Pam and me at Anchor on Super Bowl Sunday.

The worship team. Terry (far left) hadn’t donned his Marshall Faulk jersey yet. We’re practicing the “We Will Rock You” stomp-stomp-clap, stomp-stomp-clap.

Lots of Colts fans at Anchor.

The kids come wandering through the sanctuary during sermon sequel, learning about the Israelites wandering in the wilderness.

Anchor is a great church for a lot of reasons. Super Bowl Sunday showed some of them.

• We were all encouraged to come to church clad in our Colts stuff, and a good number of us did–jerseys, T-shirts, hoods, jackets. Five of the eight worship team members wore the blue and white.
• To create a stadium atmosphere, we preceded the first song with the greatest stadium song of all time–“We Will Rock You.” Stomp stomp clap, stomp stomp clap. The congregation did that four times, then sang “We will, we will, rock you” four times. And THEN we started into the first worship song. At Anchor, we want to rock your world!
• A lot of our people come from dysfunctional family situations. Pastor Tim turned over the sermon to a friend, who gave his testimony of growing up in a dysfunctional home, and of his efforts to deal with his father in reconciliation and forgiveness. Nobody could relate exactly with his situation, but parts of it, I’m sure, touched a great many listeners who also struggle with reconciliation, forgiveness, and what it means to honor parents who, from a worldly standpoint, don’t deserve honor.
• In place of an adult Sunday school, we have what we call “sermon sequel.” The children leave for an instruction time, but the adults stay put for an informal time of building on the sermon. Almost NOBODY leaves. I doubt that anyone left today. How many churches can say that their Sunday school attendance matches their worship attendance?
• Halfway through the sermon sequel, the back doors of the sanctuary opened and all the children came wandering in, led by Tara Hallman and a child carrying a crooked staff. They were being taught about Moses and the Israelites wandering in the wilderness. They wandered down the aisle and out a side door at the front of the sanctuary. Just a fun little interlude.
• When sermon sequel ended and the children had rejoined us, we sang our own version of “When the Saints Go Marching In.”

When the Colts, go marching in,
Oh when the Colts go marching in.
How I’d love to be in Miami,
When the Colts go marching in.

Then we sang one final song, and dismissed. It was another great Sunday at Anchor.