436. Enjoyment vs Fuel
Famous bodybuilder Jay Cutler once said, “I eat for function, not for taste.” To those who don’t work out, food is enjoyment. Taste and presentation become the most important parts of food. But to those who do, food is fuel. The main goal is to eat more nutrients (mostly proteins), not the most tasty food.
The same food can have a completely different meaning and purpose depending on who is eating it. And different purpose also produces dramatically different responses: One easily complains about a lack of taste, and the other doesn’t.
I think the sermon is the same. House church is a place where we exercise. Then the sermon is supposed to be a fuel. But for those without the desire to practice it, the sermon becomes about enjoyment, and when it doesn’t bring enough enjoyment, they complain. However, those who view house church as a place to exercise are not picky about the sermon. They get satisfied when they receive enough nutrients to serve through the message.
As much as I appreciate many great teachers and preachers of the Word, I am also worried that some big churches are built around a few talented communicators. I am concerned that many young, aspiring pastors look up to them a little too much, imagining themselves leading a church in the same way, when the reality is that most pastors cannot build their church around their sermons. Such examples are exceptions, not the norm. But many pastors seem to believe, “If I can preach a little better, one day the church will grow.”
I believe the norm for most pastors should be building their church around mobilizing people toward the compelling mission. Those who always seek better sermons to “consume” will never feel satisfied and so easily turn away when the message no longer “tastes” good to them. A healthy church is not a gathering of people who listen to sermons for their personal enjoyment, but as their fuel for proper functioning in the body of Christ, to advance the church’s mission together. They tend to stick around, through thick and thin.
I’ve given up long ago on the hope that my church will grow through my sermon. I try my best to craft the sermon as best as I can, but it is those who “eat it” for function, not taste, who will grow the church. And my job is to raise and train more people who will eat for function, not for taste. Jesus clearly said, it is those who hear and “do” his words that build their lives on a solid foundation, not just those who hear. Those who eat for function, not taste, will build the church and build it well.
