The Christian and Baby Food

A desire to be "fed spiritually" may be killing us.

There's a foundational belief within Christian culture that may be killing us. It's so deeply embedded in our collective consciousness that accepting it has become akin to accepting that the earth is round. It is the belief that we have to be fed for our faith to grow. Being "fed spiritually" can mean a variety of things, but the most common meaning has to do with being taught. For much of the teaching in our churches, we rely on someone with advanced biblical training to pour over the Scriptures, unlock their cryptic meaning, and deliver that meaning in an engaging and entertaining package. All people have to do is pull up a chair and soak it in. In most cases captivating discourse has become one of the primary functions of the church—from sermons to Sunday school to youth group—people are taught through medium and message that they cannot grow unless they are fed. But contrary to the desired outcome of spiritual growth, this idea of being fed is a toxin that has invaded our faith.

Before I move on, I need to clarify what I'm not saying. First, I'm not saying teaching is evil or useless. In the Old Testament, the life of Christ, and the ministry of the apostles, teaching was instrumental in people's growth. Second, I'm not saying that teaching is the only thing people refer to when they express a need to be fed. It is also used to refer to being led into worship through music, corporate prayer, and guided reflection. What follows can apply to these things, but the focus is on the desire to be fed through teaching. Finally, I am not saying that the idea of "feeding" is not biblical or legitimate. In John 6 Jesus explicitly says that we should feed on him. He also says that doing the will of the Father is his food when Satan tempted him. The words of Jesus make it clear that "feeding" is a legitimate biblical idea.

So what am I saying? First, the concept of being fed involves a passive acceptance of the proclamation of an expert. People pour into church buildings on Sunday morning to sit in a pew (or chair) to listen diligently as the expert releases the store of knowledge he or she has amassed through hours of study during the week. While the content of these messages are often wonderful, the form poses some problems. Passive consumption of teaching on a regular basis plays directly to the consumptive and entertainment values of our culture. We expect to be presented with a product that excites us and makes our lives better, preferably with as little exertion on our part as possible. If someone else is willing to immerse themselves in the Scripture, then we don't have to. All we have to do is show up and consume what we're given. In addition, we expect what we are spoon fed to be captivating, entertaining, and comedic. In short, we want something entertaining to consume—sounds like the same thing we want at a movie theater.

I once had a professor who said it was a sin to bore people in preaching. The two main things that would keep us from this horrible sin? Entertainment and clarity, which happen to be two of the defining characteristics of most sermons. This creates the impression that we have the right to easily accessible teaching. There are two major problems with this. The first is that we live in a culture bathed in entitlement and consumption. In other cultures, this kind of communication as the primary means of teaching might not pose the same issues, but in the United States these teaching methods reinforce the most toxic aspects of our culture. As a consumer, what happens when someone isn't fully satisfied with a product? They quit using it and find something they like better. That's not so bad when you're talking about dish soap or cell phones, but that mindset is downright putrid when it comes to the church. The solution to some unclear or unentertaining sermons is to go to another church with a better product. It's not uncommon for people who switch churches to explain, "We're just not being fed." We come to believe that it is our right to be given clear and entertaining instruction each week (or moving and uplifting worship music). If our current experience is not palatable to our delicate tastes, then we move on to a tastier option.

The second major problem with believing in the right to accessible teaching is that it's not how Jesus taught. Jesus was compelling, but he was not always clear. He spoke in parables for the express purpose of making the message more difficult to understand. There were numerous times when even his closest followers had to ask him what he meant because they couldn't figure it out. Jesus' example should point us in the direction of being provocative and compelling, but not necessarily easily accessible. Jesus' method of teaching points away from the "being fed" mentality. Jesus placed food in front of people, but it was more like crab legs than applesauce. If people wanted to be filled from his words, they had to work for it. They had to stick with it, deal with the difficulties, and be patient. Jesus gave people what they needed for sustenance, but he didn't put it in a bottle for them.

"Being fed" is also toxic because it allows people to believe that amassing knowledge translates directly to spiritual growth. Jesus' teaching and example, and the rest of Scripture are replete with the call to good deeds and obedience. All the knowledge in the world does not lead to Christian maturity. Yet if people are not displaying the fruit of a real faith, most of the time our solution is to feed them more. We suppose that if we can just cram enough sustenance down their throats it has to eventually result in some kind of action. Unfortunately, more and more food without action just leads to spiritual obesity. The longer someone lives in this state, and the more obese they become, the more unlikely it is that their continual feeding will ever result in anything. I was at a conference recently where a speaker compared the state of much of the church in the West to "obese babies with milk running out of the corners of their mouths." This picture is shocking, but sadly true.

So what should be done about this? For starters, we need to begin expecting that as people grow in faith they will be increasingly capable of feeding themselves. The United States is a place where the Bible is accessible in multiple translations; there are endless resources to help in explaining Scripture, and if we step back from our overloaded schedules to set priorities, we can meet with other believers to help feed each other. Some may be concerned that there will be people who choose not to feed themselves, which will cause their faith to suffer. Can you imagine Jesus, the man who taught things so difficult that most of his followers left, feeling a great deal of sympathy if that happens? Maybe people need to wean from the spiritual bottle so that they are confronted with the importance and validity of their faith.

Second, Christ will feed us as we participate with him in his redemption of the world. Jesus said his food was to do the will of the Father. As we do the will of God, which is revealed in Christ and through the Holy Spirit, we will be well fed by Christ. Participating with Jesus in the spiritual and physical redemption of the world will be more satisfying to our spiritual appetite than passively consuming words from a speaker. As we develop friendships where spiritual questions are shared, growth will naturally take place. We will be forced to seek out answers to questions we've never considered and through that process our faith will grow. We will be feeding ourselves.

There is no doubt that all new life begins on milk. There is nothing wrong with giving new believers a bottle. But the goal should not be to keep them sucking from it the rest of their lives; rather we should give ourselves to weaning them—causing them to grow to adulthood and feed themselves. But we cannot lead others to where we have not been. It is time for the Western church to realize the destructive effects of a "being fed" mentality, to begin to exercise, and to learn to feed themselves. When this happens we will begin to feed each other and to feed on Christ as we join him where he already is—in mission to the world.

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