Christmas is always on December 25.  Why is Easter not on the same date every year?

This year, for the first time since 1956, Easter comes on April 1, creating a curious juxtaposition of sorts.  Next year Easter will be celebrated on April 21, just as the redbuds, dogwoods, and azaleas are beginning to bloom. In other years, Easter has come in late March when the weather is still wintry.   Why does the date vary?  Since the date of Easter is not an actual anniversary of the resurrection, when is the most appropriate time to celebrate?

That very question caused considerable debate and controversy in the early church.  A quarrel broke out in the middle of the second century between church leaders in Rome and those in Asia Minor regarding the appropriate date for celebrating Easter.  The practice in the East was to observe Easter according to the moon regardless of the day of the week the observance fell on. The practice in Rome was to wait until the following Sunday.

Bishop Polycarp, who was a disciple of the apostle John, represented the East, and Bishop Anicetus represented the West.  Since they could not agree on the date, each continued to observe Easter according to his own conviction. The controversy became so intense that it threatened the harmony of the Christian world.

Councils were called in Rome and Palestine to debate the merits of both arguments.  Most of the participants generally favored celebrating Easter on Sunday. When the Bishop from Ephesus and many of the churches in Asia Minor refused to change their practice, they were declared “excommunicated” from the church by Bishop Victor of Rome.

Later, the Council of Nicea, convened by Augustine in A.D.325, affirmed the calculation used to determine the official date of Easter and that calculation is still used today. Easter is celebrated on the Sunday following the first full moon falling on or after March 21.  Therefore, Easter cannot come before March 22 or after April 25.

Even though the name, “Easter,” is packed with spiritual connotation, the term is derived from a pagan spring festival. Some believe it was named after the Teutonic god or goddess of spring. However, the name was seized by Christian believers and converted to a day of worship and feasting to celebrate the resurrection of Christ.

To underscore the earth-shaking significance of this day, Dr. Jim Pleitz, the late pastor emeritus of First Baptist Church of Pensacola, often concluded his Easter sermons by proclaiming, “Easter is a blessed reminder that ALL is well….we are victorious even in death!”         

Regardless of when it appears on the calendar, in March or in April, Easter is a high and holy day, a designated occasion to affirm and proclaim the foundation of the Christian gospel: Christ is risen! Christ is risen indeed!

(Barry Howard serves as leadership coach/consultant with the Center for Healthy Churches. He resides in Pensacola, Florida. You can follow him on Twitter @BarrysNotes.)

As a young child, I began noticing that folks who attend church regularly tend to use a “normal” vocabulary throughout the week, but when we step foot on our church campus or attend a church function, we often resort to a specialized repertoire of words that are not easily understood by those outside the community of faith. Because it seems abnormal to me for a person to utilize one vocabulary at work and leisure, and revert to another when in the presence of your church friends or minister, I have quietly loathed all flavors of hyper-spiritual dialects. I confess that, on occasion, I have cynically identified and labeled a few of those more frequently heard church dialects as “King James jargon,” “lingo of Zion,” “ecclesial English,” and “pious pontification.”

Recently I came across an old clipping that identifies one of these more frequently employed dialects as “Christianese.” Christianese refers to a language used in the Christian subculture and usually understood only by other members of that subculture. As Christian communicators it’s important to avoid words in our writing that could be misunderstood or fail to communicate — terms that have meaning only in the Christian subculture.

As a public service, here are some common phrases used in the church, along with their English-language equivalents:

Christianese: “If it be God’s will.”
Translation: “I really don’t think God is going to answer this one.

Christianese: “Let’s have a word of prayer.”
Translation: “I am going to pray for a long, long, long time.”

Christianese: “That’s not my spiritual gift.”
Translation: “Find someone else.”

Christianese: “Fellowship”
Translation: “Organized gluttony.”

Christianese: “The Lord works in mysterious ways.”
Translation: “I’m totally clueless.”

Christianese: “Lord willing . . .”
Translation: “You may think I’ll be there, but I won’t.”

Christianese: “I don’t feel led.”
Translation: “Can’t make me.”

Christianese: “God led me to do something else.”
Translation: I slept in instead of going to church.

Christianese: “God really helped me with this test.”
Translation: “I didn’t study but I guessed good, so I’m giving God credit in the hope that He helps me again.”

Christianese: “She has such a sweet spirit!”
Translation: “What an airhead!”

Christianese: “I have a ‘check’ in my spirit about him.”
Translation: “I can’t stand that jerk!”

Christianese: “I’ll be praying for you.”
Translation: “There’s an outside chance I’ll remember this conversation later today.”

Christianese: “Prayer concerns”
Translation: “Gossip”

Christianese: “In conclusion . . . “
Translation: “I’ll be done in another hour or so.”

Christianese: “Let us pray”
Translation: “I’m going to pretend to talk to God now, but I’m really preaching at you.”

Christianese: “You just have to put it in God’s hands.”
Translation: “Don’t expect me to help you.”

Christianese: “God wants to prosper you!”
Translation: “Give me all your money.” (Author Unknown)

My point is that words really do matter. The New Testament was originally written in koine greek, the everyday language of ordinary people, which says to me that the greatest news in the world can be communicated without a specialized religious vocabulary.

The wisdom writer reminds us that, “A person finds joy in giving an apt reply— and how good is a timely word!” (Proverbs 15:23 NIV). This year, as a part of my quest to be a more engaged listener, a more effective speaker, and a more faithful follower of Jesus, is to learn to be a better steward of my words. And, of course, to avoid reverting to Christianese. “Carest thou to joineth me?”

There are some moments and memories that we never forget.  One such memory is when I first met Dr. Bill Self in 1981 at a banquet on the campus of Samford University.  I was energized by Bill’s after dinner speech.  He quickly became one of my favorite preachers, not just because he was a captivating and motivating speaker, but because he had a contagious love for the local church.  As the years unfolded, Bill became not only my colleague, but a friend and a strategic encourager.

We were blessed to have Bill and Carolyn spend a weekend with us in Pensacola in May 2014. For many years, Bill had been a close friend with our iconic pastor emeritus, Jim Pleitz. And Bill had served as the guest “evangelist” for a series of memorable revival services at First Baptist Pensacola during the 1970’s. So Bill’s visit to Pensacola to be our guest for Heritage Day was filled with visits, stories, and reunions.

On Saturday evening, Amanda and I took Bill and Carolyn to Peg Leg Pete’s, our favorite seafood restaurant on the beach. We laughed and reminisced, but mostly we talked about the future of the local church.  We discussed the many ways that the church is in a season of challenging transition, and whereas some pundits are prepared to offer a eulogy over the local church, Bill believed that if we seize the opportunity to dialogue poetically and prophetically with our culture, rather than launching hostile verbal missiles at our culture, this could be the church’s finest hour.

From among his many excellent sermons, such as “King for a Day,” “Swimming to the Deep End of the Pool,” and “What Do You Want with Me, Jesus?,” I am glad that Bill chose to preach the sermon, “The Church Is Worth the Effort” for our congregation, a message that continues to be timely and relevant.

Little did we know that our visit with Bill in Pensacola would be our last visit with him this side of heaven.  Bill died on January 9, 2016 from complications with ALS.

So in memory of Bill, each year around this time I give thanks for Bill’s impact on my life and ministry, and I review my notes from his last sermon in Pensacola, a sermon that every pastor and church member needs to internalize as we remind ourselves that the most influential days of the local church can be ahead of us and not behind us:

“I still love the church. I love the church universal, as well as the church local (red brick, white-columned with deacons smoking in the parking lot). With all of its dysfunction and flesh marks, with all of its confusion and humanity, it is still the best thing God has going for Him in this world. We do have a treasure in earthen vessels.

The church is a solid oak tree, not a fragile tea cup. It has withstood Roman Imperialism, Jewish legalism, pagan optimism, medieval institutionalism, the excesses of the reformers, wars and rumors of wars, a youth quake, modern skepticism, southern provincialism, resurgent fundamentalism, and heresies in each generation that seem never to die. It can withstand anything our generation can throw at it.

It has been victimized by unprepared and selfish clergy, tone-deaf musicians, manipulative members, argumentative deacons, demanding denominations, unloving reformers, and greedy politicians. Still it continues to provide love, affirmation and community to the fallen in the face of alienation.

The church is worth the effort!”

Preach on, Brother Bill. Preach on!

Although my affinity for reading was slow to develop, when it emerged, it flourished. During my teenage years, I perceived reading to be a nuisance and necessary evil. At some point during my college years, however, I learned to enjoy reading, not just for assignments or entertainment, but for personal growth.

As a minister, writer, and pastoral counselor, I need to read widely to stay current and relevant. More importantly, in my current stage of life, I need books like I need food, to satisfy cognitive hunger and to probe intellectual curiosity. Books stimulate my thinking, exercise my memory muscles, and challenge my presuppositions.

Typically, I read a variety of genres including fiction, spirituality, theology, history, and biography. I concur with Diane Duane who argued that, “Reading one book is like eating one potato chip.” Therefore, I usually keep from three to five books going at the same time, a discipline that was recommended by Opal Lovett, one of the most influential faculty members from my college years. This practice invites a variety of authors to be conversation partners in my internal dialogue.

For the past several years, around the first of January, I make a list of books that I plan to read during the coming year. While I hope to read 40-50 books this year, I have already compiled a list of eighteen of the books I want to be sure to read in 2018:

1. Whisper: How to Hear the Voice of God by Mark Batterson
2. Hallelujah Anyway: Rediscovering Mercy by Anne Lamott
3. The Orphan’s Tale by Pam Jenoff
4. I’d Like You More If You Were More Like Me by John Ortberg
5. Gift and Task: A Year of Daily Readings and Reflections by Walter Brueggemann
6. Surviving the Bible: Devotions for the Church Year 2018 by Christian Piatt
7. Smoke of this Altar by T. H. Williams
8. The Best Cook in the World: Tales from My Momma’s Table by Rick Bragg
9. The Rooster Bar by John Grisham
10. A Gentleman in Moscow by Amor Towles
11. The Brain Warrior’s Way by Daniel and Tana Amen
12. Secrets in the Dark: A Life in Sermons by Frederick Buechner
13. A Crazy, Holy Grace: The Healing of Pain and Memory by Frederick Buechner
14. The Emotionally Healthy Leader: How Transforming Your Inner Life Will Deeply Transform Your Church, Team, and the World by Peter Scazzero
15. As Kingfisher’s Catch Fire: A Conversation on the Ways of God Formed by the Words of God by Eugene Peterson.
16. Don’t Let Go by Harlan Coben
17. Holy Envy: Finding God in the Faith of Others by Barbara Brown Taylor
18. Braving the Wilderness: The Quest for True Belonging and the Courage to Stand Alone by Brene’ Brown.

Reading books written by authors who write from diverse perspectives stretches my thinking and expands my capacity to relate to variety of people. I find that it is intellectually healthy and pastorally helpful to read “outside the box” of my personal ideology. In other words, don’t just read the kind of stuff that reinforces what you think you know with certainty. Dare to read something that challenges you to think about life and faith from a different point of view.

Perhaps Mortimer Adler was right: “In the case of good books, the point is not to see how many of them you can get through, but rather how many can get through to you.”

Happy reading in 2018!

The beginning of a New Year is traditionally perceived as a season for clean slates and new beginnings. Depending on your perspective, you might consider New Year’s Day as a time to turn over a new leaf, to start that post-holiday diet, to begin that exercise regimen, or to generally clean up your act and put your life in order.

I am not usually inclined to compose a list of resolutions for the New Year, but as we welcome 2018 there are some specific things I want to work on personally and professionally. As I prepare for 2018, here are ten goals I am targeting…more or less:

• Eat less, exercise more. My physician keeps reminding me that I can increase the probability of enjoying prolonged good health if I begin now to eat a little less and to exercise more.
• Talk less, listen more. Several times in children’s sermons I have emphasized that God created us with two ears and one mouth so that we could listen twice as much as we talk. As I grow older, I am discovering the need for me as an adult to limit my speech and to be more intentional and focused in my listening.
• Criticize less, encourage more. Maybe I’m just weary of caustic political banter, but I have heard enough criticism and negativity in 2017 to last a life time. While constructive criticism may be of great value, negative and petty criticism tends to be contagious and demoralizing. Our local and national leaders, our ministers, and our neighbors need our prayers and encouragement more than they need darts of non-constructive criticism flying their way.
• Judge less, respect more. As a follower of Jesus, I am called to live out of the wellspring of my convictions, and respect the rights of others to do the same.  That means leaving the judging to the ultimate Judge, and respecting those whose life choices and perspectives are different than my own.
• Spend less, give more. As I strive to be a more effective manager, I am persuaded that I need to spend a little less this year on frivolous things and to give a little more to organizations, ministries, and missional groups that make a difference in the lives of others, especially the disadvantaged.
• Worry less, trust more. I am convinced worry is a genetic trait handed down to me from previous generations. I know that worry is a waste of time and energy, but a little voice in my head is wrongly convinced that worry is productive. This year I want to proactively address those things that are within my realm of responsibility, to cease worrying about those things over which I have no influence, and to trust God for daily guidance and provision.
• Hurry less, focus more. Because my task list can get long, I tend to spend a lot of time hurrying from one task to the next. This year I want to slow the pace and focus on the present moment, even if that means I don’t check every task off my to-do list.
• Watch less, read more. I enjoy good tv shows and good books. I especially enjoy watching Scorpion, NCIS, and NCIS LA. My personal downfall, however, is reruns. I spend too much time watching shows I’ve already seen, and that cuts into my reading time. Reading exercises and stretches the mind more than watching TV. This year I am determined to spend more time wrapped up in a good book and less time watching repeats.
• Connect less, disconnect more. Electronic communication can be a technological blessing and social networking can be the next best thing to being there. However, staying connected 24 hours a day can be counterproductive and may increase stress, reduce productivity, and incite attention deficit. This year I want to maximize the benefits of being connected by strategically choosing times to disconnect.
• Reminisce less, engage more. Reminiscing about the past can be inspiring and educational. But when I become preoccupied with the past, I end up becoming a curator of yesterday’s blessings rather than envisioning new possibilities and working toward a positive future. Reminiscing helps me to treasure the experiences of yesteryear. But there comes a time to put the past behind me and the future before me, and to fully engage the challenges and opportunities that are knocking at the door this year.

As I welcome 2018, I want to maximize the opportunities, navigate the obstacles, and “press toward the mark of the high calling” with hope, optimism, and determination.