By Rev. Ken
Blank and Dr. John Campbell – Oklahoma Health Center Clinical Pastoral
Education Institute, Inc. Ó 2005
In the April, 2004, issue of Science and Theology
News, Bobby Ross, Jr., wrote about overweight Christians. To be
balanced, he also wrote about overweight Jews, Muslims, and Buddhists, but it
seems, according the study he cited by Purdue University sociologist Kenneth
Ferraro, Southern Baptist Christians were the heaviest.
How does that happen? Distilling the reasons from the
article, it appears to be the lifestyle in the South and Bible Belt,
where Southern Baptists are numerous, that sets the stage for obesity
among members. Doughnuts during Sunday School followed by fat-filled lunches
after church services were two examples. The consequences can be very sad:
death of a middle-aged father from heart disease, for example.
While evangelical Christians can take pride in
avoiding the health consequences of alcohol and tobacco, they appear to drink
more coffee loaded with caffeine (25% of members drink six or more cups of
coffee daily, according to Reverend O.S. Hawkins, president and CEO of the
Southern Baptist Convention, writing in his book “High Calling, High Anxiety”)
and eat too much fried foods and snacks (Hawkins says 75% of Baptist
pastors eat fried foods at least four nights per week and 40% snack two or more
times a day on cookies, chips, or candy). Ross notes that the denomination’s health
insurance claims for problems such as back ache and high blood pressure also
indicate the side effects of obesity or sedentary lifestyles.
What can a faithful Christian do to combat the tendency to
obesity? Autumn Marshall, a nutritionist at Church of
Christ-affiliated Lipscomb University in Nashville, Tennessee, says first
consider the numerous references in the Bible to condemning gluttony.
Don’t think of it as a “more acceptable vice” than drinking, smoking, cursing,
or committing adultery.
Beyond that, according to Ross, put away the
doughnuts at church and consider the lead set by Fellowship Church in
Grapevine, Texas. This congregation placed an emphasis on God’s role in
healthy living after pastor Ed Young preached a sermon series on the
Biblical principle of the body as the temple of the Holy Spirit.
Fellowship Church offers running and cycling clubs, teams in
basketball, soccer, flag football, softball, and sand volleyball along with
a fitness bootcamp. While this may be a little extreme, it sounds fun
and it illustrates a new commitment to spirituality reflected in health
choices.
On a personal and congregational level, those concerned with spirituality, from every denomination and religion, should consider the outward expression of their inner beliefs and think about healthy life choices, including nutritional choices.
Report and Commentary by Rev.
Ken Blank, M.Div., Executive Director, and Dr. John Campbell, PhD.,
Director of Research, Oklahoma Health Center Clinical Pastoral Education
Institute, Inc.Ó 2005
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