Guest post from former St. Paul pastor Ron Collier –
Toward the end of my ministry at St. Paul UMC in or about 2010 my dear friends, Andy Rogers and Dave Turner, shared their vision to bring the true message of God’s love and redemption within a real life, outdoor action drama called The Passion of Christ.
As I listened to their excitement and the details of their vision to use the vacant church lot across the street, I could envision the enormous effort and personnel required for this to happen in the short time they proposed. As illusory and impractical as it appeared, I could see something else very clearly. I could see God’s handiwork within the lives of these two men and realized that God had laid this task upon their shoulders. Of course, I agreed and pledged my prayers and personal support behind them.
To all our amazement we saw that beautiful reproduction of the Crucifixion spring to life in such a short span of time for that Easter observance. Surely, it was God’s will for that message to be demonstrated for all to see.
For each and every person involved in this real life production of the Passion of God’s love for all human-kind, they were fearless in determination and lion-heartedness spirit, which is characteristic of God’s people.
To each one of you I thank you for your selfless commitment to God’s work in your church community. Never was this message more needed in our world as it is today. I would pray that God would lay this same vision on the hearts of like Christians such as you to present this real live message to their own community all across this nation.
May your fervent zeal keep this production alive and continuous for years to come.
With kind regards,
Ron Collier