I have two words for you today.
These two words bring a smile to my face every time.
These two words are part of my heritage as someone who has spent 45 years in “church work” (particularly in small Baptist churches).
These two words are “potluck meal.”
Whether you call it a “covered dish luncheon” or “dinner on the ground” or something else, it’s a glorious and near-gluttonous expression of the amazingness of being part of a family of faith.
I know that this concept is not unique to church groups. Other groups have similar meals and I’ve been to some of them. But in my humble-but-expert opinion, nobody does potluck like a bunch of church ladies.
And besides that, there is the added spiritual benefit of knowing that—if you actually eat the meal on church property—all the fat, calories, and cholesterol have been prayed out of it.
(I’m pretty sure that’s in the Bible somewhere. I believe it is in 2 Opinions chapter 46)
The other thing I have learned by spending 45 years as either a member of the church staff or the invited guest preacher is that I have a solemn duty to make every cook feel loved and appreciated by sampling every dish.
I mean, do you have any idea how devastating it can be to the spiritual health of someone whose banana pudding was skipped by the “man of God?”
Another benefit of the church potluck is that there are so many opportunities to make my cardiologist happy. She told me I needed to eat less red meat, so I had two pieces of fried chicken. She told me I should eat more fruit. I had a serving of peach, pineapple, cherry cobbler. Three different fruits in one dish!
So why am I writing about church potlucks today? Because I had two of them yesterday. That’s right. Two in one day.
That’s why they call me the FULL gospel preacher (it only took me 338 words to get to the headline pun).
Yesterday morning, I was part of the celebration of 122 years of ministry for the First Baptist Church of Newark, TX where I’ve been serving as interim pastor since February.
Last night I was part of the celebration of 20 years of ministry for Harvest Baptist Association where I’ve been serving as Executive Director/Lead Strategist since 2008.
There’s something uniquely amazing about sharing a meal with people who are with you on your faith journey. The food feeds our bodies and the conversation feeds our spirits.
And the blessings are heightened by the fact that we each made our loving contribution to the feast. Whether it was a precious family recipe handed down for generations or a plastic container of potato salad we picked up from the grocery store, there was a sense that the meal is about more than food.
It’s about family.
And for some people, the family with which they choose to share life’s journey is more affirming and welcoming than the family into which they were born.
Maybe what the world needs is fewer political rallies and more potlucks. Just a thought.
Be amazing today, my friend.
