Fast Food Churches

Fast Food Churches

1/24/17

What a topic to have as a message from God, eh.  But this topic is one that has direct communication issues with God and the founder of the Church His Son Jesus.  How can one claim to belong to such an organization that is in and out so fast that everything has a time limit so that they can beat the lunch line at the local cafeteria?  When we worship God we should be completely involved where time is not a factor, for when we rush through services we place God in a box, a building if you please instead of allowing Him to minister to our hearts.  This is one of the major issues that our stomachs have for God and when serving Him in this capacity, it literally turns His stomach.

As one can tell by the title the subject of fast food will be on the menu; I know, bad joke.  I am in no way attacking these establishments nor am I against them for I patron these places from time to time.  It is a convenient matter that sometimes our lives demand that we have a fast and ready meal instead of a meal that takes longer to prepare and then eat.  I do not know about your house but almost every time we eat at a fast food place our stomachs and subsequently our digestive tracts suffer, not from the food itself but how it is prepared and the difference from the home cooked meals that we usually have.  It passes quickly but it is what remains in our minds when the thought of returning to such of an establishment that has the more resounding effect on our future.  And in keeping with the pattern, while the majority of the time the food at fast food places is acceptable, there is always one experience of bad taste that always is kept in the back of our minds.

While this setting can be conjured to just a physical quality of life, one can contend that church can supply the exact same setting for our spiritual lives and more likely than not will have a far longer lasting truth in our hearts than one bad experience at a fast food restaurant, even though the meals served are almost identical in nature.  Sadly, many of the modern day churches have adopted such meals to its congregants and it is through this type of placemats that are spiritually killing God’s children.  This type of adoption agency is not what God had intended for His Church and He guarantees that this type of service shall not be administered at His banquet table in heaven either.  God has never applied anything that is prepared half way or that is not good for a child of His and according to His Word, He cannot provide anything but something that is full of life.

How have we become so settled with this type of meals that we need to survive spiritually to be set before our spiritual lives?  Are we so afraid of the eternal truth that we have to sugar coat every word that we receive from God?  God’s Word is there for a reason and it was provided for us for an eternal reason and we cannot afford to lessen what the Bible states for when we do we allow our enemy to lull our spirits away from the realization of what eternity really provides.  God makes no bones about how important it is for us to follow His Word exactly and to hide His Word in our hearts so that we may follow His guide at all times.  It is this truth that we have the authority to know what God has said to His children and that we deserve better than the measly quickly prepared shortcomings that many pulpits deliver today.

A little over a month ago, our town welcomed another fast food restaurant into the confines of the city limits.  I must admit that even though this is a fast food type service setting it is a decent one and one that has a good reputation across this country and in some foreign countries as well.  It was hilarious to watch some of the comments being expressed on the local message board about how busy the place was, in fact, one of the comments said that that person believed that half the county was at the place when they drove by.  The newness of this place is what attracted many people to its grand opening with expected first days after its doors opened, and when I was reading these comments it was then that God dropped a few meaningful words about what was being served in many churches into my heart.  I must say the same type of atmosphere has been witnessed when another denominational church provides a new pastor or even opens up altogether; sad, but the truth.

There is no doubt about it that when a person eats at home it will always be cheaper and better for the family than eating out.  It does not matter if a family eats out only once a week, that specific meal, one that feeds the family adequately, will always be more expensive than feeding the family at home; even if it is the exact same menu prepared at home it will be cheaper.  It is the verse of the Lord’s Prayer that comes into play here and it serves our needs correctly both on the physical and spiritual side of our lives.  Having our daily bread requires our own effort, work needed in order to fulfill and to fill our stomachs with the necessary energy to combat the day, the same goes for the spiritual aspect of our lives as well and it is obvious that both aisles of the food encounters are making us anemic for the correct nutrients we need.  So, once again, God asks the question to His children, why do you settle for the same type of worthless food choices for your spiritual food as well?

I remember when I was a young teenager, it was popular to go to church and it was no big deal to proudly and loudly proclaim which church you attended.  Christianity was a good quality to have in the land and it was socially acceptable in almost every community; however, when some of the prominent leaders of the denominations began to fall from the glory which is of Rome, the once popular church community fell into an unsecured position of hypocrisy which she has never really recovered.  At the time I failed to recognize what actually had transpired during this time frame and once I began to study church history I realized that it was not just that time period (1980s) but that type of falling away had been present ever since the Early Church had been present.  The popular attraction of something new almost always grabs the attention from enough people to swell the masses to that establishment, and churches are no exception when it comes to this fact.  It is through this process that many good intentions fall and become shambles because the priorities of the leaders are misconstrued and can only produce a fast food service.  The people become disillusioned and settle for such a service which leads to an underserved eternal lifeline.

When a church begins to feed the attracted masses with this type of superficial food from the Word of God only bad things can result and if this fast food service of the Bible continues it shall provide shallow defenses against the enemy and spiritually starve the child of God from the nutrients that we need in order to spiritually survive.  It may seem like our spiritual stomachs are full but we are not being spiritually fed enough to maintain our stamina against our enemy much less carry the full armor of God either.  Talk about counting the cost, a superficial message may be quick and easy but in the long run, it shall cost a person their spiritual placement for eternity, so in the end which type of food is more costly?

When I was in Africa, every church service I attended including the large crusade services I witnessed hours and hours of people worshipping God and had no care in the world about anything else during that time.  Some of these same types of services here in the States would go on in this type of manner as well and then have a “family” potluck that would last until evening service time.  Services were not farmed or formed out and then quickly subverted because of varying places that the people believed that they needed to be rather than the house of God.  Ear tickling messages were not heard by those who were in the pews, a quality sermon from God’s Word for His people was delivered, a message that one could remember and count on to help them as their week rolled along.

How can a human body survive on ingesting this type of food on a regular basis?  There was a show on television not too long go that portrayed a man that would go around and eat at certain popular restaurants just to sample their menu, or to eat a portion of food that made that particular restaurant famous.  This man became overweight within a short period of time and after the series had ended he admitted that his diet needed to be changed and that he had become sluggish and continually did not feel well.  Does this sound familiar to anyone who has struggled with the quality of food service coming from pulpits?  It should because many pulpits are filled with this type of teaching and feeding and through this type of service the Church is dying spiritually and is about to be cut off at the head for she is already on her knees and it is not in front of her Creator either.

Fast food churches serve a selfish purpose and unlike a spiritually fed church, it cannot survive against the world so it follows the world instead.  A pulpit that provides this type of food does not stand in the confines and guidance of God’s Word, it cannot because, throughout the entire Bible, God made it clear that His children should be separate from the masses and not be in cahoots with the world and its provisions.  This type of pulpit strives to superficially provide lies to the church body, both the spiritual and physical included.  Yes, for the most part, a popular message will attract people and it might just might, increase the tithe a tad but most importantly the condition of the Church is deteriorating because the food provided is processed and not fresh and alive.

A good message from the Bible, one that has truth and holy meat, shall do more good to the child of God than any superficial, denominational agenda packed falsity prepared by Satan himself, for the Word of God can only provide life and the life that it provides can withstand any time frame which makes it eternal and everlasting, not weak or conflicting.  God is not a whimsical idea that is here one minute and gone the next but an eternal being that has given His Word as a source of eternal knowledge.  He can only provide the best meals according to what our bodies require, both spiritual and physical.  Home prepared meals are the best and when a stomach receives such a meal, the energy that is obtained can be seen with each step we take.  God’s Word is the exact same and the world can see what God is doing in our lives if we have studied His Word for one cannot hide the difference or the change from others around us.  It is our duty to provide a good spiritual meal to those who need it, so why do we settle for such fast food from the pulpit? 

Church, take a good look at what kind of food you are being served, for it is impossible for us to complete our mission if we are out of energy before we even step foot on the battlefield.  We can no longer afford to sit and hear fast food messages, we need the Word of God back into our hearts and if we do not begin to receive this food we shall never receive the goodness of God’s Word and fulfill His one command.  Repent Church and turn our pulpits back into lights and as a servant of God’s Word of good and healthy food delivery.  Times are about to get hard for everyone and if we are not spiritually prepared for this battle, not only will our personal lives be lost but our spiritual ones as well.  God’s Word serves as His table of life and we all need to be seated at His table which means that what our pulpits serve must be compatible with what God wants us to understand.  We must never forget that the Church is a Covenant institution and according to the origins of God's Covenant with mankind, there can never be anything superficial of "fast food like" about this process on any level.

DLB