Practicing Resurrection: A Reflection by John Hall

One of my childhood memories is playing Little League baseball. I wasn’t very good at baseball, but I remember to this day our coach saying over and over: “Catch. Turn. Throw.” Over and over again. He would drill us in practice and make us say it with him: Catch. Turn. Throw. Again. Catch. Turn. Throw. Practice. Those drills in our practice were important, so that when we got into a game, we knew what to do. 

Earlier this month, our District Superintendent, Rev. Claire Clyburn, preached at Aldersgate, and in her sermon, she mentioned the phrase Practicing Resurrection. My mind went back to my Little League days and the importance of practice. 

Simply put, we practice to get better. If we’re willing to practice, it might mean that we want to get good at it. To establish a level of comfort, and build our confidence. To build ‘muscle memory’. 

To practice resurrection means we don’t just believe in it—we live it out, over and over again. We look for signs of new life in old places. We speak hope even when it feels easier to stay quiet. We forgive when bitterness wants to take root. We show up again when we’d rather stay away.

And like anything worth doing, resurrection takes practice.

That’s one of the great gifts of the church: it’s a place where we get to practice resurrection together.

We don’t have to have it all figured out. We get to show up, week after week, learning what it means to love boldly, serve joyfully, and lead courageously. We get to practice listening, practice trusting, practice believing that God’s grace is bigger than our failures.

And maybe most importantly, church is a place where we practice telling our stories.

Because resurrection isn’t just something that happened to Jesus—it’s something that’s happening in us. Every time we come through something hard, or find peace in the middle of a storm, or sense God’s presence in our pain—we experience resurrection. And those are stories worth telling.

When we tell our stories of grace and struggle, of doubt and redemption, we make room for others to do the same. We build community not on perfection, but on honesty. We remind each other that God is not done with us yet. Resurrection is more than an Easter event—it’s a daily invitation. It’s a way of life shaped by the promise that God is always bringing something new out of what feels broken, lost, or dead.

When we practice resurrection, we bring that new world into this one. We live into the reality that God is not finished with us or with the world. We become signs of hope, seeds of peace, and agents of joy in a world that’s hungry for all three. 

I’ve often said that Aldersgate is at its best at times other than Sunday morning. And I think that’s because our church is active 7 days a week - there’s always something going on, from Scouts to choir to AA to pickleball to Upward soccer to the Genesis Garden - but it’s more than that. It’s our people practicing resurrection - being what Daniel Costello calls Spirit bearers - people who inhale the grace of God and exhale it out into the world. It’s being the church in places where the church is needed the most - in our homes and in our community.

So let’s keep practicing resurrection — together.

Let’s keep showing up for each other.
Let’s keep naming the hope we’ve found.
Let’s keep telling our stories—because someone needs to hear them.

And let’s keep trusting that new life is always just around the corner. And God is there, waiting for us.