It is finished. The 26th edition of the Southside Lectures has come and gone. And it will go down in history the same as the previous 25 lectureships—a tremendous success.

I always have mixed emotions the morning after. On one hand, my body and mind are exhausted, ready for any kind of break from the activities of the week. Yet my heart is hollow, wanting to sing just one more song or hear one more sermon. As I looked over the empty auditorium Friday, I both rejoiced and wept as I replayed these memories in my mind.

I will remember the preaching. Never have the “ancient epistles” of Ephesians, Philippians, James, and 1st and 2nd Peter come move alive to me than they did this week. Paul Earnhart showed us the heart of the Apostle Paul and the peace that is found in knowing Christ. L.A. Stauffer dug deep into the text and helped us to glorify God while putting the passages into practice. Mark Roberts, with energy and passion, hit us where it hurts the most, but did so in a way that can only help us. And Tony Mauck opened our eyes to see more clearly the things that matter most.

I will remember the singing. Who can forget the way the sound bounced off the walls from the 711 voices that sang “Our God, He is Alive” on Thursday night? Brother R.J. Stevens once again helped make our singing 30 minutes of worship, not a half-hour of entertainment. As you see his sincerity and humility while he leads, you can’t help but focus on the words and the great God whom you are praising.

I will remember the deacons. I wish I had the words to describe the pride I felt watching all of them serve in their assigned positions. Since everything ran so smoothly last week, it is easy to overlook all of the little things that were done to make certain that such was the case. Extra song books and chairs had to be put out, the thermostats reprogrammed, an overflow room set up with live audio and video feeds, the seating of latecomers, the parking of cars and more were all done without complaint. And while the majority of it may have gone unnoticed, I am certain that God in heaven was watching and was most pleased with what He saw.

I will remember our people. We had perhaps the best attendance ever from our members this year. Many of them, the Harrisons, the Lamberts, Glynis Gregg and Tim King, experienced the lectures for the very first time. The expressions on their faces told the whole story. Many of our people kept visitors in their homes, fed all of the preachers, and had teenagers over after the evening lectures. And speaking of our young people, they were here all the time, doing what they do best—being together. All of these efforts made an impression on our visitors and made the lectures a memorable experience.

It takes more than a good memory to get to heaven. Let us use these remembrances of a wonderful week as a catalyst to start living what we have learned. We will be successful only if we place ourselves in the hands of our God who has promised He will never forget us.