Lent is a traditional forty-day period of fasting (Sundays excepted) that begins on Ash Wednesday and ends before Easter Sunday, representing the 40 days Jesus spent in the wilderness before he began his public ministry. Observing Lent involves fasting from food or self-denial of some other activity for the purpose of making space for more connection to God. Lent began to be practiced by Christians in this form in the seventh century, though it isn’t something scripturally mandated. Those who participate do so recognizing the power of joining in on a spiritual discipline with a long history across many Christian traditions. Each Lent is a fresh opportunity to lean into intentional reflection as individuals, families, and as a church community.
The Digital Fast
As a church, we are going to invite our entire congregation into what we are calling a “Digital Fast” over Lent (beginning Ash Wednesday, March 5). This may or may not be in addition to traditional fasting from food.
So what is involved? We’re borrowing the basic idea form Darren Whitehead’s book The Digital Fast and from other churches that have tried something similar. Here are the basics:
First, take your smartphone (if you have one) and make it as dumb as possible. Go through every app on your phone and ask the question “Is this a genuine utility?” (like phone calls, texts, cameras, maps, calculators, weather, calendars, stuff needed for your job, etc.) or “Is this a distraction?” (like social media, your web browser, games, entertainment, news apps, YouTube—anything that will let you infinitely scroll an endless feed). There are some that might be tough to categorize like email, music, or podcasts—you’ll have to be honest about how you personally use each app and treat each accordingly. You’ll need to delete every app that isn’t a genuine utility and commit not to download it again until at least the end of the fast.
Second, commit to staying away from TV and any other device that regularly feeds you digital content. While for most of us our phones are especially troublesome because they are with us so often, they’re not the only challenge to our digital sanity. Stay off of Netflix and other streaming services.
The fast can be done for the whole duration or with breaks—like one day per week, for example. When the fast is complete, most of us will probably have recognized some important things about our relationships to our technology. You can use those insights to consciously choose to reintroduce whatever gives you joy on the others side. Probably there will be certain habits or specific apps that many of us choose to leave behind for good.
Lent Resources to Replace Your Screen Time
As we've been talking about detoxing from our digital devices, we've suggested re-committing to our Community Commitments to the Disciplines of Grace: prayer, scripture, worship, community, giving, serving, and inviting. You could also set a goal to text a friend each time you instinctively reach for social media.
Reading together as a household is also a great way to create space for conversation and inspiration for prayer. Here’s a short list of Lent-specific books worth considering:
Books & Devotionals
Bread and Wine: Readings for Lent and Easter – This is a beautiful daily reader from a variety of theologians, writers, and poets meant to help you reflect on the depths of Easter. It includes readings from C.S. Lewis, Dietrich Bonhoeffer, Dorothy Sayers, Fleming Rutledge, G.K. Chesterton, Henri Nouwen, John Stott, Mother Theresa, Wendell Berry, as well as some other strange but interesting choices.
To Seek and to Save: Daily Reflections on the Road to the Cross by Sinclair Ferguson – A daily devotional through the second half of the Gospel According to Luke for the entire Lenten season.
The Art of Lent by Sister Wendy Beckett - An amazing short devotional for the 40 days of Lent combining scriptural reflection with reflections on a painting per day.
Lent: The Season of Repentance and Renewal by Esau MCaulley – A short introduction to the themes of Lent and its place and function in the overall liturgical church calendar (from an Anglican perspective).
Fasting by Scot McKnight – A great introduction to the discipline of fasting. McKnight interacts with the Bible’s teaching, lessons from church history, and perennial questions about how to do it well while avoiding pitfalls.
Jesus: A Very Short Introduction by Richard Bauckham – A great introduction to the life and ministry of Jesus from one of our greatest New Testament scholars. This little book is almost comically powerful for how short it is.
Hope in Times of Fear: The Resurrection and the Meaning of Easter by Tim Keller – This powerful book unpacks the meaning of Jesus’s resurrection and the incredible hope that it allows believers to walk in. Both theological and intensely personal, Keller’s book would make an excellent read for Lent.
Surprised by Hope by N.T. Wright – A powerful look at the historical case for the resurrection of Jesus, it’s meaning, and it’s significance for how we think about the future God has for us in Christ.
The Mosaic of Atonement by Joshua M. McNall – The Easter season is a great time to reflect on just what happened on the cross. McNall’s book is on the scholarly side, but it paints a beautiful, compelling picture of the multifaceted work of Jesus.
Children's Books
Holy Week: An Emotional Primer by Danielle Hitchen, illustrated by Jessica Blanchard (ages 0-4)
Jesus Rose for Me: The True Story of Easter by Jared Kennedy, illustrated by Trish Mahoney
(ages 3-7)
The Garden, the Curtain, and the Cross by Carl Laferton, illustrated by Catalina Echeverri
(ages 4-8)
The Friend Who Forgives by Dan Dewitt, illustrated by Catalina Echeverri (ages 4-8)
Peter’s First Easter by Walter Wangerin, illustrated by Tim Ladwig (ages 4-9)
The Donkey Who Carried a King by R.C. Sproul, illustrated by Chuck Groenink (ages 8-12)
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