Part of the genius of the Pixar animated movies is the oftentimes grim back story that sets the stage for the main characters and their escapades. Consider Pixar's 2008 movie, WALL-E. After decades of over-consumption at the ubiquitous "Buy N Large" stores, the population of Earth is sent cruising on an intergalactic spaceship while robots clean up the environmental mess left behind. Seven-hundred years later, however, Earth is still a mess and the Axiom spaceship is filled with a generation of earthlings who have no memory of the planet their ancestors left behind. The convenience that was originally designed to help Grandma travel with the family (a hover chair) is now utilized by all the humans who have become fat from doing nothing except conversing with one another and being entertained by interactive screens. Convenience has even interrupted their nutrition as they consume all their food through a straw. Although they don't know it, their holiday in space has become a form of bondage to convenience. And the movie's climax occurs as the ship's captain finds the will to break free of his own obtuseness to colonize Earth. Heady stuff, this, for our kids! But lessons can be drawn even for our own situations.
Our modern obsession with convenience at the expense of nutrition and real enjoyment of food has been chronicled by both secular and Christian observers (for example, Eric Schlosser's Fast Food Nation and nearly everything by Wendell Berry). In these discussions, our attitude toward food becomes a window through which we can evaluate how we approach all of life (marriage, friendship, work, political involvement, and so on). But what is often missing from the discussion is how this drive toward convenience affects the worship and witness of the church. Among those who are concerned by the nutritional desert that is the fast-food industry, the "slow food" revolution aims to recover local growers, in-season ingredients, and home-cooked meals often shared within a community. In this issue of Modern Reformation, we're advocating a slow-food approach to the spiritual nourishment Christians receive from the hand of God, himself, in his Word and Supper.
First up is Reformed theologian and our editor-in-chief Michael Horton, who says we ought not to give in to our fast-food world when God intends for us to feast. That very act of feasting is a witness to a world that has lost sight of true nutrition and joy. In much the same vein, the host of Mars Hill Audio and one of our favorite public intellectuals, Ken Myers, shares some thoughts about the place that meals occupy in Christian theology and community.
Reformed pastor and frequent contributor Michael Brown compares the church to a neighborhood restaurant in his article: the preacher takes on the role of the chef, the preached Word is the meal, and the parishioners are the patrons. The analogy helps pastors remember that they are heeding Jesus' call to "feed" (not manage) the sheep, and it helps the average Christian to remember that Christianity has very little to offer if it is divorced from the ministry of the Word. Lutheran pastor John Bombaro (another frequent contributor to the magazine) takes up the Lord's Supper or Holy Communion and tells the story of reform and revitalization that accompanied increased attention to and reliance upon the means of grace God ordained for the growth and sustenance of the church.
We hope you take the time to enjoy this issue of Modern Reformation. Invite some friends to read and consider these issues with you. We'll be happy to extend the reach of your gift subscriptions by including this issue as a special gift from us in recognition of your support.
Eric Landry
Executive Editor
