A Hungry Test

Before he began his ministry, Jesus went into the desert to be tempted by the satan. He had been fasting for 40 days when the tests began. Jesus had must have felt, let's say, uncomfortable. But he had been praying for 40 days, so he was spiritually prepared.

The satan's first temptation came like this: "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Surely Jesus had the power to do so. His 40 day fast was almost over. Matthew (4:2) tells us that indeed he was hungry. 

This is a powerful temptation for a hungry man. He could satisfy his physical desire, and he could also prove to himself and the satan that he truly was the Son of God.

But he could also use this power to feed the world. Jesus would return to villages full of hungry people, those on the margins who suffered want because of unfair circumstances. What better way to announce the kingdom of God than to offer free bread, supernatural bread, bread from heaven? Jesus would immediately have a following who would stand with him against corrupt Temple leadership and against Roman oppression. 

But Jesus declined. "It is written, 'Man does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'" Jesus would provide bread in his ministry, but not to satisfy his own hunger or to buy the support of a mob. 

Every day we are tempted to take short-cuts. We can get what we want and look like we are helping people in the process. We can gain popularity or power. But Jesus knew the power of self-denial. When we practice self-denial, we open ourselves to the real power of God.

Fast Ideas

What should I give up for Lent? If you haven't yet chosen something to give up for Lent, it's not too late! The whole point of the Lenten fast is to draw closer to the Lord. It's never too late for that. Remember, self denial makes us more sensitive to the truths Jesus would reveal to us.

So here are some suggestions of things to give up for Lent. You could give them up entirely, or give them up in certain circumstances. For example, I am giving up Facebook on my phone, but I am checking it with my computer occasionally.

• Social media
• Some type of meat
• Coffee
• Alcohol
• A selected TV streaming service
• Online shopping
• Snacking between meals
• Ice cream
• The shortest line at the grocery store (choose the longest one)
• Video games
• Hitting the snooze button
• Processed food
• Swearing
• Makeup
• News consumption
• Binge watching
• Taking the closest parking place
• Using AI
• Looking at every mirror
• Obsessing over weight
• Removing certain apps from your phone
• Ear buds

Why do Christians need a calendar?

The Christian tradition includes a pattern for teaching important events in the life of Jesus every year. The year begins with Advent, the season of anticipating Jesus' birth. It concludes (usually late November) with Christ the King Sunday. One of the seasons in the life of Jesus is Lent, which ushers in the celebration of Easter.

Long ago church leaders wanted to make sure that their teachings covered all the important stories. They devised a calendar, prescribing certain Bible passages and stories that should be taught. You can find the current church calendar here. 

I have to admit that I don't know a lot about the calendar, but I do know that I need regular reminders. In the season of Lent, I need to remember my own mortality, need for the grace of God, and the great sacrificial love that Jesus gives to me.

Why Fast?

One of the traditions of the Lenten season is fasting. Back in the early days of the Church, believers decided that preparation for Easter should include fasting. One could fast on Ash Wednesday, on Good Friday, and abstain from eating meat on Fridays during Lent. If you wanted to have one last fling before Lent, you could overindulge on the day before Ash Wednesday. We call that day as Fat Tuesday, or Mardi Gras.

But fasting is a form of self denial. It is a way of acknowledging that life is not all about meeting our every desire. We can gain greater perspective from unsatisfied hunger pangs. And those pangs serve as reminders that Jesus endured indescribable pain as he approached the cross. His pain was emotional, as his friends deserted him; it was physical as he was beaten, nailed to the cross, and left to bleed until he suffocated; it was spiritual as he bore the guilt of the world's sin. He suffered because of his love for us, and his suffering defeated the power of sin and death over us.

Many Christians are fasting now, and that fasting can take many different forms. Some are avoiding certain foods, some taking a vacation from social media, some abstaining from alcohol. Tradition says that you can take a break from your fast on Sundays during Lent. So the 40 days do not include the six Sundays in the season, and the whole season is 46 days.

But when we deny ourselves, we find freedom from things that demand our attention. Even those good things (that we may resume after Easter) no longer have such a strangle hold on us. We have perspective. We have choice. We have freedom. We also have greater intimacy with the One who really suffered.

Ash Wednesday

On the Christian calendar, today is Ash Wednesday. It is the first day of the season Christians call Lent. We get the word lent from the Old English word lencten which simply means spring season. We all know what Easter is about, and early Christians realized the value of preparation for it. They chose to set aside a period of 40 days of preparation (or 46, if you include the Sundays). On Easter we celebrate the resurrection, Jesus's defeat of death. But to appreciate the joy of Easter, we need to remember the suffering and pain that put Jesus in the tomb. In his suffering, Jesus took on the world's sin. That means he took on my sin. For me to appreciate the depth of Jesus's love for me, I need to take a sober look at my own sin. That's what the season of Lent is all about.

This season begins with Ash Wednesday. Many Christians attend church services today in which they receive a cross-shaped smudge of ashes on their foreheads. The cross shape obviously reminds us of the Lord's death for us. But the ashes remind us of our limitations and mortality. 

After Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden of Eden, God told Adam, 

By the sweat of your face

You shall eat bread,
Until you return to the ground,
Because from it you were taken;
For you are dust,
And to dust you shall return.”

God made humanity from the dust. At the end of our days, we all return to dust. There are limitations that no one can overcome. Our time on earth is limited by death. So during the season of Lent we make a special effort to remember our limitations. 

There's a lot to learn about ourselves and our Lord this season. Happy Ash Wednesday!

OK, God, can we trust you?

Where God guides, God provides. If God was truly leading me and my family to move to Stokesdale and start a new church, he would have to make some provisions along the way.

First we needed a stream of income. The wave of church planting was in its infancy, and there were not many avenues for funding. I had to find the right channels and ask the right people. With the Lord's help, we found financial help to get the ball rolling. Our local association of churches, the Baptist State Convention of NC, and three local congregations agreed to provide monthly assistance for our first year. 

In some ways the money was the easy part. More importantly, we needed people. But first we had to move into the community.

 

Now buying a house is never easy. But we had no equity, having lived in parsonages for ten years. And I had no job either. I was planning to create a job. These are not stelar points on a loan application, even in 1999. And so we went house shopping anyway. After considerable angst, we found the perfect house, affordable and functional. Just before closing, the bank balked, but finally came through when we got a co-signer. 

Once we moved to Stokesdale in September 1999, we began inviting people to our home for cookouts and Bible studies. Slowly we gathered a handful of friends who wanted to be part of a new church. 

It took time, prayer, and patience, but God provided what we needed.

But that's scary...

Who leaves a stable job for a position that doesn't exist? I had to ask myself that question in 1999. And I had another question for God himself. My reading through the Gospel According to Matthew kept drawing me toward a grand adventure.

In Matthew 14 we find Jesus walking on water, catching up to the disciples who are frantically rowing their boat. When they see Jesus, they freak out, understandably. But Peter seizes the moment. He wants in on the action. He shouts out, "Lord, if it's you, tell me to come to you on the water." Jesus answers, "Come." Peter steps out of the boat onto the water, and walks toward Jesus.

So my question for the Lord was, "If it's you, call me to step out into church planting." I normally hear crickets when I ask such things of God. I expected to get a sense of, well, nothing in particular. Silence, maybe. But that's not what I sensed from God. I felt him say, "Come." 

That was scary. 

I was perfectly ready to abandon the whole idea and stay put a little while longer. But now I had to pursue the opportunity. I had to make actual plans, find actual funding. I had to find a house for my family. I had to find a place for a church to meet.

Somehow I missed the rest of the story, when Peter looked at the storm and freaked out himself. He started sinking and cried out, "Lord, save me!" Jesus reached out and grabbed his most famous follower and saved him.

I would soon find myself praying this prayer over and over. "Lord, save me!"

Are You talking to me?

In 1999 I sensed that it was time for a change. Life and ministry seemed flat at the church where I served. I was 36 years old. I felt like I was a bona fide grown up, and it was time for me to make a difference in the kingdom of God. I had read Rick Warren's book, The Purpose Driven Church, and I dreamed of planting a church. From that book, it all seemed pretty straight forward, and I wanted to give it a shot. But starting a church from scratch would mean jumping ship from a stable situation. I would have to quit my job. That's not easy with a wife and two preschool children.

If I was going to make this move, I needed some assurance that God was in this whole thing. I was leading the missions team for a group of churches in the area, and for months I had tried to spark some interest in a church start in Stokesdale. That town had experienced considerable growth, and was poised for much more. Our denomination had no church in the whole town. It looked like a gap to be filled. Further, I had enough experience in church world to know that many small churches in small towns tend to be closed systems--friendly to new people, but not open to the change that comes with new members.

But I needed more than favorable circumstances to make a move. I wanted to hear from God. 

I happened to be reading through the Gospel According to Matthew at the time. In chapter 8 a leper comes to Jesus, falling at his feet. He tells Jesus, "Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean." Jesus responds, "I am willing." Jesus heals the man.

I followed this leper's lead. I prayed, "Lord, if you are willing, you can help me plant a new church." I listened for his response. I didn't know what to expect. Such boldness with God was a new thing for me. I really expected silence from God, or a sense that I needed to wait. But soon--maybe within minutes--I sensed the Holy Spirit saying, "I am willing."

This was scary. I didn't know what to do. I had to pray some more. My new journey was just beginning.

Quarter Century Reflections

Next month Crossroads Community Church will be 25 years old. We launched as a church on February 13, 2000 with our first public worship service in the Stokesdale Elementary School cafeteria. We had imported some musicians from Burlington and some attendees from a sponsor church in Eden. As people gathered to worship, I didn't know who was borrowed from our mother church and who was a potential member of Crossroads. There was so much I did not know...

We are celebrating our 25th Anniversary on February 16, 2025 in style! We have guest speakers, special music, and a few surprises to commemorate the day. We also will serve a fully catered meal to the whole crowd. Everyone is invited, of course, but we especially want to see people who have been blessed by Crossroads over the years. It will be like a family reunion!

Although our first public worship was in February of 2000, there was a lot of work behind the scenes, months before that event. A small handful of folks had come together, believing that God would empower us to start a brand new church. Our core group included a wide range of disciples, including a retired rocket scientist, a single mom, a high school dropout, and my family. Looking back, I'm amazed at what God could do through some very naive and idealistic Christians. 

As we approach our birthday, I want to share some reflections about this whole journey. I'll be posting some thoughts over the next couple of weeks, looking back on lessons learned and the grace of God. Forgive me for being nostalgic, and let's take a trip down memory lane!