i wonder this. so many churches, big and small, all over our country (and in my traveling experience, yes, just our country…perhaps our canadian neighbors? i dont know…) seem to shove food down our hungry little throats.
i understand there is personal responsibility, and aside from that, are we feeding our culture’s hungry consumeristic monster as well as the people who walk in the doors of our church?
let’s think about it. in the churches i have visited in the last four years, we either give away or sell the following:
- donuts
- candy (available at childrens/youth services)
- sodas
- lattes, mochas, smoothies
- orange juice (the bad, concentrated kind)
- bear claws
- pizza, pizza, pizza
- more soda
- more candy
- more coffee
this isn’t about whether or not church can make you fat. but are we (generally speaking) setting an example on how we should care for our bodies and/or spend our money by making these things so readily available?
we say sacrifice your latte and help pay for our building yet we sell you a four dollar latte. we say don’t sleep around and exercise and get sleep but we’ll stuff you full of krispy kreme. we say teach your kids the importance of a dollar, don’t spoil them, yet we give them $2 before their children’s program so they can buy a soda and a nerds rope and some reeses?
i say this of course after eating far too many christmas cookies and drinking two cups of peppermint hot cocoa…
what do you think?
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Please don’t suggest we discard with the only things I like about church (I keep trying to tell myself I’m kidding).
this is something i often wonder myself but then i go back to the theory that the church is in the “customer service business.” if we get down to the nitty gritty of it all we find that that is true. i don’t think that is a BAD thing. i think that we do what we can to make our attenders comfortable and welcome. and in the case of my church – “seeker friendly” … in the american culture people are all about the extras. which usually means food. just the way of american culture. so we provide it. wrong? perhaps sometimes… i don’t know really. i sure do like my grande carmel machiato but is it the BEST for me? no.
You’re covering a lot of different ground here so i won’t try to touch on it all. I don’t think everything you mention is a direct contradiction. In other words, if my coffee money goes into the community pot as opposed to the mega conglomerate it’s not completely equal.
Regardless, you’re very right that we don’t value healthy eating and moderation in most of our settings. It’s something I continually struggle with – both as someone wanting to eat healthy and as someone who brings food to parties and events.
What foods do you major on to change the trend?
I wan to know what “Bear Claws” are?
I would agree with Crystal here. I think much of what we offer to eat at church is something that helps make our attenders comfortable and welcome. Espically for the new commer to church.
It’s like when you’re at a party. I always feel more comfortable when I have a drink or something in my hand. Coffee can be the same thing for many people. Should we offer better foods than what we do at church or most of our social settings? Sure. But I think the food we offer at church is something of a comfort item.
james: pretty much what it sounds like – but it is a donut type pastry thing.
Nice! I like to think that we’re doing what Jesus would do when we sugar-up the folks in our seats. After all, our Leader had a great idea when He chose to meet people’s physical needs before attending to their spiritual needs. I say, “Wake ‘em up! FiIl their bellies!” My hope is that they’ll hang in there with us a little longer on Sunday mornings and perhaps learn a thing or two. The weight of that bear claw in their gut might just be the tipping point for their eternity.
By the way… I’m writing from Canada and yes, we’re guilty as charged. However (in my church), we give it all away for free. No money changing tables. :)
I say fill ‘em spiritually, then fill ‘em with food. (I was going to say “fill them with nourishment”, but I like donuts too….)
I double what Crystal said. Not about the bear claw thing…the first thing. Yeah, the first thing.
I’ve brought this up at staff meeting before. My question is when did it become the churches job to provide and be as good at providing everything we can get everywhere else?
We tried discontinuing free donuts (free for the congregation but not the church budget) and had a mutiny on our hands. When we caved and brought the donuts back, we put out a plate and collect about half of what we spend.
our church has coffee (not good coffee, but caffinated at least) (and star bucks is accross the street, so all the staff goes there before church), and we put out apples, bags of chex mix and pretzels, and granola bars. cheese and crackers. our pastor is kind of an anti-sugar freak (love ya jim!) so we try to have healthy stuff. but then again, we have church in a movie theater, and my husband usually gets a slushie when the concession stand opens. (free refills!)