Dr. David Creech

Here at Lent Madness, we hoard Davids. We have three of them: Sibley, Hanson, and Creech (not including St. David of Wales). Two out of three of our Davids are Lutherans, but that's a mystery for another day. Today we meet David Creech, the first of our Trinity of Davids. This is Dr. David's fifth year plying the Celebrity Blogger trade. We keep him around for a variety of reasons but mostly because his doctorate lends us a veil of respectability ("one out of four doctors recommend Lent Madness for all your penitential needs").

Oh, and in case you missed yesterday's special Celebrity Blogger Week edition of Monday Madness, watch it here. It's must-see, pre-Lenten TV.

Dr. David Creech is Assistant Professor of Religion at Concordia College in Moorhead, Minnesota. A student of early Christianities, David knows a lot about saints—they anathematized many of his research subjects. He is a product of an Evangelical seminary and a Catholic PhD program and now teaches at a Lutheran college and worships with Episcopalians. For those looking for the ecumenical voice (read: objective and unbiased/quite confused) in this year’s competition, he’s your man. Although he does dress in robes from time to time, David brings the unique perspective of a layperson. His book title is long and boring (The Use of Scripture in the Apocryphon of John: A Diachronic Analysis of the Variant Versions) but nearly sold out of its initial print run of 200 copies. You can follow David on Twitter @dyingsparrows and read his oftentimes provocative posts at his blog by the same name. When not teaching and writing, David enjoys owning his three kids Ian, Ela, and Dylan at Sorry.

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Here we are in the midst of Celebrity Blogger Fortnight Week. In this week's edition of Monday Madness, Tim and Scott welcome our three newest Celebrity Bloggers and give some advice on how to act when you meet one of your favorite Lenten personalities in person. Autographs are fine but show some decorum, people! Don't be labeled a Lentarazzi.

Of course, it wouldn't be Monday Madness if we didn't urge you to stock up on Saintly Scorecards (single, bulk, or Kindle) and Giant Bracket Posters. In fact, why not head over to the Lentorium for all your Lenten tschotske needs? Despite your denials, Lent is just around the corner!

Have you followed Lent Madness on Twitter? Have you liked Lent Madness on Facebook? Remember, if we don't get to 20,000 likes on Facebook, a Lent Shutdown is almost certain. Tell everyone you know to like Lent Madness on Facebook. We have over 500 new likes since last week, but we still need about 1,600 to reach the goal.

Lastly, if you're looking for something for Lent besides Lent Madness, check out this year's Lenten book from Forward Movement (Are We There Yet?), or buy Tim's Lent/Easter book, or shop around for Lenten resources at Forward Movement. Or just send Scott or Tim a $20 bill and they'll email some stuff they printed out about Lent. Hey, it might be good. You just never know.

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Welcome to Celebrity Blogger Week! Over the next week (or so), we'll be highlighting the amazing people who will make the magic of Lent Madness 2018 happen. Our slate of 32 saints doesn't just come to life on its own (excluding the whole Resurrection thing). No, it takes our gifted Celebrity Bloggers to tell their stories in engaging ways and we're grateful to all of them for being part of the vaunted Lent Madness team.

If we're being honest, it will take more than just one week to highlight our 11 celebrity bloggers and a few others like our Bracket Czar and Celebrity Chef. But Celebrity Blogger Fortnight just doesn't have the same ring. So enjoy reading about these fantastic folks. We share their basic bios and then ask them to answer three carefully hand-crafted questions. We've also asked them to provide a photo of them doing something they're passionate about (besides writing saintly bios).

In case you were wondering about the lineup presented, we run these features in the order in which they are received. So Anna Fitch Courie is number one because she submitted her responses to the Supreme Executive Committee first. Also, she's Number One because she is the defending Golden Halo Champion, having shepherded Florence Nightingale to the highest of honors in 2017. But that's just mere coincidence.

Anna Fitch Courie

Anna Fitch Courie Anna Fitch Courie is an army wife, nurse, layperson, and the author of “Christ Walk: A 40 Day Spiritual Fitness Program” (Church Publishing, Inc., 2015); “Christ Walk Kids” (Church Publishing, 2016); “Sally the Comet” (CreateSpace, 2015); “Sally and the Constellations” (CreateSpace, 2017), and “The Adventures of Cancer Girl and God” (Church Publishing, 2018). Anna finds her calling where health and spirituality intersect. Anna is a registered nurse by training and has been working in the health care field for the past twenty years. More recently, she has been a consultant on building community coalitions on health. Anna is a graduate of Clemson University, the University of Wyoming, and Education for Ministry at Sewanee: the University of the South. She is currently enrolled at Ohio State University in the Doctoral in Nursing Practice program. In her spare time, she fights cancer, consults in public health, and runs Christ Walk, retreats, writes books, and blogs for “50 Days of Fabulous” and “Lent Madness.” In her dream world, she hikes the El Camino and Mount Rainier, sails, travels, cooks, reads, and attends every Clemson football game each season. Home is wherever the Army (and God) sends her. You can find her on her blog at Christ Walk; on Facebook; on Twitter @christwalk1; and on Instagram @christwalk1.

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After last week's "Monday" Madness on Tuesday edition, you'll be relieved to know that all is again right with the world. Monday Madness has returned to...Monday. This week, Tim and Scott discuss the Lent Madness pre-season, a time when the saints prepare for the Lenten grind that is to come. They're hitting the gym for their saintly workouts, doing Halo Yoga (which is like hot yoga, but holier), and getting their souls into mid-season form.

Also, and most important, the Supreme Executive Committee is considering a Lent Shutdown. How can you avert this looming catastrophe? Well, Tim and Scott, stubborn overlords that they are, are demanding 20,000 likes on the Lent Madness Facebook page. With "only" 17,774 likes, it is critical to get to 20,000 before Ash Thursday. So make sure you invite your neighbors, co-workers, and every single person at your church to head over to the Lent Madness Facebook page and LIKE THAT PAGE. Lent itself hangs in the balance.

It wouldn't be a Monday Madness without mention of the Lentorium, so fear not. Scott and Tim remind you that your go-to source for Saintly Scorecards (single or bulk) and Giant Bracket Posters is online. Buy now to beat the rush. And then make sure to get yourself into tip-top Lenten shape by doing finger curls to strengthen your voting finger. In a close match-up, it could make all the penitential difference!

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If you watched yesterday's edition of Monday Madness, you know that Tim and Scott revealed a well-kept secret about the world's most popular online Lenten devotion. Participation in Lent Madness is...(shhhhhh)...entirely free. You can simply download a bracket and vote during the weekdays of Lent.

Sure, you can purchase copies of The Saintly Scorecard: The Definitive Guide to Lent Madness 2018 or giant bracket posters to put up at church or Lent Madness mugs. And, yes, the Bible says (somewhere), "God loves a cheerful purchaser of Lent Madness tchotchkes."

But beyond our "no purchase necessary" approach to Lenten learning, we have one more item to give you. A token of our appreciation; a free pre-Lenten gift in the form of...an article about Lent Madness!

Perhaps you edit your church's newsletter. Maybe you like to share really long posts on Facebook. Or spam your friends and relatives with unwanted e-mails. However you want to use it, the article and accompanying graphics below are yours for the taking. Because we care. Enjoy!

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Tim and Scott may not be able to turn water into wine, but one of the great advantages of being Supreme is the ability to change Tuesday into Monday. Because yesterday was a holiday (celebrating Martin Luther King, Jr., prophet and sometime Lent Madness competitor), Tim and Scott are releasing Monday Madness on Tuesday.

Yes, folks, we are entering Lent Madness high season. Ash Thursday is February 15! Which means you can now look forward to weekly videos to put you in the Lenten mood and prepare for the Madness that is to come.

We suggest you dim the purple lights and head over to the bracket page of the website to find out who's in this year's competition and when they are competing. You can study the saints on Wikipedia, in your public library, or by wandering through European cathedrals. Of course, we would be remiss if we didn't also tell you about the fabulous Saintly Scorecard. It's a steal at just three bucks. You can buy them in bulk for $2 each, and if you buy 30 or more copies, they're just a dollar each (sold in sets of 10). The scorecard is also available for your favorite e-reader (Kindle, Nook, and iBooks).

You can also either print your own personal bracket or buy a giant bracket poster.

Whatever you do, make sure you're getting ready for Lent Madness!

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This is the season of waiting and preparation. We are preparing our brackets for Lent Madness 2018 and waiting for Lenty Claus to come bring us wonderful Lenten gifts. In this month's video episode, Tim and Scott talk about the most sought-after gifts of the season.

Yes, that's right. You'll get inside information on this year's edition of the Saintly Scorecard (buy singles for $3, or buy in bulk for as low as $1 each!) and Giant Bracket Poster (buy one for just $11). Just how many Saintly Scorecards can be stuffed into a purple stocking? This is the year to find out!

If you're sick of hearing Christmas music at the mall, we suggest going out for a nice meal of locusts and wild honey while you listen to monks chanting Advent calls to repentance. Or, if that doesn't sound like fun, order a pizza and binge-watch back episodes of Tim and Scott and their award-(as far as you know)-winning videos.

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Ever since Florence Nightingale was crowned with the 2017 Golden Halo, the anticipation over the 2018 Lent Madness bracket has been nearly unquenchable. Nominationtide produced a flurry of saintly suggestions from all over the the globe which were narrowed down at the Supreme Executive Committee's secretive spring retreat.

Following last week's bracket leak at the nefarious hands of the international hacking organization LentiLeaks, tensions were running high as the SEC prepared to release the official bracket. Fortunately increased cyber security prevented further leaks and we have arrived at All Brackets' Day with the bracket -- and the integrity of Lent Madness -- intact.

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In a disconcerting turn of events, the Supreme Executive Committee has confirmed that a portion of the 2018 Lent Madness bracket has been illegally leaked online. The hack into the Lent Madness system comes just ahead of All Brackets' Day on November 3rd, when the entire bracket of 32 saints will be officially released to the public.

"We're pretty sure it was the work of the international hacking organization LentiLeaks," said Lent Madness founder Tim Schenck.

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For most people, "Oklahoma" evokes images of cowboys, surreys with fringes on top, and perhaps Sooners. The Supreme Executive Committee of Lent Madness, however, are not most people. Mix in 1,000 teenagers and 100 degree weather and the SEC sees nothing but Lent!

That's right, Tim and Scott are in Oklahoma City for the Episcopal Church's triennial Episcopal Youth Event and they are busy spreading Lenten joy wherever they go. "Oh, what a beautiful morning," indeed. But handing out hundreds of Golden Halo Flying Discs and taking selfies with throngs of young Lent Madness fans is a mere precursor to the main event: a play-in match to determine the first saint to make it into the 2018 Lent Madness bracket.

The young people here at EYE will soon be casting what will likely be the most important vote of their lives as they help shape next year's Saintly Smackdown. On Thursday at lunch they will decide between two "badass saints" -- Longinus and Quiteria. According to the Internet, these two saints are the most truly badass saints in Christian history. Who are these two saintly souls? Tim and Scott explain in a video that will be shown on the big screen to the 1,400 youth and adults here in Oklahoma. Check it out!

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