Did you catch the celebrations that erupted in the early hours of today as NASA’s latest Mars Rover “Curiosity” landed?

I was taken aback by the sure excitement of the situation.  Here was grown adults jumping up and down . . . hugging each other . . . crying . . . high fiving . . . and genuinely participating in a massively over the top celebration. [If you haven’t seen it . . . take 60 seconds and watch it here.]

It got me thinking about the teams I’ve been involved in.  When was the last time we celebrated like that?  What have we done that such a huge risk factor associated with it that when it actually happens we erupt in celebration?

These individuals at NASA’s Jet Propulsion Lab have given years to see this most recent rover land on the surface of Mars.  They’ve given their life work to this project but it all came down to “7 Minutes of Terror” when this $2.5 Billion rover would have to navigate from an orbit around Mars to land on the surface.  It was unclear how successful this part of the mission would be.  It worked.

This fall at your church is super critical.  We all have an opportunity to leverage a natural curiosity in the air this time of year as people out side of your church look to find a “new normal” pattern after the summer.  It would be amazing to see some of those people get connected to your church this fall.  What could your leadership team attempt this fall that would have them celebrating like our NASA friends?  What could you give yourself to in the next 90 days to bring a fraction of this exuberance to the people you serve alongside while seeing new people get connected to your church and to Jesus? [I’d love to hear about it!]