Today's episode covers the history of Lent and explores whether Christians should celebrate it. John Piper, Charles Spurgeon, Tim Challies and others weigh in (via quotes)

This will be more of a pop-history overview, and not a deep dive, but that should be sufficient for most who are curious about the origins of Lent, or are unfamiliar with its practice.

First, and this is pretty important, Lent is NOT a mandated biblical practice, BUT in many ways it has roots in biblical practices, and many wings of the Christian church have been practicing Lent, or Lent-like observances since at least the second or third century, possibly earlier, but the word Lent itself is first mentioned by the Council of Nicaea in 325 AD, though the way they mention it, it is clear that this is an accepted practice of the church at the time. In other words, the first extant mention of Lent is 325 AD, but the church had been observing Lent for quite some time before that.

Second, what does the word even mean? Has somebody borrowed something? Not at all. Lent comes from an old English word, lencten, which stood for the spring season…that word seems to come from a word that could potentially mean long, as in longer days, which begins to happen in the Spring season. In other languages, like Greek and Latin, the word for Lent Tessarakostí and quadragesima, indicates 40 - as in the 40 days before Easter.

Also, why does Lent start today when today, Ash Wednesday is not 40 days before Easter, but FORTY-SIX? Well the answer lies in church history, and the practice of the early church to FEAST on Sundays. In 601, Pope Gregory I moved the beginning of Lent to 46 days before Easter, allowing for the usual 40 days of fasting plus six Sundays of feasting when the rules of fasting did not apply. Into modernity, the Lenten season is 46, rather than 40 days, and most suspend fasting on Sundays. Further, most Christians who observe Lent do not do a complete fast. In the early church, Christians might have fasted from meat, or rich foods, or richly seasoned foods. Many today fast until sundown. Almost nobody does a complete food fast, as the one that Jesus did in the wilderness.

In this episode of the Every Church Flourishing Podcast by the Great Commission Association of California, hosts Pastor Christopher Cole and Dr. Chase Thompson interview the senior directors of the GCA, including Dr. Michael Stewart, Ms. Lannette Lozano and Dr. Se J. Won about topics ranging from prayer to mission fields, to prayer and great pastoral resources. Chase and Chris also taste test Lester's Fixins Ranch Dressing Soda and barely survive the experience.

In terms of what makes a church healthy and flourishing, there's no good answer to that question that doesn't begin with what Jesus said in John 15 about abiding in Him. - Chris Cole.

"I've been to churches where there is an inauthentic, almost Stepford Wives too bright, too shiny kind of vibe where people greet you like you're their long-lost brother that they haven't seen in years…I would much prefer, rather than bright hot, gleaming and polished smiles, I would much prefer something more genuine, warm real and authentic. The way to make that happen is not a program, but to preach the Gospels, preach the epistles, and cultivate a people who value biblical humility, biblical serving, biblical gentleness and biblical warmth. There's no program or strategy that replaces the kind of outflow of the Fruit of the Spirit that should come from an authentic church with real greeters - that is massively important to reach your community. It may not grow you into a megachurch, but it will grow you into a place where people will come and feel welcomed and feel real warmth. "

"People don't want to be sold on Jesus. That's not the same as saying we don't want to invite them to a real-world encounter with the Good News of Jesus Christ and the hope that we have…When we center the gospel into the middle of authentic relationships, it should overflow into how we greet guests, do outreaches, and how we teach people to grow up into disciples of Jesus." Chris Cole

Resources mentioned: Thom Rainer's Becoming a Welcoming Church.

Daniel Henderson's Old Paths, New Power: Awakening Your Church through Prayer and the Ministry of the Word.

"There is a great need for spiritual renewal and awakening…for us to see something that can't be explained by numbers or logic, for us to see God move in such a way that we can only say that was God. If I'm not right with God, then what we do, doesn't really matter." Dr. Se J. Won.

Waking the Dead - John Eldredge (Dr. Stewart)

"Who we are matters more than what we do. We must have a good sense of our relationship with Christ, and who we are in ourselves and how we interact with other people." Chris Cole.

Steve Cuss - Managing Leadership Anxiety, Yours and Theirs

Peter Scazzero: The Emotionally Healthy Leader: How Transforming Your Inner Life Will Deeply Transform Your Church, Team, and the World.

Dr. Se J. Won, "Many people go through unknown pains…unknown trials and challenges that they can't talk about or say outloud. Pain is not a curse." Paul Brand: The Gift of Pain.

YouVersion Bible App on Android or iTunes.

Chris Cole, "As an ex-missionary, I have put a lot of weird things into my mouth, and this Lester's Ranch Dressing Soda might be moving close to my top ten of weird things to put in my mouth."

"As a Baptist pastor, you would not know what a Pina Colada tastes like!"

The UNsecret to baptizing more people. Hint: There's not a strategy, trick, or hack.

Hi everybody! Please check out my NEW podcast, Every Church Flourishing at www.EveryChurchFlourishing.com or podfollow.com/ecf. Don't miss the earlier BeachCast.tv episode in THIS feed about Kid Rock Vs. Bad Bunny and Progressive vs. Conservative Christians.

On this inaugural episode, hosts Dr. Chase Thompson and GCA Assistant Director Pastor Chris Cole discuss the importance of ministry TOGETHER, and interview the directors of the Great Commission Association of churches located in North/Central California.

Rational Ministry Topics covered:

Interview with the senior directors of the Great Commission Association, including Dr. Mike Stewart, Dr. Se J. Won, Pastor Christopher Cole and School Superintendent Ms. Lanette Lazano.

A move of God at a local church in Salinas, California that took the pastor by surprise.

Free ProPresenter program called FreeShow: https://freeshow.app/features Review of FreeShow, a free alternative app to ProPresenter

Living in Indonesia and visiting Singapore for medical care as a missionary.

Great prayer resources

Crazy, Beyond The Pale. Topics covered:

Chupa Chups Bubble Gum Soda Tasted and Reviewed on a scale of 1 Spurgeon (gross!) to 5 Spurgeons (The Prince of Sodas!)

Medical Halitosis.

Keywords

church, ministry, community, Great Commission Association, COVID-19, church support, church leadership, podcast, church flourishing, relationships, Building Community in Ministry, Navigating Church Leadership Changes

Summary

In this episode of the Every Church Flourishing podcast, hosts Pastor Chris Cole and Dr. Chase Thompson discuss the importance of community in ministry, share personal experiences from recent church services, and explore the impact of COVID-19 on churches. They interview the senior directors of the Great Commission Association (GCA), highlighting the organization's role in supporting churches and fostering relationships among church leaders. The conversation emphasizes the value of collaboration and the need for churches to work together to flourish in their mission.

• Community is essential in ministry, as Jesus sent disciples two by two.
• The Great Commission Association is a diverse network of churches.
• Healthy churches adapted more quickly to COVID-19 challenges.
• Relationships in ministry foster support and collaboration.
• GCA provides resources and care for churches in need.
• Personal experiences in ministry can be deeply impactful.
• Humor can play a role in connecting with church members.
• Church attendance has significantly changed post-COVID.
• The importance of being on mission together cannot be overstated.
• Every church has the potential to flourish with the right support.

• Building Community in Ministry
• The Role of the Great Commission Association

• "We are a phone call away."
• "We are a family of churches."
• "We are a mission agency."