How Cooking is Like Evangelism

Last updated on: August 4, 2010 at 5:27 pm by Richard Dahlstrom

How Cooking is Like Evangelism 2010-08-04T17:27:10-07:00 Richard Dahlstrom

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

When we packed for vacation, we didn’t have a menu. Instead we bought some stuff: string beans, apples, bluberries, spinach, mushrooms, onions, garlic, a little animal protein, some milk and cheese, some eggs. We brought some stuff from home too: butter, olive oil, coffee, coconut oil, nuts.

Now that we’re here, it’s just a matter of mixing things up the right way for the right moment. This is last night’s creation, which has no name, and will never be replicated. It has some beef, lots of mushrooms and spinach, and is seasoned with garlic, pepper, a tiny bit of salt, and some sun-dried tomatoes. I cooked it last night because I was looking for an excuse to eat sun-dried tomatoes, and this seemed like a good possibility.

“The right way for the right moment” is what’s key here, because when you look at how people who are effective at sharing their faith give verbal proclamation, you come discover one thing right up front: they don’t have a recipe. Consider Paul: With the Philippian jailer, he just says, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved.” To the folks in Athens, he quotes Greek Poetry. To Roman citizens, he present a legal argument. To Jews he draws upon Old Testament passages. His presentation is, in other words, always “the right way for the right moment”.

If I’m to be effective at inviting people to step into God’s great story, then I need to bring certain ingredients along, all the time, and be ready to serve up the good news in a way that’s uniquely crafted for each person, in the same way that I wouldn’t waste my sun-dried tomato concoction on someone who didn’t like tomatoes. I need to offer each person nourishment in a way they’ll be likely to receive it.

I’d suggest that there are several ingredients each of us needs if we’re to be effective in sharing Christ and inviting people into God’s story:

1. a genuine belief that God’s news is good. I know that I’ve offered people food sometimes that, when I tasted in the kitchen, was a disappointment to me: too dry, undercooked, over-seasoned, cold, whatever. When I bring it out, I’m half hearted about it because of this. The same holds true of sharing Christ. Unless I believe that the work He’s done in my life, and the story into which He’s inviting all of us is truly good news, and powerful enough to change the world, I’ll serve it up half-heartedly. When that happens, all the good ingredients in the world, won’t help the other enjoy the food.

2. I need a decent command of God’s big story, or at least how it’s playing out in my own life. Not having a sense of humanity’s problem and/or, God’s grand solution, will mean that I’ll be trying to serve life giving food without having life giving ingredients. I’m working on a little pamphlet that will offer the key ingredients in a nutshell. I’ll tell you about it when it comes out sometime this fall.

3. I need to listen to one’s I’m serving because that’s the only way I’ll know how best to present the food. Paul would never have wasted his time quoting poetry to the Philippian jailer, but it’s central to his talk given to the Athenians. How did how know when to use poetry, and when to just say, “believe!”? The answer is simple: Paul listened to people. Listening is a lost art these days – just look at government, or the way conservative and emergent Christians argue with each other.

Until I listen to the other, my chances of sharing life with him or her in a way that is really serving, and life giving, is remote at best. James said it this way: “your ears should be bigger than your mouth” (that’s my paraphrase). I’ve some distance to go here, but I’m finding that the more I listen, the better the relationships, and hence, the better the sharing of God’s grand invitation.

When these three ingredients (belief that God’s news is actually good, a decent command of God’s big story, and a capacity to listen before speaking) are in place, inviting people into the grand adventure that is God’s story in this world is both more joyous, more natural, and more fruitful.

Can you think of other important ingredients?

exhaling

inviting

Previous Post

August 3, 2010

Getting there from here...

Next Post

August 7, 2010 Alone again, naturally.

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category body bridges church coffee with God Creation exhaling generosity Inhaling intimacy inviting justice leadership life questions Rest and Sabbath Reviews Rule of Life Uncategorized

Select a Month July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 August 2009

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz