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Today is Ash Wednesday.  It is the day in the Christian calendar that marks the starting point of the 40 days of Lent (don’t count Sundays) that lead up to Easter.  This is a day that often confused me when I was growing up and the one day of the year that I wished my family were members of the Roman Catholic Church.  Let me explain a little about that last statement before I talk more about rituals.

In the small community in which I grew up, my family were members of the Presbyterian Church.  At that time, many Presbyterians did not lift up Lent and/or Ash Wednesday very much.  We did not attend worship on Ash Wednesday.  However, my classmates who were members of the Roman Catholic Church definitely did attend Mass on that day.  Mass was held during the school day and since the church was only a block away from the school, they would leave school, attend Mass, and then come back to school with something black smeared on their foreheads.  I never could figure out why there was something black smeared on their foreheads but no one wanted to look stupid so no one ever asked.  I was very jealous that they were able to leave school, even if it was to attend a church service.  So I was confused about this Holy Day that they called Ash Wednesday and on which they had something smeared on their forehead.  But I was also jealous.

Until I became an adult, that was my understanding of Ash Wednesday and the rituals in connection with the day.  After I graduated high school and attended a Roman Catholic college for my freshman year, I gained a much deeper understanding of Ash Wednesday.  I now know that the black that is smeared on people’s foreheads on this day is ash produced by the burning of palm fronds from the previous year’s Palm Sunday celebrations.  I know that the purpose of this is to remind us of our mortality and sinfulness which Jesus would overcome in his death on a cross and his resurrection.  I know that Lent is a time for reflection on our need of Christ and to evaluate and strengthen our spiritual disciplines to enrich our relationship with God.  I know that as part of that reflection and strengthening of spiritual disciplines, some individuals choose to “give up” something for the period of Lent to increase their focus on the Lord.  I know all of these things but I still am haunted by the question. . . “WHY?”

In my years as a believer, I have experienced and learned many rituals in the Church.  I am capable of doing “High Church” as well as any other believer.  The issue that I have grown to have is that if a ritual is nothing more than that, why do we continue to do it.  This is not to question the value of any specific ritual.  Instead, I am questioning if the ritual has meaning for the individuals who are participating in it.  If the ritual does indeed have meaning, then continue to do it.  However, I would argue that if the ritual does not have meaning to the individual, a person has two options to consider.  The first option is to spend time researching and understanding the background and original purpose of the ritual.  If after doing the research the individual finds a new connection to the meaning and it benefits their connection with the Lord, then continue to do so.  The second option is to discontinue participating in the ritual.  In either case, it is the responsibility of the individual to seek  out meaning in what they are doing.

So as I, along with many others, observe tonight the rituals associated with Ash Wednesday, I encourage all of you to go beyond the rituals and find meaning.  It is in meaning that we can strengthen our relationship with the Lord.

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I enjoy drinking coffee but I know individuals that do not like the taste of coffee at all.  Many of them tell me that they find the taste too bitter.  I can understand that because when I first started drinking coffee, I had to have it full of cream and sugar to hide the bitter taste.  Even now I am not a fan of dark roasted coffee because it tastes too bitter to me.

I thought about the bitterness of coffee this morning because in recent days I have witnessed the impact of another type of bitterness.  This bitterness does not have anything to do with taste but instead with the feelings individuals have between them.  Sometimes the bitterness flows both ways and at other times it is just one person that has bitterness.  In some situations, this bitterness does not even have to do with the relationship between the two individuals but is a carry over from some unpleasant aspect or experience of an individual’s life.  The other individuals may just be the “lucky” recipient of the manifestation of this bitterness.

The reality of bitterness is that it really has no positive value.  It does however seem to have a lingering effect.  Think about what occurs when you taste something bitter.  Doesn’t that bitter taste seem to linger in your mouth for a period of time?  You may even choose to drink something in an attempt to wash the bitterness away.  The truth can be said about bitterness of feelings.  When bitterness is directed toward a person or exists between people, it has a lasting effect.  Many times that bitterness can also have a lasting impact on others who are indirectly associated with the situation.

The sadness that I feel when I experience or observe bitterness in relationships is found in the reality of the damaging impact it can have on both the person who feels bitter and the person that receives the results of that bitterness.  I watch individuals being torn down.  I see other relationships damaged or destroyed.  I see the harborer of bitterness being destroyed as the bitterness seems to much like a cancer that destroys the person from the inside.

I can see no value in bitterness.  Maybe that is why the Lord emphasized the value of peacemakers, individuals that strive to help others remove the bitterness and anger from their lives.  Together we should strive to eliminate the bitterness of individual’s lives whenever we are given the opportunity.

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So I didn’t think that it would probably ever happen but this morning I realized that it had.  I thought that I would never find an institution that was even farther behind the times than the Church.  However, I discovered this morning that there is an institution, that obviously is not in touch with the twenty-first century in an even more profound manner than the Church.  The winner of such a prestigious award, an institution that is considerably younger than the Church, is the United States Postal Service.

This morning on the news, I heard that the USPS is considering raising the price of a first class postage stamp to fifty cents.  This is one response to their financial crisis.  Let’s take a moment to look at the proposed actions that the USPS is considering in an effort to overcome their increasing deficit.  The first recommendation of significance that has been batted around since last summer is to reduce the number of days of mail delivery from six to five.  They have already begun a process of closing a number of post offices and distribution centers.  Now, they want to increase the cost to the consumer to use their services.

I was not a business major in college but even I can figure out that the business plan has many faults.  In a time when we are witnessing a significant reduction in the volume of mail and packages being transported by the USPS due to email, UPS, and FedEx, the USPS is recommending increasing the cost of service and reducing the amount of service.  How does this encourage people to utilize the USPS in any way?  Add to that the reality that the regulations and hassles placed on the consumer to use the postal service, not to mention the very anti-customer service orientation of the institution, the demise of the USPS seems even closer.  I haven’t even raised the reality of the instantaneous communication aspect of the internet versus the length of time it takes for “snail mail.”

I started my blog post (or rant) by declaring that the USPS has eclipsed the Church in being “behind the times.”  So my hope is that by looking at the example of the USPS, the Church may realize the importance of not remaining on a similar path.  The Church needs to take an honest look at the barriers that are in place which make us a not-customer-friendly institution.  We need to identify those aspects that instead of inviting people to engage with us and journey with us actually turn individuals away.  The USPS is no longer the only player in town as it had been for a couple hundred of years.  The Church is no longer the only player in town either.  The postal service continues to operate under the attitudes when it was the only player in town.  Too often the Church does the same.

My hope is that all of us leaders in the Church will be able to make course corrections and to understand that we are on a different playing plane than previously before we continue down a path that will be as bleak as that of the United States Postal Service.

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As some of my readers know, last week I attended a workshop in Chicago regarding utilization of social networking.  The workshop was extremely helpful and helped me understand much more about an area that I have only been dabbling in off and on.  One of the concerns that a participant raised was along the lines of…”How will I ever find the time to monitor, maintain and interact with all of these social network sites?”  The instructor, Tony Jones, provide a good response regarding discipline and being deliberate.  However, this morning I was thinking about this dilemma once again.  (By the way, I wasn’t the participant that asked that question at the workshop but I could totally relate to the person.)

It came to my mind that the internet, social networking, blogs, and electronic devices have opened up endless possibilities.  The downside to this is that it has also created issues in our time management and decision-making.  For me, I feel that it is very similar to when I go to a buffet or an all-you-can-eat  establishment.  In those settings, I struggle a lot.  I succumb to the sin of gluttony.  I begin rationalizing it on a very practical scale – I need to eat all I can so that I get my money’s worth.  Then as I stand at the table, or tables, which hold the food, I struggle with choosing what I will take and what I will leave behind.  There are so many options that I tend to want them all but then I know I will overeat and feel miserable.  So more often than not, I will avoid these locations so that I do not struggle with the choices they force me to make.

With all the opportunities to receive and share information these days, I feel the same as when I stand at a buffet table.  How do I choose which ones to sample?  Who am I going to follow?  What blogs will I read?  What social network sites will I place my profile on?  On my Kindle Fire, I even have the ability to monitor streams of information from news outlets, lifestyle publications, humor sites.  Yesterday, I looked at these options and felt lost in making decisions which I wanted to have on my stream in my Pulse application.  I am not good at these decisions!

Today as I sat in my office, I was thinking about all the possibilities and wishing that I knew exactly the right way to manage myself through the buffet of information.  I am confronted with a mixed blessing, the ability to obtain information and to engage in relationships are limitless but making good choices is a challenge.  It is a great temptation to just spend time with my computer, smart phone, or Kindle Fire.  However, there are people and responsibilities that should take a higher place on my priority list.  I think it is vital for any leader to be engaged in social networking and information sharing, after all, that is how we continue to improve our abilities and knowledge in our leadership.  Discipline seems to be one of the keys to manage my way through this display.  The other key is talking to others and hearing what resources they have found beneficial.

So if any of you have insights into how best to avoid gluttony at the internet buffet, please share it with me and the other readers.  Maybe together we can manage our way through this!

Reblogged from landon whitsitt (dot) com:

Dear God, I know we talked earlier, but I have something important that I’d like to ask you so I thought I’d send you a letter. I usually do better thinking through thoughts when I write them out. Don’t think that you need to give me an answer right away, but I’d sure love an answer sooner rather than later. So, here’s the deal: I’d like to ask you to stop calling “pastors” to the ministry. As I understand it (from that awesome book of yours) the word “pastor” is drawn from the word “shepherd.” The purpose …

Very thought provoking post by the Vice-Moderator of my denomination.

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This morning during my devotional time I read the account of Jesus healing the blind man and the Jewish leaders taking issue with the act.  The Jewish leadership just could not see that Jesus could be the Messiah.  They had become blind to the possibilities.  Whether they felt threatened, scared, or just were trying to protect their own power, I am not sure.  Whatever the cause of their blindness, it diminished their ministry and their very lives.

How often do we remain blind to the work the Lord is doing around us?  How often do we choose to deny who the Lord truly is?  How often are we blind to the wonderful gifts that the Lord has given to others?  How often are we blind to the truth?

These are all questions that came to my mind this morning.  I am as guilty as anyone in having blinders at times.  Because of experiences or observations, I become blind to the possibility of change.  When I disagree with someone, I can become blind to the gifts and abilities that the Lord has given to them.  When I have a viewpoint on a subject, I can become blind to other viewpoints.  My blindness can diminish the work that I strive to do in the name of the Lord and my own life.  I have frequent need to repent of my blindness and seek healing that only the Lord can provide.

The story in John’s Gospel provides some important truths for me.  First, Jesus is the only one who can truly heal my blindness.  Second, I need to accept who Jesus truly is and what he is capable of doing.  Third, I need to be aware of my blindness and not declare that I see and know all.

What may be your blind spots?  Jesus can heal them.

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Some of you know that I am currently on a trip to Chicago.  I have been to Chicago a few times before and I have flown in and out of Chicago multiple times but this is the first time that I have actually driven in Chicago.  I even made a trip downtown to the Science and Industry Museum today.  I will also honestly confess that I was more than a little nervous driving to downtown Chicago.  The way back to my hotel was a bit time-consuming since  a lake effect snow had begun falling and the traffic was moving very slow.  This trip made me extremely grateful that I have a GPS in my car.  With the help of my GPS I was able to navigate with only minor issues both directions on the trip.

While I was slowly navigating through traffic on the way back to the hotel, I was mindful of a GPS that I have for my life.  The GPS in my car has such a name because it is an abbreviation for Global Positioning System.  The life GPS that I am referring is an abbreviation for God Placement Strategy.  I believe that God has put together a strategy that places me in the correct locations, at the correct times.  This placement strategy is developed to benefit me and to benefit the others that God knows are going to be in those locations.

One of the truths of both GPS is that I still have the power to decide if I am going to follow the direction of the GPS.  I can choose if I am going to make the turns and go on the roads that my car’s GPS instructs me to follow.  I can also choose if I am going to follow the strategy that God has for my life.

Another truth is that if I choose not to follow the instructions of my GPS, my GPS will reroute.  When this happens in regards to the driving of my car, the voice comes on and says one of two things, either “Make a legal u-turn,” or “Rerouting.”  The same situation occurs when I choose to ignore my GPS for life.  God either directs me to turn around and go to where God knows I should go (i.e., Jonah and Nineveh) or God reroutes the strategy that will lead me in the direction that God intends.

I am very grateful for both my GPS units!

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Today I attended a Social Phonics boot camp.  We spent the day discussing a social media philosophy, Facebook, Twitter, Google and YouTube.  There were references to other social network and blogging tools and techniques throughout the day.  What it really brought home to me was the impact that social media and the internet really are having on the way that we communicate the message of Jesus Christ.

Many of us have spent portions of our lives trying to share the message of grace, love, promise, and hope with others in our specific locations.  However, the introduction of the internet and the birth of social media now have loosed the bounds of our physical beings.  We no longer are confined to share and discuss the message of the Lord based on our location.  We no longer even have to travel to another location to interact and engage with people.  We now have the ability to minister and communicate God’s love to anyone in any part of the world.

This reality is both very liberating and very scary.  It is challenging and humbling.  The reasons that I feel all of these feelings are contained in this new reality are these:

• Liberating because I no longer am confined to one location as I try to communicate the Gospel.
• Scary because I have to make sure that the message that I share is truly the message the Lord has given.
• Challenging because I no longer have an excuse for not communicating the Gospel, i.e., I cannot just pick up and move to (fill in the blank).
• Humbling because I am still trying to work out what the Lord’s message means to my life as I am trying to share it in a way that means something to other people’s lives.

I truly find this reality as being very exciting.  I now will spend tomorrow trying to make sense of all that I have learned today and try to put it into motion in how I communicate the Gospel.  It is a whole new world, I’m eager to go see how the Lord will use me to communicate in it.

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Recently in my reading, I have read stories of people doing amazing and inventive things.  As I read, I am intrigued regarding what led them to head in those directions and how they were able to achieve success.  One of the reoccurring themes that comes to me as I read these stories is that the people involved have chosen to think beyond the structures and the norms that are in place around them.  They have chosen to break through the perceived limitations and that has given them the freedom to go in directions and take actions that were not previously in their scope of thinking.

A key to breaking through limitations for me is realizing that many of the limitations that I perceive are limitations that I place on myself.  Whether I have been conditioned or I have formed these limitations on my own, the truth is that many limitations are not as real as I perceive them to be.  The first step in reducing the limitations around me is to truthfully examine the source of those limitations. 

While I have never bungee-jumped, the concept of the act provides for me a visual picture of how to break through the limitations.  First, I believe that it is important to have some sort of tethering device.  The bungee-jumper does not just jump from a bridge or high place, they have the bungee as a tether so that when they reach a potential crashing point, there is something to pull them back.  In limitation breaking that is important as well.  It would be very easy for me to dive off with a sense of a new freedom and if I don’t have a tether, I will crash and burn or at least go way off course.  There are people in my life whom I trust and who can be a great tether for me.

Second, I must have the strength to overcome my fears.  I can imagine that the first time someone stands on the edge of a bridge and is about to jump, there is a huge amount of fear or apprehension in their minds.  They must have the strength to overcome that fear and to jump.  Limitations provide a sense of security for me.  When those limitations are removed, it can be very scary because there is a lot of “unknown” that remains.  So I need to have the strength to overcome that fear and make the move outside of my perceived limitations.

If I stay inside the bounds of my perceived limitations, I will be somewhat safe and I will have some level of survival.  But if I want to grow and be a part of some very amazing, life-changing experiences, I will need to break through my perceived limitations. 

The final thing I must remember is that I always have a safety net…… the Lord.  Even if what I try outside of my perceived limitations fails, the Lord is ready to catch me and to set me on the path once again. 

So my challenge for myself and for each of my readers is this….. Are you ready to break through your perceived limitations?

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A long time ago, I came to the awareness that the more I learn, the more I realize that there is a lot more for me to learn.  I am sure that I am not alone in that awareness.  I find that when I study some subject or read about some topic, I find many aspects that I need to study more or read more about.  It attacks what I believe is part of our human nature…. the desire to “know it all”.  This quest is much along  the lines of Don Quixote that seems a bit foolish since there is truthfully no end to the quest. 

This week, and especially today, I have seen this situation played out in terms of weather.  There are many brilliant minds who have done a ton of research and gathered endless amounts of data in the area of weather, or meteorology.  There are many other brilliant individuals who have developed tools to use the research and data so that predictions can be made in regards to what type of weather will occur in a specific geographical area.  In my lifetime, we have gone from hearing a weather forecast that is three-days out to one that is now eight-days out.  We have seen an increase in the ability to warn of potential weather dangers.  But even with all this fantastic scientific research and a large increase in abilities, it still comes down to the reality that all a weather reporter can do is give us probabilities.  There is no absolute certainty to what they tell use.  I have travel plans this weekend and so have been watching the weather predictions very closely.  In a matter of days, even hours, all of the predictions have changed dramatically.  Past experience tells me that even those predictions may turn out to be inaccurate.

Weather forecasting is not the only area in life that uncertainty still exists even though a quest has been taken to increase knowledge and skills.  This truth can be seen in the areas of medical science, physics, space exploration, construction, farming, and yes, even theology.  In fact, the more that we proclaim to know about God, the more we discover we do not know about God.  Over the years when Christians have proclaimed certainty in what they find Scripture to say, we later discover that there is more and the more we discover, our understanding of God, relationships with God, relationships with  other humans, and what God wants us to do have all been altered.  So I, and other Christians, continue to study and to seek new understanding just as a scientist or physician or farmer or educator would.  Each new discovery gives me new insight into my Lord and into my living out my faith in my Lord.

So as a Christian, I am on a quest of discovery.  I am convinced that I will never know with certainty everything that I want to know.  This side of eternal glory, there will always be new revelations, new knowledge, new understandings.  The only certainty that I can declare without waiver is…..  The Lord loves me and desires to be in relationship with me for all of eternity.