A few years ago, we were given a pep talk by Kid President about never quitting. He looked into the camera and asked: “What if Michael Jordan had quit? He would have never made Space Jam… And I love Space Jam.”

It was a call to make the world more awesome. It was a call to ask ourselves what our Space Jam would be. What can we make, write, say, or do to spread love, hope, and joy in the world? What are we in danger of missing out on if we quit now? Keep going, keep going, keep going, keep going.

And if that’s the pep talk you need this Holy Week, then watch the old pep talk one more time, and make this Holy Week awesome!

But I know that there are some ministry leaders out there who need an entirely different kind of pep talk on Holy Week. It is not that Holy Week is depressing—it ends in the celebration of the resurrection, which is the biggest and most important thing we can celebrate! But that’s the problem…

There is so much pressure around Holy Week and Easter in particular. It has to be amazing. It has to be your best sermon, best worship set, best stage design, best social media campaign, best organization of volunteers, best hospitality… best, best, best…

Remember, there are going to be SO. MANY. VISITORS. And this is your one chance to capture them. Convert them. Inform them. Entertain them…

And Easter visitors, as opposed to Christmas Eve visitors, tend to be “de-churched” more than “un-churched.” So these people have experience with the Church. If you could just show them that your church is different. That you’re a better preacher than they have ever heard. That your community is more welcoming. Maybe they’ll come back…

Easter becomes a production. A project. An event. A Space Jam.

Will they love your Space Jam? And if they love it, what if they come back and next week is like a direct-to-home-video sequel that doesn’t have the star power or production values of the original?

In the video featured at the top of this post, Brad Montague, the creative mind behind Kid President, shares a different kind of pep talk. Perhaps this is the kind of pep talk you need this Holy Week.

You don’t need someone to motivate you to remember how much of an impact you can make. You need someone to remind you of the context of it all. Your worth and value as a ministry leader isn’t wrapped up in how smoothly Holy Week and Easter goes, how many visitors come, and how many come back. Your Space Jam isn’t one weekend of services, one sermon, or any individual project or ministry at your church. Your Space Jam is your life.

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And if you haven’t had a chance to listen to my conversation with Brad on the Art of the Sermon podcast, I would encourage you to check it out during some of your recovery time after Holy Week (PLEASE take recovery time, even if you don’t listen to my podcast!). We talk about the amazing power of hope and joy, and Brad gets to share some about how his faith shapes his work.