On not being fed...

I just started reading Jonathon Acuff's Stuff Christians Like (the book, not the blog) this morning and immediately stumbled upon this gem.

If you want to become a professional church grumbler, not just some amateur occasionally throwning rocks at the worship service, minister, or other attributes of the church, there's one key phrase you need to know:

"I'm not being fed."

This simple complaint - the teaching is lacking, the sermons are thin, the worship music is not uplifting enough, or a million other things that people find inadequate - is the official complaint of church grumblers the world over. If we could figure out a way to monetize it, we could permanently end world poverty. Forget cold fusion; if we could generate energy every time someone says this phrase, we'd be able to break our dependence on foreign oil in about four minutes.

It's such a perfect thing to say because it deflects any attention away from me, while at the same time creating false humility and making me seem spiritually mature and advanced. "It's not you, it's me. I just want to learn. I'm admitting that I am incomplete. I'm hungry for deep, real spiritual teaching. I'm humbly confessing that I'm not getting enough out of church. Please help me get the rich faith-building experiences that I so desperately need."

Just be careful who you say this to. Pastors are starting to get wily. When people tell my friend, "I'm not being fed," he replies, "I'm perfectly happy to spoon feed my one-year-old. But if I'm still spoon-feeding him when he's five, we've got a problem. Here's a fork. Feed yourself." (p. 18)

The end of Hebrews 5 chastizes those who won't grow up.

"We have much to say about this, but it is hard to explain because you are slow to learn. In fact, though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you the elementary truths of God’s word all over again. You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." (v. 11-14, NIV)

I hope this challenges you to get into God's word yourself. With the Holy Spirit's help it's not too late for you to start feeding yourself. You'll grow like crazy when you willingly go after God's truth yourself.
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