Dr. Olson on Lent

While his final decision to abstain from observing Lent is different from mine, I share many of these same sentiments.

Check out what he has to say here.

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

Lent

That's the stuff you find in your bellybutton after wearing a new shirt right? Actually, that is LINT. LENT is a 40 day observance leading up to Easter Sunday. I've had mixed feelings about this practice. I remember spending some time in the Lutheran church that I was in and out of as a young child. It was something people around me observed every year like clockwork. To be honest, I found it boring and legalistic. Each time, I'd hear about what people were "giving up" for 40 days, and how they just didn't know if they could do it. Personally, I never saw the need of giving something up for 40 days. If you could make it that long, why not just live simply and do without it all the time?

In my teenage years, I began attending a Baptist church, and became more serious about my relationship with God. This does not mean I became more serious about Lent. In fact, I discovered Baptist churches typically didn't participate in it, which was fine by me. In fact, that was one of the things about the small Baptist church I was baptized in as a teenager that I found attractive. Ritual was minimal, and people were down to earth.

Then I went to college and seminary and discovered that some Baptist churches actually do participate in Lent. This busted my narrow and prideful perspective that took joy in Baptists not being like those "other churches" that took part in meaningless rituals. I also discovered that some Baptists (and probably some Lutherans, Catholics, Episcopalians, etc) actually benefit from taking part in this ritual. Not everyone gives something up just so they can complain about it and have something to talk about with their other church friends and ministers. In fact, some people do not advertise that they are even doing it. IF I was going take part in Lent, I think that would be the way to go. After all, Jesus told his disciples not to wine and complain when they fast. People that do that are hypocrites (Matt 6:16). The whole point is to deny yourself of something you are use to, in an effort to increase your awareness of how much you need Jesus and the extent of your devotion to him.

That doesn't sound like such a bad thing, especially when it concludes with celebrating the fact that Jesus rose from the dead, conquered sin and death, and made it possible for us to know and have a relationships with him now and in Heaven. I'd say that anything that can potentially make me more excited about that is worth taking part in.

So, am I ready to celebrate Lent? Not yet. Part of me is still recovering from my former experiences with it. Plus, it always seems to sneak up on me before I've really thought about seriously taking part in it. On the other hand, I've learned not to put everyone in the same box who enjoys this practice. Maybe I'll join the ranks of some of my brothers and sisters that have found this practice useful one day, but if/when that day comes, I probably won't blog about.