Church's Role in Health & Wellness
Life is hard; food doesn't have to be #130 [vol6, 3.1]
I’ve overcommitted this week so I don’t have much margin to write. However, I wanted to sling out a podcast episode for your consideration.
Nearer the end of the podcast, my work with real food at our church is mentioned. More specifically, the School of Lunch program I attended this summer (I wrote about it here).
The topic of a healthy church is obviously near and dear to my heart.
Almost every week at Wednesday night supper, I’m asked about desserts…when will I start serving them? (Before I started cooking in the fall, it was standard to provide a big Baptist portion of dessert.)
My short answer, and I hope to write more soon!, is that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit. I must steward this body well. I appreciate what Matthew Gay is trying to do to promote wellness and hope you are encouraged by this podcast.
Specifically I remember hearing a clip of him saying on social media,
“We don’t offer alcohol to those who struggle with it, so why is it culturally acceptable to offer unhealthy food at church? Why offer so much sugar to people who have little self control?”
Show description: Is prioritizing health and wellness biblical? Matthew Gay is a Christian health and fitness coach who believes churches are contributing to the chronic disease epidemic in America. We discuss what God says about your health habits, how to edify the body of Christ when it comes to health and fitness, how to get motivated if you struggle to start, why every church needs a fitness ministry, and why Christians have historically had a very bad relationship with food!
Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark is a health and wellness podcast where each guest provides their own remedy to heal a sick culture - physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Apothecaries were the place where people would go for natural remedies, and Alex is restoring this concept by inviting expert guests is a health and wellness podcast where each guest provides their own remedy to heal a sick culture - physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Life is hard; food doesn’t have to be.
Julie
In case you missed it last week: how one nutritious meal a day matters.
Oh, I'm actually in the middle of listening to this. It's a topic I have thought about often. The general church food offerings are very sad. I have been a part of several church small groups with crunchy people and it's always a good time to share and discuss food choices.
I love the idea of a fitness or wellness ministry. It’s so true—seems like every church function includes the worst possible food we can think of to offer. I’d love to learn more about your journey/experience cooking for Wednesday night church. Have you shared about that in the past?