Church of the Resurrection

Speaking of Jesus, TAE and Mrs. TAE have gone to the local methodist mega-church twice now and twice has TAE found the head minister, Adam Hamilton, to be an incredibly compelling preacher. Arguably, some of the finest performances I ever witnessed by a minister were performed by Holly McKissick, the reverend at St. Andrew CC in Olathe, Kansas, but her best is rivalled by Rev. Hamilton. The man is simply a powerhouse.

If you ignore that his message was extremely compelling; both TAE and Mrs. were moved and felt like radically changing our lives after both services, and purely look at his public speaking style, the man is as fluid a speaker as I have seen. Imagine the opposite of George W. Bush. Hamilton's cadence is perfect, his rise and fall in volume is well timed. The President-Elect seems amateurish in comparison. Seriously. Though his message was nearly half an hour long, he interspersed several shocking examples which jolted the audience right when they threatened to fade. Though I have seen ministers get overcome by emotion week after week at some churches, Hamilton is composed, to the point that when he did show emotion, it was shocking and real, and unexpected.
His message was basically harsh, attacking his fellow Christians for their hypocrisy, but at the end the audience felt uplifted and motivated to change their lives. We did feel admonished, we felt we were in fact hypocritical, as he had accused, but we also felt very capable of self-improvement. He made no less than 13 references to Jesus teachings, citing every time Jesus uses the word Hypocrite in the Bible.

As Mrs. TAE and I continue our search for a church home, we consider 4 factors.
1. How compelling is the preaching from week to week?
2. How compelling does Mrs. TAE find the worship music?
3. Does the church regularly partake in communion, which TAE finds critical to a relationship with Jesus?
4. Does the church have a fun, not-anti-science Sunday school program from which the Abstracted Daughter can learn about God and Jesus?

On these things, COR scores a 4/4, and Mrs. TAE is eager to return. I am hesitant, however, to sign on at a church so large. Megachurches are (in my mind) that size because for a reason, and I have to believe the reason in this case is Rev. Adam Hamilton. TAE is concerned that at a church so large, individual ministry is impossible. However, a family friend named Darlene stopped me after the service and reported that when she was in the hospital for brain surgery, a minister from COR visited her every day all ten days she was there! Although access to Rev. Hamilton is almost impossible, I was informed the church retains a small army of ministers who have no other duties except to minister to the lay, each responsible for a section of the alphabet like the three counselors at my high school.

Anyway, if a reader finds themself in Leawood on a Sunday, visit the church, if for no other reason that to hear Hamilton preach. He is a once in a lifetime talent.


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