Unfathomable though it may be, not everyone loves Lent Madness. At meetings of the Supreme Executive Committee, we often shake our heads in disbelief that there are a few people who find Lent Madness less than magnificent. As a gesture of good will, Tim and Scott have decided to answer the Top Ten Criticisms of Lent Madness. Think of these as at-the-ready talking points if you encounter a Lent Madness hater over chicken casserole at your ubiquitous Wednesday Evening Lenten program. You're welcome.

Top Ten Criticisms of Lent Madness

10. The SEC is rigging the results
Believe us when we say this: we have been as surprised and even outraged as you at some of the results. No one can predict what will happen in Lent Madness, with emphasis on the madness. If the SEC were rigging the results, Scott would not be in the bottom half of the Forward Movement office bracket pool. Now, granted, Scott once ran a full-fledged smear campaign to get George Herbert crowned with the Golden Halo (here, here, here, and here). But now that the SEC is formed, both Tim and Scott remain scrupulously neutral, working hard to ensure a free and fair contest every time.

9. The match-ups are unfair
The point of Lent Madness is fun, and it would be less fun if every contest featured a reformer against a reformer or an apostle versus an apostle. In its current form, we have to grapple with the outlandish notion of picking a modern witness for social justice or a biblical hero, for example. If that seems ridiculous to you, then we'd like to remind you that the entire concept of Lent Madness is that we're voting on a Golden Halo for people who are already in God's company. Lent Madness is not for the faint of heart, so if you can't decide between theologians of the fourth-century and preachers of the modern era, step aside.

8. Lent should be about self-flagellation not self-congratulation
Yeah, yeah, we've heard this plenty: "Every time I tune into Monday Madness, Tim and Scott are touting their latest media triumph. They've even been known to send Lent Madness mugs to church celebrities in exchange for 'mug shots.'" Here's the thing. Lent Madness was in USA Today this year. Last year it was the Washington Post and Sports Illustrated. While Tim and Scott have their picture in the paper, it's really not about them. It's about getting a new image of our church into the press. The SEC believes that it's better to have Lent Madness in the news than, say, lawsuits or church closings. Oh, and we don't much care for self-flagellation. We understand Lent to be a time for fresh conversion -- to renewing our commitment to following Jesus. You can do this whilst turning that frown upside-down.

7. This is a distraction from "real" Lent
See above. We would encourage you to pursue other Lenten disciplines. However, we think "real" Lent is about finding our way back to God. If this silly contest teaches us something about holy men and women, and if we are inspired to follow Jesus because of their example, then we'd consider the mission of Lent Madness accomplished. Also, "real" Lent just doesn't work for some people.

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The Supreme Executive Committee has been made aware of something called "Papal Madness," an effort to suggest an alternative for electing the successor to Pope Benedict XVI. In this so-called Papal Madness scheme, or should we say, schemes, brackets would be used to choose the Vicar of Christ.

You can see the problem. The Papal Madness people have stolen our idea. There is only one Madness right now, and it is Lent Madness. We expect a profuse apology any moment now. If only they had asked, we could have helped them. After all, doesn't it make sense that the Supreme Executive Committee would be involved in the selection of the Supreme Pontiff?

We also note that Benedict has decided to retire on February 28, the day that Benedict of Nursia enters the playing field of Lent Madness. Is the Holy Father setting aside the papal crown in order to lobby for the Golden Halo for his namesake? Or is the Pope planning to devote his time to campaigning for Gregory the Great, the only pope in the bracket this year? Only time will tell.

For now, it is enough for us to cry foul at another entity trying to ride our coattails. Lent Madness was created before the papal pretenders got into the bracket business. Until they repent, we declare a bracket anathema upon them. And we are considering unleashing the Lent Madness Legal Team upon their heads.

We have to draw the line. Otherwise, what's next? Announcing the election of a new pope with purple smoke?

In this week's episode of Monday Madness, Tim and Scott reveal the truth about the Pope's retirement. They also cover the action-packed world of Lent Madness as we are at the halfway point in the first round.

Visit the Lent Madness channel for more episodes. Don't forget to watch this week's video from Maple Anglican featuring color commentary from beyond the grave. There's also some fine work from The Seminarians.

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If your eye has ever drifted over to the right side of the Lent Madness website, you've no doubt noticed the Forward Movement logo there. Now if you know anything about Forward Movement, it might have surprised you that the venerable publisher of Forward Day by Day would sponsor Lent Madness. "Aren't these the people who publish pamphlets?" you might have said.

Here's the thing. Forward Movement has actually been working hard since 1935 "to reinvigorate the life of the church." The mission of Forward Movement is not to publish things, but rather to encourage discipleship and support evangelism. So Lent Madness is a perfect fit: it deepens our knowledge of how God has worked in the lives of ordinary men and women and it invites non-churchy types to think about saints.

If you're new to Forward Movement -- or if you haven't been keeping up with recent changes -- you might want to check out the website. There you'll find plenty of resources, both printed and electronic. Here are some recent hits:

• Their first smartphone app, Day by Day, is out for iPhone. In addition to the daily meditation from Forward Day by Day, you can get the complete text of the daily office -- including lessons, psalms, and proper collects -- in Rite I or Rite II. There's info about the saint of the day, and plenty more.
• The Bible Challenge is a book of meditations to accompany you on a yearlong adventure of reading the entire Bible. Contributors include SEC member Scott Gunn and Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby.
• Deep Wisdom, Holy Struggle was published in partnership with Trinity Wall Street. Continuing themes begun in Joan Chittister's book, The Radical Christian Life, Barbara Crafton offers reflections and questions on how the six pillars of Benedictine spirituality can be experienced and lived out in our lives as individuals and in community.
• For Lent, Forward Movement published a small book of meditations by Carol Mead called Disciples on the Way. We're still pretty early in Lent, so you could download the ebook today (for Kindle or Nook) and add another kind of Lenten reflection to your spiritual practice for the season.

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This weekend marks the first full weekend of Lent Madness, in which fans must survive 48 hours of vote deprivation. Lent Madness Withdrawal (LMW) is a well-known phenomenon, though its cure remains elusive. Maple Anglican has provided a handy video guide to surviving LMW, and we encourage you to check it out. Oh, and if you don't like the way he spelled a few words, remember that he is Canadian. Language is used differently up there, eh?

Last year, the SEC issued guidance on long-term LMW, and some of these techniques may help you this weekend. We are also forming support groups on Facebook and Twitter. You might like to look at glittering objects on Pinterest too. Together, we'll get through it.

Remember, there is hope: Monday morning brings the epic battle we've all been waiting for. Martin Luther vs. Martin Luther King, Jr.

After an exciting Ash Week here at Lent Madness, Tim and Scott are pleased to present Monday Madness for this first full week of Lent Madness 2013. In this episode they talk about some of the insane match-ups of Lent Madness, and how if you think they should be easy or "fair" then you are expecting the wrong thing. It's madness, not sanity. Included in this video are some shout-outs to a fan video, a first-time blogger inspired by Lent Madness, and two "Journal-themed" articles in mass media, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel and the Lincoln Journal-Star. Hint: Wall Street Journal, it's time for you to hop on the Lent Madness media machine!

You can find the complete corpus of Monday Madness on our Vimeo channel, and unlike Downton Abbey, we don't plan to kill off the main characters. Also, we only sell mugs, bracket posters, and ebooks, so you can get the entire line of tie-in merchandise without breaking the bank. Instead of holding boring Downton Abbey-themed parties where you have to decide if you are the upstairs or downstairs type, these videos might inspire you to host either an all-purple party or a dress-like-your-favorite-saint party. Thus Monday Madness is way better. Also, it doesn't incite class warfare.

Oh, and don't forget to watch Maple Anglican's most excellent video for this week of Lent Madness. We dig Archbishops Thomas and John, and we love Maple's choice of sports-style background music. Keep it up, Mr. Anglican!

Dateline: Commuter Stations Everywhere

Based on the overwhelming response to last year's Brackets to Go, it was decided to offer it again this year. You know, it's important to take the brackets to the people, rather than expecting the people to come to the brackets. Spreading the good news of Lent Madness at train stations 'round the world is just part of how we roll.

In the photo on the right, you'll notice that the bracketifer has even colored the train's map sign purple. It's another way of proclaiming Lent Madness to a world in search of voting direction.

People were, as you'd expect, moved by the experience. One recipient said, "With St. Chad of Lichfield in the bracket this year, I've been so worried about dimpled chads that I was afraid to print my own bracket," adding, "you've taken my fear away." Another person, named Martin, was thrilled, saying, "I'm so excited that the people of Lent Madness would seek out wandering souls like me, eager to make connections with first-round saints, such as Martin Luther and Martin Luther King, Jr. and Martin of Tours" In a flat rebuttal to those who think Brackets to Go is trite, Martin continued, "I will come to adult formation at the nearest Lent Madness parish, because I'm really confused about whether to vote for ML or MLK or MOT."

One clergy bracketifer shared her experience, "It was so moving to tenderly place the brackets into people's outstretched hands." Her lay assistant said, "Setting aside that egregious split infinitive, I agree. This was an amazing experience of providing reassurance that Lent Madness encompasses an inclusive array of saints, with at least one saint to which each person can connect." The bracketifer nodded in agreement, also impressed by the assistant's grammar.

The Supreme Executive Committee declined to issue a statement, seeking to empower the bracketifers, whether lay or clergy, to speak for themselves. Seeing an opening in the media limelight, another bracketifer contacted the reporter. "I don't understand why anyone would oppose this amazing experience of taking Lent Madness out of the interwebs and into the streets. Lent Madness is too important to keep to ourselves."

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NOTE: The SEC is having a bit of fun with the Ashes to Go media sensation. We're not mocking it, but rather riding the coattails of this internet meme. One member of the SEC has gone on record in support of Ashes to Go. So there.

As many Lent Madness fans will know, the whole thing is run by the modestly named Supreme Executive Committee. Composed of Tim and Scott, the SEC works tirelessly throughout the year to bring you Lent Madness. But there are sometimes grave challenges between these two, as they have mutually declared the other to be an archnemesis. This archrivalry began on their two blogs, Seven whole days and Clergy Family Confidential.

Anyway, because of their love of Lent Madness and you the global public, the SEC has agreed to set aside their differences for the Lenten season. Look for a (temporary) spirit of amity and cooperation.

Today both Tim and Scott have posted a notice on their respective blogs. Please go visit their blogs and leave comments of encouragement or derision. You are also welcome to take sides, if you so choose. But come Lent, let us all unite behind the banner of purple in the glow of the Golden Halo.

This rapprochement means Lent Madness can go on without melodrama inside the SEC. It also gives each of them about 47 days to scheme for advantage when the détente ends at the Great Vigil of Easter. For now, as we bury the alleluia on Shrove Tuesday, the SEC is burying the hatchet of enmity.

The anticipation is palpable. Lent Madness 2013 begins in just three days, on Ash Thursday. Go ahead and set your alarms now: the voting kicks off at 8 a.m. Eastern time on February 14, 2013.

Here's this week's episode of Monday Madness. If you love our new theme music, make sure you watch the "Making of" video.

While you wait, this would be a good time to go over your preparations. Now's when you should be ordering your Lent Madness 2013 mug (and a poster-sized bracket, too!). If this is your first time at Lent Madness, you might want to review Maple Anglican's excellent Voting 101 video.

Yesterday, we shared some Lent Madness buzz that we noticed on the interwebs. Today we thought we'd share the excitement that's building for Lent Madness in the form of Purple Fever. Make sure you tell all your friends to tune in on Ash Thursday (February 14) to vote in Lent Madness 2013!

Top Ten Signs of Purple Fever

10. People are eating purple food.

9. Large crowds are forming. We don't know if the guy in front is "blowing up the trumpet in Zion" per the Ash Wednesday readings, or trying to get the crowd to sing the Lent Madness theme music.

8. New York City is taking Purple Fever to the sky.

7. At least one member of the Supreme Executive Committee regularly uses a purple bridge.

6. People have started wearing purple hats to show their enthusiasm for Lent Madness. Others actually wear purple shirts.

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