"What's for Dinner?"

“A body of Christian believers is only as strong as the sum of its individual members, for the Church, like Israel, functions as a corporate personality. The lives of its members are intertwined and find their truest meaning in a network of relationships within this body. As a Jewish sage once observed, ‘There is no room for God in him who is full of himself.’” –Marvin R. Wilson, Our Father Abraham: Jewish Roots of the Christian Faith

As a person who believes in ripping the guts out of the status quo with deadly force, figuratively speaking, there have been plenty of opportunities for me to experience criticism.

Usually the criticism is focused on where the idea for ministry strategies and techniques are gleaned. A common response to informing a congregation of an effective ministry done by such and such a church leader would be, “Why do we always have to do what “other” churches are doing?”

Let’s never forget that there is only one church. Within the Christian world, we are all members of the same family.

I like to think of other bodies of Christ as my brothers and sisters who live in a different house. They don’t want me lying in their bed, but they are more than willing to let me hang out in their kitchen to experience their menu.

The wonderful thing about us all being one family is that there are parts of our family that have learned, experienced, and perfected healthier ways to prepare food. Why should one of our family members be kept from that wealth of health?

So, when someone in another city, state, or country has figured out a ministry method that is effective for feeding “His” sheep, we should not say that the method belongs to another church, but it is the food that Christ is using to nourish his sheep.

There are still restaurants that refuse to update their menus, continuing to serve foods that are loaded in sugars and saturated fats. There are also plenty of people who still eat those foods. Look closely and you will identify selfishness, arrogance, and/or ignorance as the reason for the unwillingness to serve and eat healthier.

We should all be privy to the details, preparation, and serving methods of the effective recipes that are feeding the sheep.

It is not our responsibility to have “our own” menu, but to find out what God is serving.

"The third time he said to him, 'Simon son of John, do you love me?' Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, 'Do you love me?' He said, 'Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.' Jesus said, 'Feed my sheep'" (John 21:17 New International Version).

Forever learning,
Johnny