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Church Obesity

April 30, 2012

WORDS FROM W.W. April 30, 2012

I returned last Wednesday from being with my mom and dad in Ohio for two weeks. Since my mom is almost entirely bedridden, Dad and I ate dinner at the house just about every night. My sister, who lives down the street, would cook a double portion- one portion for her and her husband, and one portion for Dad and me.

Chicken salad casserole…meatloaf…spaghetti and meatballs…pot roast…potato salad…lasagna…banana cream pie…the food just kept coming. “Lord, bless this second helping I’m about to have…and may there still be room in my tum-tum for pie!”

Seriously, I was there for two weeks and I gained ten pounds…and that’s with just eating an infant-size cup of Activa yogurt for breakfast! If I had stayed another week I could have applied for a position as a boulder! It would have been a new version of “Rock and Roll!”

The thing is…my weight gain was the result of a few subtle changes in my usual daily routine. In Colorado I’m usually pretty active…early morning hoops at the “Y”…walks with my wife in the evening…a lot of movement during a typical day…but in Ohio I was focused more on being with my parents, being stationary. The setting necessitated a lack of movement, and my sister is a great cook! Did I mention the squash casserole or the lemon cake?

It gives me pause to consider what happens quite often in a church. There’s a lot of “feed talk” in church. People want to be fed the Word, they want to feast on sermons and Bible studies and Sunday morning fellowship donuts.

There is a time for a feast, and there is a time for implementing.

I wonder what the reaction would be is the pastor or the teacher were to say, “That is the lesson for the day, the food for thought. Now, there will be more no food until you do something with what you just received.”

What is we were to implement an exercise program, a putting my faith in action exercise program?

It was easy for me to become physically inactive, but a food glutton. Within a few days I had been transformed…and extra waist size!

The danger is for a church to encourage church obesity. That is, a person losing focus of what is outside the walls, and becoming focused on the next spiritual offering.

Don’t misunderstand me! There are plenty of examples of congregations that offer spiritual lean cuisine that leaves a person without the spiritual nourishment to put their faith into action. There just needs to be some balance. A church that doesn’t offer spiritual nourishment is a church that is, or soon will be, insignificant and irrelevant. A church that practices the “Golden Corral principle” is the church that will create faith waddlers, who partake of sermon after sermon and then take a long nap.

Categories: Christianity, Faith, Humor, Story, The Church, Uncategorized
Tags: Obesity, Spiritual Growth

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One Side of the Conversation

April 29, 2012

WORDS FROM W.W. April 27, 2012

“I don’t know! Should I get fresh broccoli or some asparagus? The asparagus looks pretty good, but the broccoli would be cheaper this week.”

As I stood in front of the cucumbers, I didn’t quite know what I should say to the attractive thirtysomething lady who was on my left staring at the broccoli. I paused…

“Well…what do you think? Which would you rather have?”

These are not easy decisions for a man to make who is now at a point in his life when he has to consider the implications of any food he eats and how it will effect his digestive system.

“I could get both!”

That’s what I usually do. Go to the store to get a loaf of bread and then I don’t want it to feel too lonely in my basket so I get a few other items to keep it company.

“I think I’ll just go with the asparagus.”

“That would be a good choice,” I finally manage to say.

“Did you say something?” she asked, turning towards me.

That’s when I noticed the Bluetooth headset that was positioned in her left ear.

“Oh…I thought you were talking to me when you were trying to make a decision on the broccoli or the asparagus.”

Awkward moment!

“No, I was talking to my husband.”

“I apologize. I didn’t think you were talking to me…but then I wasn’t sure…and I think I’ll head over to see what the strawberries look like.”

Awkward moment now punctuated with red face!

How strange it often is to try to understand the phone conversation of just one person when you aren’t privy to what is being said on the other end.

How strange do some of the prayers of others seem when we are knowledgeable of what has gone on in their lives, or what their hearts are crying out to God about.

That even became apparent in some of Jesus’ prayers. His disciples often didn’t understand what Jesus was talking to God about…okay, maybe they very seldom DID understand what he was praying to God about. They missed some of his heart cries, what ailed him.

Most of the time we are not in the know about what God has been stirring in a person’s spirit. Someone who is able to verbalize might be about to fill us in on the story, but “God leadings” are frequently hard to put into words. They simmer in our soul like a new pot of stew, waiting a bit to allow the favor to flow out. And when they flow the listener still heard just the one side. The voice of God may not be heard, but there is often a whisper of it in the storyteller’s sharing.

Spiritual journeys therefore are enriched when “one side of the conversation” people join together and share their stories of God. The more stories that we hear the more weavings get threaded through to the picture that God is creating.

Categories: Christianity, Faith, Humor, Story, The Church
Tags: Prayer

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Behavior Modification or Transformation

April 20, 2012

WORDS FROM W.W. April 20, 2012

“Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is- his good, pleasing, and perfect will.” (Romans 12:2)

When I was in first grade I pulled a chair out from the boy who was sitting in front of me in Reading. It was hilarious to me…for a moment! Then my teacher grabbed me off of my chair, stood me up, and shook me! Not something teachers, who want to stay employed, do today, but effective. Never again did I think about pulling the chair our from under an unsuspecting student, although I wanted to on numerous occasions.

My behavior was modified. The laughter of a student sprawled on the classroom floor was soon erased by a bespectacled instructor peering down at my puny little body. I learned to not do things that upset my teacher…when she was around.

It was not a transformation experience. It was a modification moment. The first of many in my first grade year. (Another was throwing wet paper towels in the restroom at boys who were using the urinals! In case you’ve never done that…don’t! It resulted in my first opportunity to see the inside of the principal’s office!)

In our faith journey with Jesus we talk about having a transformation experience, coming to that point when we realize that we are saved by the grace of God through faith in Christ. We talk about asking him to be our Lord and Savior. It is a Damascus Road experience, a kairos moment> At that moment we know things will never be as they were again. It’s a new way.

Yesterday I was riding with my sister to Ironton, Ohio, where she teaches a Thursday afternoon class at the college. As we traveled along the usual route traffic was backed-up because of some work that the road construction crew was doing on the hillside removing some huge boulders that were putting vehicles in peril. My sister turned around, headed back the other direction, and suddenly turned left. We headed down a narrow road that had more curves in it than a Sandy Koufax Dodgers’ game in the Sixties. We actually went through a place called Possum Holler. It was like riding a roller coaster on asphalt.

But somehow we came out on a road that led into Coal Grove, Ohio, that then led to Ironton. The usual way led to danger. We had to change our way. It was the Ohio version of someone saying “We aren’t in Kansas anymore, Dorothy!”

Spiritual transformation is God grabbing hold of our hearts and then we realize we must change our way. It’s taking us through “Possum Holler”, because, otherwise, there is no reason why we would want to go there.

Behavior modification is changing my ways. Spiritual transformation is changing my way. Modification is realizing that the principal’s office is not where I want to visit very often, so I’m going to be a good boy, or maybe a better boy. Transformation is realizing that my life has purpose and the principal’s office is a dangling boulder that does not need to be a part of it.

In our faith walk there is a subtle difference between conforming to a church’s culture and being transformed by the Spirit. The first can mask itself as the second. The first changes the exterior, the second is an internal working that changes me externally. The first is my pulling the chair out from under my classmate, realizing that will get me into hot water, so I never do it again…but I’d still like to!

Conforming or being transformed…changing my ways or finding the Way.

Categories: Christianity, Faith, Humor, Parenting, The Church, Uncategorized
Tags: Behavior Modification, Discipleship, Ironton, Romans, Transformation

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If Jesus Were To Be On Undercover Boss

April 19, 2012

WORDS FROM W.W. April 19, 2012

“The King will reply. ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters, you did for me.’” (Matthew 25:40)

A current show on TV that is pretty interesting is Undercover Boss. The plot revolves around a company CEO, or similar, going into one of the company’s business locations as a “bottom rung” employee and getting a new perspective on how things get done, the attitudes of the employees, how customers get treated, and the frustrations of the lowest level positions.

I was at a Long John Silver’s restaurant last night in Huntington, West Virginia, and I left there muttering to myself “I wish an Undercover Boss would visit this establishment!” After standing in front of the disinterested employee for a good minute, and there was no one else in line before me or after me, she then acknowledged my presence with a pseudo-interested “How are you today?” Having just read Lencioni’s The Three Signs of a Miserable Job, I wanted to ask her “What is the purpose of your job?”…but I didn’t!

As I left the restaurant and headed to CVS for some Pepcid, I thought of Jesus! After all, eating a sampler platter at LJS probably brought me a few steps closer to meeting Jesus…for eternity! (I wonder if they have Friday Night Fish Fries in heaven!)

I thought about Jesus doing an episode of Undercover Boss in one of his churches. What would that look like? I’m imagining conversations. Our church is small enough that any visitor stands out, but also there has developed a deeper interest in recognizing one another. That is, if you are in attendance at one of our worship services everyone gets greeted. In fact, restoring order after the time of greeting is like herding cats. So, I’m pretty confident that Jesus would be inundated with greetings and handshakes.

But Jesus, being the One who knows the truth, the way, and the life…since he is…would also, I’m sure, discover the dirty little secrets that are a part of every congregation. I don’t think he’d ask much about programming and curriculum, or even about the songs that were sung or the organ that wasn’t used. I think he’d focus on the church’s relational life- how the church communicates the love of Christ to one another, how the church “cross-generations” itself in conversations, how much talking it has about “God things” and “Christ-learnings.”

“How does the Body find out that Betty is in the hospital?”

“How does the church specifically pray for Jim’s job situation?”

“How does the Jones family sense the church’s concern for their eleven year old son who was just discovered to be diabetic?”

“How does the Body keep talking about their “new life” experiences?”

And I think “undercover Jesus” would focus on how the faith experience is meshing with life. In other words, his discoveries would be made just as much outside the walls of the church building as in it. Dare I say, even more of the “aired episode” would be in the out-and-aboutness of “the church”!

I could see Jesus “shadowing” the fourth grade teacher into her classroom.

“Why do you bring extra snacks with you to school?”

“I’ve got a few students who very seldom are able to bring a snack with them. They know that there will be something for them if they have nothing. “Nothing” is more their norm, and it’s because that’s how it is with their family’s situation.”

Jesus Undercover would reveal the connection and disconnections between faith and life. Lived-out faith, if you will!

Finally, I think Jesus would focus on “hope.” How does his church give signs of hope and words of hope to the community? How does hope become a part of the proclamation of the Gospel? How much does the church buy into the message?

The young woman at Long John Silver’s had not bought into it. She was getting some things out of it- a pay check and an attitude of indifference- but if the deep fryer at LJS malfunctioned and the restaurant burned down today her response might more likely be “Thank God! A free night!”

Of course, in regards to the faith community and our faith, the Word tells us that our love for Jesus is lived out in how we love one another. The living out of our faith is intimately connected with how we treat one another.

For the record, don’t get the fried shrimp at LJS. I think they put in an order for the smallest possible shrimp available! Why do they always look so much bigger on the menu board?

Categories: Christianity, Faith, Humor, The Church, Uncategorized
Tags: Jesus Christ, Long John Silver's, Mission, Purpose, Relationships, Undercover Boss

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Becoming Senior Menu Eligible

April 29, 2009

A new day is dawning! I’m not sure whether to welcome it or dread it, but it’s coming either way.
On Cinco de Mayo I reach 55! I will now become eligible to order off of the senior menu at a number of restaurants. It is the section that, for the past several decades, I have raced by in my decisions of what to have for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. It’s the section that does not feature cheeseburgers, southern fried chicken, or a slab of ribs smothered in sweet honey barbecue sauce. No bottomless pasta bowl offers are on it.
I haven’t looked that closely yet, but I don’t believe it has a dessert section in it. I figure that the restaurants assume that extra green beans on the dinner plate are preferable to extra hot fudge on the sundae. It’s the senior version of being given the TV remote control, told you can watch whatever you want, and then discovering there are only two channels. It’s guided freedom.
It has, instead, featured the equivalent of a “No Trespassing” sign at it’s heading by simply saying “55 and Over Menu.”
For some reason I’m not feeling the same way I did when I discovered I was tall enough to finally ride the “Scrambler” at the amusement park. Being able to order a special serving size of liver and onions does not prompt me to begin salivating.
I wonder if the server will check my ID the first time I attempt to get the “turkey roll.”
“Sir, that part of the menu is for those 55 and older.”
“I am! See.”
“Well, I guess you are! Well…you look very well preserved for your age!”
Life is filled with milestones. Sometimes they are welcomed and sometimes they are dreaded. The birth of my grandson was welcomed. My first root canal was dreaded. Both were experienced—celebrated or endured—and both taught me. The first about the celebration of new life and the joy it brings; and the second about flossing better in the future.
“Becoming Senior Menu eligible” reminds me that I’m not getting any younger; that even as I press on towards the purpose God has for my life, and fulfilling the potential He has gifted me with, I am faced with the changes and challenges of growing older. I will not stop pressing towards fulfilling my purpose, but I will survey the path a little more carefully.
A few years ago I was training to run the Pike’s Peak Ascent race, a 13.2 mile run to the top of the mountain, for insane people. I would train by going over to Barr Trail, the trail that is also used for the race, and running usually four to five miles up. When I did that I would, of course, have to turn around and run back down. Running down is harder on you physically than running up because of the pounding your ankles and knees take. The first couple of times I ran down I stumbled several times on tree roots sticking out, or rocky places that one of my feet would clip as I went over it. After a while I discovered that running down wasn’t about how fast I could get back down to the bottom, but rather “how fast I could get back down to the bottom safely.” I found out from experience that there were certain spots to slow down at, or certain places where it was better to pass to on the right side of the trail rather than the middle.
Hitting 55 is like a “life point” where you, hopefully, have become a little wiser, a little slower, a little more limited, but also a little clearer on the direction you’re heading in.
55 on 5/5!
“Waiter, waiter! Liver and onions for everybody!”

Categories: Grace, Humor, Pastor, Story, Uncategorized
Tags: Aging, Fifty-five, liver and onions, senior citizens, senior discounts, Senior menu

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