Tons of deals to be had on Black Friday… which has successfully leaked (in the view of retailers, anyway) into Thanksgiving.

I’m not here to mourn the loss of Thanksgiving. We’re a culture bent on compulsive actions and I’m not going to cure that in one season… or twenty. We want to shop for good deals and we are a nation of consumers… so, there you go.

But in the Church we are called to a different calendar… a different rhythm. Over the past few years as I have tried to learn more about the calendar the Church has been on for two thousand years. It doesn’t always set well within my “tribe” of Pentecostals or evangelicals, but I am finding it embraced more as we realize it’s a rhythm not a dead ritual.

We should march to the beat of a different drum. Our “counter-culture” desire doesn’t have to be in how we dress. But we should follow the beat of the One who reigns in our lives. His rhythm should matter. Over the centuries the Church has marked that rhythm so we are constantly reminded of the story of Christ, then the story of the Church.

While we are in November and ready to open up December, we think on the cultural calendar’s term. It’s the end of the year.

But on the church calendar, this Sunday marks the BEGINNING of the year.

Our march now is toward a different Friday… Good Friday.

For the next four weeks we focus on the season called Advent. It is a time of anticipation. I have grown to love this season because it not only remembers the first coming of Christ, but it also calls us to reflect on his Second Coming.

As a Pentecostal who grew up with A Thief in the Night, A Distant Thunder, etc., and a movement that spawned the Left Behind series, how could I ignore a season that calls me to focus on the Second Coming? It’s an open invitation!

This season, let’s truly be different. That may be a harsh thought. But it’s the call of our King.

I invite us to reflect differently. Let us come back to a season of anticipation. Let us long for our King’s coming again.

Biblegateway has some great resources where you can reflect on the season. There are other excellent resources as well.

Let’s pick up the rhythm of our King this season. You can even wait until after your Black Friday shopping and get to it this Sunday.