Lenten Practices 2010

The season of Lent was originally designed as a time of preparation for individuals preparing to make a commitment to faith in Christ. Potential converts were to dedicate themselves to prayer and acts of self-denial during these 40 days leading up to the celebration of Easter and their baptism into their new family of faith.

Today, Lent is thought of as a time for all Christians to reflect and  to pray and is often associated with a period of self-denial. Many choose to give up a certain food or a practice they might enjoy during this season. In recent years, I have given up eating meat as well as listening to the radio in the car. Still others choose to add a practice to their daily living during these forty days like waking up a little earlier for a time of prayer in the morning.

In every case, the intent is the same.

Lent is a time to reflect, to pray, to repent of our wrong ways of living, and prepare ourselves for embracing the full and abundant life God offers to us in Jesus, the resurrected King.

I would strongly encourage you to consider doing something a bit different over the next forty days to mark this special season of the Christian year.

Here is what I plan on doing for the next forty days. I’m sharing it here today for two reasons. One, it holds me accountable to be true to my word and stay faithful to these commitments. Secondly, I want to encourage you to consider what you might do during this season.

1. I plan on waking up an hour earlier in order to spend the first part of my day in prayer. During the summer months when my wife is home from school, I really do this well. With kids, I often struggle with this during the school year.
2. I will be using Phyllis Tickle’s book, Eastertide, for my prayer time. This is a resource that uses what is called the format of The Daily Office. Tomorrow, I will share more about what that means, but basically, it provides a pattern to pray four times a day. I’ve used this resource before, but never dedicated myself to all four times. I plan on doing that over the next forty days.
3. I will be taking a Sabbath from Facebook & Twitter during Lent. Like many of you, I enjoy connecting with others through these two resources, but during the next 40 days I want to focus more intently on those face to face relationships that fill my life.

Categories: Church leadership, Message Resources