Church, Inc.?

So as I mentioned before, I just finished the documentary Food, Inc. And here’s what got me.  Yes, seasonal organic vegetables and grass-fed beef tastes better and is better for our bodies, but what really struck me was the bigger picture–how easy it is for us to take a good intention (creating food that is cheaper and easier to produce) and carry it to such an extreme, tainted by a hint of selfishness and greed, that the next thing you know we have taken something God created as good and warped it.

In the most secular of films (filled with ridiculous allusions to evolution), what struck me most was how we have tried to take the place of God by improving upon what He created.  We’ve quit asking God how best to use the land He created, how best to grow the food He created, how best to feed the bodies He created.  And in that effort to engineer food by our own wisdom we’re awakened to how powerful we are, and that we can become richer and more powerful by what we’ve created.  And, next thing you know, we’re building the tower of Babylon, and it makes me shudder to think how God could frustrate such endeavors as He’s been known to do before.

It’s worth noting that what could have made the movie a million times better was if credit was given to the true Creator of food, land, bodies.  Though it makes me sad to see my amazing God blatantly ignored, I believe the truths still whisper His name.  It is impossible to hide His power and genius. (In fact, at one point they said, “Cows are designed by evolution to eat grass.”  Ha!  That’s hilarious. Evolution doesn’t design anything.  Speaking of a design speaks of a Designer.  I love that you can’t hide God!)

So, because the sacredness of the mundane pulses through my veins, because it is impossible to hide Him, we see God’s truth everywhere. Where truth is exposed, God is revealed.  And as I watched this film, I thought of some startling similarities between the food industry and, yes–modern Christianity.  And yes, that would be me first and foremost.  It’s too easy to point out flaws, but a lot harder to change one’s own habits. So under each observation, I have a What can I do? idea.  Just as the movie said, “You can vote three times a day.”  We can make real changes in the direction of modern Christianty by how we live our lives every single day.

1. A mass-produced, fast-food diet. Today, rather than growing our own food and eating the seasonal variety from our own region, we unquestioningly eat what is mass-produced and given to us.  Similarly, instead of digging into God’s Word on our own and reaping the spiritual lessons and insights from the Holy Spirit, we often depend solely on the professionals–professional pastors or writers or speakers who do all the studying and learning for us.  Then we can drive through our fast-food houses of worship and get filled up in 45 minutes or less.   We’ve lost the ability to dig on our own.

What can I do? Dig into God’s Word, on my own, every single day. Use sermons and books and teaching aids to supplement the daily interaction that I have with God on my own each day.

2. Less care for individuals. Bottom line is that the larger things get the harder it is to give individual attention.  So just as the Kentucky farmer was filmed picking up dozens of dead chickens from her filthy over-crowded chicken coops, the bigger and bigger our ministries become the easier it is for individuals to get trampled.  I am so guilty of this and asking God to help me.  Just this week I receive an email from a ministry partner. I took note of the information, made notes, made a plan for how to deal with the situation, and moved on to my next task.  Then today I realized that I never even emailed her back!! Yikes! I was so task-oriented I forgot about the person. Oh dear, Lord, help us to care for individuals.

What can I do? Just ask God to help us see every person we meet as an individual with thoughts, needs, emotions.  Help me think about how my words will impact him or her.  Help me remember that people are more important than programs.

3. Genetic Modification. This one’s scary to me.  The fact that chickens are now modified to such an extent that their breasts are twice as large as normal, that they grow twice as fast so that their bones can’t even hold up their weight and they often cannot walk, so that food is modified so that it all looks, tastes, and smells uniform–that one’s scary to me. They said in the movie, “Of course it’s not a real tomato that we’re eating, it’s the idea of a tomato, the notion of a tomato.”  And it made me wonder, are segments of the church in danger of a Genetically Modified Gospel?  A Gospel that still looks a bit like the real gospel, that tastes a bit like the real gospel, but a gospel that perhaps has… a hole in it? It surely is easier to swallow, but is it the real thing?  That’s the essence of Richard Stearn’s book The Hole in our Gospel.  And what about a gospel that tells you to live your best life now? A gospel that promises health and wealth and a new car and white teeth?  It looks so nice, but is it the real thing?

What can I do? Test all things, hold fast to what is true. Hold every claim up the truth of God’s Word.  IT alone is the standard of truth.

4. One Goal: Efficiency. This is another personally convicting one. Over and over in the film you see that the only goal is efficiency. The more efficient production is the more money can be made. Efficiency, efficiency, efficiency.  We’ve gained efficiency and forfeited our souls.  And, if I’m honest, I can see how this creeps into modern Christianity as well. Bottom line? True ministry probably doesn’t seem very efficient. Jesus’ ministry does not appear very efficient. I mean He really only reached out to 12 people. And one was a total dud!  He never ran around. He probably slept plenty. He never was in a rush.  And He only ministered actively for three years!  And…He changed the world forever.  This one challenges me.  Part of my personality is being wired to the core with the one overarching goal of efficiency.  Consolidate, combine, do two things at once, make decisions based on what is the most efficient method.  One of the things that struck me in the film was that cows are fed corn because it’s much more efficient than grass.  And yet the corn creates an unnaturally acidic environment in the cow’s stomach, which has led to the lethal strain of E. coli bacteria making its way into our meat, one that is resistant to the acid in human’s stomachs.  In that case, there are literally deadly consequences when we deviate from God’s design.  That was enough to make me think about how my love for efficiency can kill the true work of God,  if not kept in check with the truth of God’s Word.

What can I do? No matter what our personality, we simply have to cling closely to the truth of God’s Word, steep in His presence, and walk in the Spirit, so that His priorities and goals are our priorities and goals. Efficiency is great, but not at the expense of individuals.  For me this just means continuing to ask God in each situation, “God what is your idea of efficiency in this situation?”

So, perhaps it’s a stretch, turning a secular documentary on food  into a morning devotional.  But I’m thankful that God can show us Himself in everything, and I’m thankful for the little reminders as I walk with Him and serve Him in ministry.  I’m off to water the garden, play with my kids, and pray for the wonderful people God has placed me in ministry with.  And for the College & Career BBQ we’re hosting this weekend?  Local grass-fed organic beef. 🙂