2/23/08

Just A Thought #2

Fast Food Christianity

Modern day Christianity has developed a trend that is becoming more and more pervasive, especially in North America. I am calling this trend “Fast Food Christianity.” What is it? It is basically a cheap, quick and no commitment style of Christianity.

Am I being too harsh? Look around and you will see numerous parallels between dining and church going. When you are hungry and in a hurry, you pull into the most convenient place. You pull up to the drive thru, place your order, pay, get your food and leave. “Boom!” You’re done. Occasionally you may go inside, sit amongst a few strangers, eat and leave, tossing your trash away and not looking back.

Now let me describe “Fast Food Christianity.” The “customer” in this case may have a regular church but there is no commitment. They may know a few other regulars, but these people tend to slip into their seats unnoticed. They like the cloak of invisibility with the appearance of spirituality. They don’t want to participate in anything. Just listen to the sermon, maybe put in their offering, sit there for a time and leave. They may repeat this pattern at another service during the week but there just is no depth to this kind of Christianity. They sit, sing, listen and leave. They’ve got their fix and they’re done.

This is not to be confused with “Buffet Christianity.” This is the sampling of many things in the church. Trying everything it has to offer and never really focusing on any one item in particular. A new program is just like a new menu item. Sample it but don’t fill up on it. There is a shallowness to their church commitment and their spiritual walk. Have you ever seen a person at a buffet restaurant carrying a plate that is overloaded, to a table already full of plates from their prior trips to the buffet counter? Sometimes the plates are empty, but often they still contain half a piece of chicken, or bits of items the patron did not find as palatable as they appeared. In the church, these people could be compared to the ones who flit from one activity to the next—worship team today, benevolence ministry tomorrow; or even from one doctrinal belief to the next, or one church to another. There are always going to be times of searching out truth and finding the area God is leading a person into, but the mark of the committed Christian during these times, is going to be peace and joy and a sense of vision or direction, rather than just a loose “could-care-less” attitude, or a nervous hyperactivity.

What we need more of today though, are “Gourmet Christians.” These are the believers who are committed not just to church, but also to Christ himself. They don’t just sample Christianity on a weekly basis but are living it as a lifestyle. It is a devotion to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords. They don’t want cheap menu items or a sample platter. They want the whole meal. Everything Christ has to offer. They want it all and they are willing to wait on Him, rather than demanding to be served immediately. They are sold out, dedicated, radical, on fire believers. Nothing is good enough if He is not in it. They live, breathe, eat, sleep and worship the Father. They want to listen to His every word. They long to sing praises to Him. They love to talk with Him. It is this “Gourmet Christianity” that we need more of today. The hard part is the price we pay. More expensive then fast food and buffet, it costs more than we know. It cost Christ His life. It costs us our lives as we lay them at His throne. It isn’t easy, but oh, the fullness of partaking of Christ!

I challenge everyone reading this to come away from the fast food. Stop rushing to the buffet line. Sit at the feet of Christ and experience the real thing. Feast at His table, on the Bread of His Presence and drink the Wine of New Life.

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