If someone can find me a Mars Hill sermon that sounds even remotely like this one, I will not only take back every unkind thing I ever said about the place, but I will also get an “I ♥ Rob Bell” tattoo on my ass.

Okay, I probably won’t really do that, because I really don’t think tattoos are biblical, but seriously . . . THIS is the kind of preaching that we need to hear. As I left the service yesterday morning, it struck me that what I had just heard and what I have been feeding on as of late are as different as prime rib is from a veggie burger with those fake painted-on charcoal marks. The one is enjoyable to eat, gives you something to chew on, and leaves you feeling like you’ve actually had a MEAL, whereas the other leaves you feeling vaguely cheated and scavenging for something else to fill you.

The church I belong to has in the past proven itself capable of prime rib, but it seems like more and more it’s been cranking out the veggie burgers en masse, and I just don’t know what to do about it. Do I eat what’s put in front of me, and enjoy the rare gourmet meal when it appears? Do I send back my soggy veggie burger and refuse to budge until something more than merely edible comes my way? Or do I change my dining habits and find a restaurant that will serve me what I need and not merely what is easy to prepare and works well enough for those who have forgotten how good a real meal can be?

I am not sure what the answer is . . . I only know that I am still hungry.