Lent 2012

Last year around this time I wrote a post about Lent.  In it I detailed my personal history with it and concluded that I wasn't going to participate.  This year, I've changed my mind.  Not because I think it is necessary for everyone, but because I've realized that I (and anyone) can do it in a way that is beneficial.  Dr. Joel Gregory once told me that the neat thing about being Baptist is that not only are we free NOT to do something, we are free TO DO something as much or as little as we feel led by the Holy Spirit.

If something is spiritually beneficial, then abstaining from it simply so we won't be like another group or denomination is self-defeating.  It is out of this conviction that I've decided to participate in Lent this year.  If for no other reason, I don't want Easter to sneak up on me like it usually does.  I want to be prepared to really celebrate on resurrection Sunday, and Lent offers a way to guide my focus.  I don't quite know if my observation will result in lots of fasting (giving up food, TV, etc), but I will be using a guide I plagiarized "put together" using various internet sources.  I've made this guide available to our church family, and would welcome as many people as feel led to participate with me.  There is also a brief explanation of what Lent is about at the beginning of the guide, in case you are unfamiliar with it.

You can access the guide from our Facebook page here.

Blessings!

 Matt