Keep the Christian Calendar, but Keep It Under the Word

April 22nd, 2026 | 9 min read

Growing up as a Southern Baptist, I had little experience with the church calendar. My hometown church certainly celebrated the major holidays. We had candlelight services every Christmas Eve and a choir concert on Good Friday. But my pastors didn’t wear colorful stoles that changed with the seasons, and we never had special services on Ash Wednesday or Maundy Thursday. Those practices were for the Lutherans and Methodists, not for Baptists.

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Jared Kennedy

Jared Kennedy (ThM, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary) serves as managing editor for books and curriculum for The Gospel Coalition. Before coming to TGC, he served for a decade and a half as a children’s minister and family pastor in local churches. Jared is series editor for TGC’s Hard Questions series and author of books like The Beginner’s Gospel Story Bible and The Story of Martin Luther. He and his wife, Megan, live with their three daughters in Louisville, Kentucky, where they are a part of Sojourn Church Midtown.

Topics:

Church

Formation

Keep the Christian Calendar, but Keep It Under the Word

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