Celebrating Lent

Lent is the 40 days that lead up to Easter. The word simply means "spring" since it is during springtime. Christians have used this time, like Advent before Christmas, to prepare themselves for Easter.

Someone asked me the other day if we celebrated Ash Wednesday (the start of Lent which was last Wednesday). I said...not yet. She wondered why we didn't and I told her that most evangelical churches (as compared to the mainline denominations) dropped some of the traditional church calendar observances as a reaction against an overly ritualized church. The services lost their meaning and people were staying away in droves so they were simply dropped.

But like anything, we need to revisit past decisions and see if they are still accurate...still relevant. Sometimes we just need a break from ritual to make it fresh again. There's nothing wrong with ritual as long as it's meaningful. Every Sunday service is a ritual no matter what kind of church you have. Some rituals are boring and some are kept fresh.

So for those of you that like ritual and are able to keep it fresh, take heart. We might add other church calendar days back into our schedule if we sense a passion for it. Moving into our own building will help because we've only had the banquet center available to us on Sundays and Good Friday. I'd be interested in knowing your thoughts.

By the way. If you are interested in receiving a free daily devotional during Lent from Dr. Larry Crabb click the link provided. Dr. Crabb sends this out daily and each devotional summarizes a book of the Bible and spoken as if from the mouth of God. It's short. You can read it in 60 seconds. Almost 100 people have signed up for it already.