Though traditionally viewed as a Catholic rite, increasing numbers of Baptists are discovering the discipline of Lent.
Growing from the free-church branch of Protestantism, Baptists traditionally have been highly suspicious of virtually all of the rituals associated with the traditional church calendar. That began to break down in recent decades as more Baptist (and other Protestant) churches began observing the season of Advent, the four Sundays immediately before Christmas.
Some of those congregations also began to incorporate other parts of the liturgical calendar into their worship planning, including the 40-day period of fasting and prayer before Easter known as Lent. It begins with Ash Wednesday, in which Christians are reminded of their mortality and their share in Jesus’ death on the Cross.
As Advent is intended to prepare Christians by identifying with ancient Israel in its long anticipation of Christ’s birth, so Lent is intended to prepare Christians by identify with his sufferings in preparation for the Resurrection. For hundreds of years, believers have practiced small acts of self-denial during Lent, such as giving up favorite foods or other habits they enjoy.
Terre Johnson, minister of music at Vestavia Hills Baptist Church in Birmingham Baptist Association, said his church has celebrated Lent for almost 50 years.
“The thinking of our church is that we observe most of the Christian calendar since we are part of a larger Christian body,” he said. “We focus our minds on that.”
Some new Baptist resources focus specifically on Lent.
Passport, Inc., a student-ministry organization based in Birmingham, produces a Web-based Lenten devotional called d365.org. The Baptist Center for Ethics sells an online group study for Lent in PDF format that was produced in partnership with Baptist World Alliance. Some churches write their own Lenten resources.
Other Baptist churches, unbound by long traditions of Lent, adapt the observance to custom-fit their particular congregational needs.
Dawson Memorial Baptist Church, Birmingham, in Birmingham Association observes 40 days of prayer leading up to Holy Week, then holds a communion service on Maundy Thursday, though it isn’t referred to as that.
“While we do not use the language of Lent, we do use the concept … prior to Easter as a time of spiritual preparation,” Pastor Gary Fenton said. “Each year we focus on one of the disciplines associated with the season such as prayer, Scripture or service. We also have used several events for Holy Week.”
First Baptist Church, Murfreesboro, Tenn., has observed Ash Wednesday for several years, but does not use ashes. Instead the pastor invites worshipers to pick up a small square of sackcloth (the other dominant symbol for penitence in the Bible) and use it in private devotions during the 40 days until Easter.
Not all Baptists are jumping on the bandwagon, however. Randel Everett, who recently took over as executive director of the Baptist General Convention of Texas, reported receiving a mild rebuke when he suggested a season of prayer, fasting and repentance for Texas Baptists during Lent.
“After I had mentioned this idea at a pastors’ conference, one of the pastors helpfully reminded me that I was no longer in Virginia but back in Texas, and our Baptist churches don’t celebrate Lent,” Everett wrote in a column for the Baptist Standard. “He is right. Some of our churches emphasize Advent, but not many mention Lent. So, I began to say, let’s celebrate 40 days of prayer between the first day of deer season and Super Bowl Sunday. Use whatever calendar works for each church.”
Seasons of prayer and self-denial are nothing new in the Baptist tradition. Southern Baptist churches observe a Week of Prayer leading up to annual offerings for both home missions and international missions that are promoted — like Lent and Advent — during the seasons leading up to Easter and Christmas.
The notion of a 40-day focus on renewal gained traction in evangelical circles with the runaway success of Rick Warren’s “The Purpose Driven Life,” written in 2002. Warren, a Southern Baptist pastor, explained in a 2006 newspaper interview why he chose to spread his devotional readings over 40 days.
“You don’t feel comfortable in something till you’ve done it for six weeks,” he said. “In 40 Days of Purpose, I was trying to get people to feel comfortable with daily reading, a weekly small group. Some things like these become habits. And, in the Bible, 40 days is used over and over and over in many examples.”
“Noah was on the ark for 40 days,” Warren said. “Jesus was in the desert for 40 days. When Jesus resurrected, he spent 40 days with his disciples.
“There are lots of 40 days in the Bible. Today, it’s interesting, a lot of Catholic churches count 40 days during Lent and a lot of Pentecostal churches count 40 days of Pentecost, after Easter.” (ABP)
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