The Gnostic Pastor

At just about every seminary, emphasis is placed upon the holistic development of the student, not only intellectually, but also spiritually. Some would refer to this as the maturity of both head and heart. The concept of holistic development is a very good thing. However, if often excludes one area that is very important – the physicality of human beings. We do a terrific job of furthering growth in the academic realm and also in our spiritual journeys. Nevertheless, our flesh is ignored.

Gnostics believe in the Platonic dualism that spirit is good and matter or flesh is bad. Thus, they sought to unite with the spiritual realm and leave the human realm behind. We may be going down a similar path with pastors. In all the seminary catalogs that I scoured while contemplating seminary, I did not find one that offered a course on health or nutrition. You may be objecting thinking that seminary is not the place for such classes to take place. But, if we truly are seeking to develop holistic pastors, we must acknowledge the physical side of pastors. Sadly, very few people follow the food pyramid, myself included. Pastors also have a tendency to eat out often with parishioners. Eating out is not necessarily bad, but healthy choices must be made. Essentially, we need to re-educate pastors how to eat healthy and to take care of their bodies physically. Stress and some other emotions are tied to the foods that we eat (desserts being an example). Also, sadly, many pastors suffer heart attacks. I say we need to be preemptive in combating future health problems by teaching pastors how to care for their bodies. If anything is neglected in seminary, it is not the head or heart, but rather the body. And to be blunt, if the body stops working, it really doesn’t matter how developed the head or heart have become.

I would like to see classes in seminary on health and nutrition. We must learn how to take care of our bodies through healthy eating and exercise. I think it’s vital to long-term sustainability for pastors. If we seek to be holistic, not only in word, the physical aspect of people must be addressed.

The Cost of Eating Healthy

mk’s comment on my last post about Christians and food provided a great transition for what I wish to write about today: Eating healthy is costly. I use costly as a very broad term, seeking to encompass all the different facets of cost. First, there is the price of food. Good, healthy food may cost you more financially. I am not necessarily referring to simply the high price of organic or all-natural food. Highly processed foods saturated with preservatives cost very little because our food industry is a science able to manipulate corn into anything that tickles our fancy. All-natural mac and cheese is at least two times as much as the cheapest stuff on the shelf. Free-range chicken or beef can be 3 times as expensive of those coming from feedlots or chicken houses. The disclaimer of this first point however is that fruits and vegetables really are not that expensive. Believe me. I’m not talking about the canned stuff but the fresh fruits and vegetables. I bought a jalapeno for 8 cents today. I think that’s a steal. My yellow onion: 47 cents. That 10 pound bag of potatoes: $2. Lettuce for a dollar, spinach for two. A pound of apples for $1.50, a pound of cantaloupe or bananas for 49 cents. I can hear you saying aloud, “Wow, that’s really cheap. Maybe I should start buying more fruits and vegetables.” But this brings me to the second cost – time. Eating healthy costs us our time. We have to prepare our food . . . slice the potatoes, dice the onion, boil the corn, slice the watermelon. We can’t just throw a frozen dinner in the microwave or that frozen pizza in the oven. We actually have to prepare the food. And this takes time (I must admit, sometimes I miss the caf at NWC). It’s easier to run to McDonald’s or Qdoba or Panda Express (there are a few healthy options at these places). By cooking our own food, we know what is being put into it. We are no longer in the dark of the many ingredients we don’t know how to pronounce, let alone have an idea of what they are. Lastly, we sacrifice our taste. I am not saying that eating healthy does not taste good. Rather, we have to re-train our taste buds to tell us what tastes good and what doesn’t. For example, if you don’t eat any sweets or sugars for a long time, you will begin to notice the sweetness of the fruit or the red pepper. Sweetness becomes redefined in our new diet. This isn’t an easy process and probably the worst thing to do is try and go cold turkey. But I do think this teaches us self-denial. Not only this last point, but all of them. Food is a gift. Gifts are to be cherished and not taken lightly. Too often we see food and eat it rather than thinking about where it came from and whom to give credit to for producing the food. Too often we forget that food gives sustenance to our bodies. Eating healthy means we take serious our gift of life, our gift of our physical being. But this costs us something. And these costs are what deter both you and I from eating in a healthy manner.

Church Potlucks

This is a continuation of my series on food. This is only the second post and you will find all the posts in this series in the “Food” category.

Today I want to talk about church potlucks. This is one of my fondest memories of the church growing up . . . at times, it rivaled the excitement linked with advent looking forward to Christmas. And the worst part is, they torture you by sitting through a service first. At least that’s what I thought as a child. As I grew older, I continued to appreciate potlucks in the church, especially as a poor college student. It’s plain to me and I hope it is to you, that church potlucks are sentimental to me.

However, my view of church potlucks is beginning to change. Yes, it is great to share a meal with brothers and sisters and the company is always enjoyable. But that’s not where my problem lies. A few years ago, a friend (who is now a pastor) humorously remarked that potlucks give Christians’ an excuse for gluttony. And often times this is correct (at least in my observation). At potlucks, people tend to eat far more than they need to. They are full, but because that cherry cheesecake was so scrumptious, they go back for another piece. And then grab one of those peanut butter chocolate chip cookies on the way. And then for good measure, another one of those brownies with the cream cheese swirls. And you noticed, all these have some in common. They are all desserts. This is the other thing that makes me suspicious of church potlucks. There always seems to be at least half of the tables covered with desserts. Half!? Are you serious!? You have to look hard for the fruit and vegetables, but luckily, with the overabundance of desserts, people usually pass over these healthy entrées. And although I used to be thrilled with the variety of desserts, I no longer find myself so enthused. I care about my body and I really try hard to take care of it. Not only in regards to stress and exercise, but especially in my diet. The food pyramid that is drilled into our minds as elementary school students really portrays the proper diet well. Maybe we should start hanging those at the beginning of our potluck lines. And maybe we should talk about overeating, about being good stewards of our body, not only spiritually, but physically. Maybe we should talk about what we eat at church potlucks and maybe we should talk about eating healthy in general. And maybe the church potluck would be a great place to exhibit healthy eating. And maybe we should talk about stress-eating and fasting and denying the flesh and not satisfying every little desire that emerges from within. Maybe we should exhibit self-restrain and self-control. Maybe we should pass on that third piece of apple pie à la mode.