Last Wednesday,

I anointed my forehead with ashes in order to participate in centuries-old

practice acknowledging the beginning of Lent. You may ask, can an ole

Southern Baptist boy participate in Ash Wednesday? Even Wednesday night,

I rubbed ashes onto the foreheads of our church's children, sharing with

them lessons of repentance, denial, and self-examination.

Most Baptists

and other evangelicals have acknowledged Lent (forty days between Ash

Wednesday and Easter not including Sundays) by planning and participating

in Spring revivals week-long events during which church members judge

themselves, seek a higher plane of service, turn from wicked ways, and

resolved "no longer to linger, charmed by the world's delights; things

that are higher, things that are nobler, these have allured my sight"

(Palmer Hartsough, 1844-1932).

As my daughter

saw me with ashes on the forehead, she exclaimed, "I thought we didn't

believe in that." Explaining what the ashes were about, I began to

think what disservice we have perpetuated on our children by not enriching

their spiritual walk with traditions of the church.

We of the church

of Jesus Christ worshipping under different labels can enrich one another

so much if we give one another opportunity. As we of the Protestant tradition

gingerly engage in Ash Wednesdays and Lent, perhaps some liturgical traditions

might see the potential of our weeks of revivals.

I remember

so well when Pastor Roger Powell of the Church of God first experienced

a written-out prayer of confession/forgiveness as led by Pastor Justin

Kollmeyer, a Lutheran. You would have thought Pastor Powell had just discovered

sliced bread. He prayed that written down prayer for and with his church,

and from his report afterwards, his folks were super blessed.

In recent weeks,

I've learned that the Black church tradition can teach us of the White

church tradition a whole bunch on ushering and how to treat the Pastor.

The Dobson Ministry has set aside the month of October during which churches

honor their pastors. In the Black church tradition, however, many churches

bestow honor on their pastors every week.

The Catholic

Church tradition can teach us about the genuine greeting of one another

as they participate in giving one another the "kiss of peace."

And by the way, the Catholics were using the guitar in their contemporary

masses long before a guitar showed up in the evangelical tradition.

Yes, we can

learn from one another and be better for it. Church, look beyond your

own four walls and see what others are doing. It might be just the thing

you need!

Rev. Dr. John Hatcher is pastor

of River's Edge

Community Church in Fayetteville.

Back

to the Top of the Page