love offering and interlink our fingers when we hold hands. We'll get a puppet group, named "Strings of Mercy," to come do the Noah's Ark story and then I'll speak. It will be fantastic.

I would do some pop and lock breakdancing tomorrow in the hallway if North Point did any one of these ideas. If they don't I'm going to do that mime move where you pretend to be stuck in an invisible box. Mime is the opposite of breakdancing.

p.s. There are two things that go without saying: 1. I can't promise that your church will use any of these tips. 2. I can promise that the church I start, GracePointeLifeTruthHouseNorthRiverElevate, will use all of them.