Dear Friends,

I would like to begin this correspondence by sharing the New Testament reading from my morning devotional. Speaking of the change that is to be wrought in us through Christ, the Apostle Paul writes:

"So I'm telling you this, and I insist on it in the Lord: you shouldn't live your life like the Gentiles anymore. They base their lives on pointless thinking, and they are in the dark in their reasoning. They are disconnected from God's life because of their ignorance and their closed hearts. They are people who lack all sense of right and wrong, and who have turned themselves over to doing whatever feels good and to practicing every sort of corruption along with greed.

But you didn't learn that sort of thing from Christ. Since you really listened to him and you were taught how the truth is in Jesus, change the former way of life that was part of the person you once were, corrupted by deceitful desires. Instead renew the thinking in your mind by the Spirit and clothe yourself with the new person created according to God's image in justice and true holiness."

--Ephesians 4:17-24 CEB

I cannot help but take notice of the state of Paul's audience in this passage: pointless, dark, ignorant, closed, turned toward self, corrupt and with greed. Now I may not be comfortable with the accuracy of his portrayal, but I can certainly relate Paul's description to the truth of my own experience. Perhaps you can too. All of us have walked with blinders on at some point in life and have the bumps and bruises to show for it. Staying on incessant autopilot is not a pretty sight, and the results can be devastating; not just to ourselves but to those around us as well.

How does it get this way? Why did things not go according to plan? Paul's explanation is simple: because we are "disconnected from God's life."

The good news is that the situation is not necessarily terminal, no matter how severe the collateral damage may appear at the time. There is always a road to recovery, but something has got to give.

In preparing myself for the upcoming season of Lent, I am wondering how you and I can join together in this pursuit of the new life in Christ. What will we take on for the sake of connection with God and each other? What 'deceitful desire' are we ready to relinquish? How shall we 'clothe' ourselves in character and in practice?

As we consider these questions, I would like to offer an invitation. My favorite devotional resource at the moment is a book called Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals. I became reacquainted with it over Christmas break, and have enjoyed it so much that I ordered copies for all of our church staff. Then it dawned on me: what kind of impact could be made if everyone at PBUMC started praying the same prayers at the same time on a daily basis?

So here is what I propose: starting Ash Wednesday (2/22/12), Pastor Jeremy and I, along with other staff and lay leaders, will be facilitating a daily discussion via the church webpage based upon the morning reflections from Common Prayer: A Liturgy for Ordinary Radicals. A new pocket version of the book is available in print or on Kindle for $10-12. If you would like the church office to order you one, just let us know. It should make for a terrific journey through Lent!

Ash Wednesday service will be February 22, at 6:00 p.m. in the sanctuary. That's right. I said it. The sanctuary.

Grace to You,

Darren