Leaving Life as We Know It...

Beloved community,

Yesterday was Ash Wednesday. It’s a day that marks the beginning of the season of Lent for the Christian church. Our journey in Lent is one that is marked by the self-examination of our hearts. We take stock of what is important to us, and what our priorities are in our lives. We repent of our primarily self-centered ways, and seek to be deeper, more faithful disciples of Jesus. We prepare ourselves in hopes of being transformed.

Now, what does all of that mean? I just used a bunch of churchy words and phrases in that last paragraph. Are they important? Should we take them seriously? Well, that is a good question. We struggle with the notion of discipleship. We say we want to “transform lives,” but what does that mean? What does it look like to be “deeper, more faithful disciples of Jesus? Well, I’m not sure I know exactly, but I want to invite all of us to explore that together. One of the ways in which we figure it out is in community.

Throughout Lent, we are going to explore together the phrase, “Leaving life as we know it...” The Gospel stories throughout Lent reflect the temptation that we face, the most basic human tendency to sin, the brokenness of our world, the joy found in new life, and a call to move from one place to another (spiritually, physically, and sometimes emotionally). How does that translate to our lives? What should we do with that? What if we don’t want to move from the life as we know it?

Every times the season of Lent comes around, we find ourselves, I believe, at a crossroads. Where will I put my resources? How will I spend my time? What will I give up? What will I take on? Does it have any meaning in my life? It is my hope that we, as a community, can explore these questions and more together as we seek to be a community that “extends radical hospitality, transforms lives, and pursues justice.

I am incredibly excited to see what God is up to this week and beyond at Crossroads. I hope you are too!

See you at 5 PM this Sunday!

Jimmy