What's for dinner?

I love to host get togethers at my house.  Last summer we started doing Sunday dinners where everyone would pitch in $5 and come have an amazing home cooked meal and great fellowship while saving money!  (I may be a little biased because I cooked most of them.)   The invitations started out rather open as long as we knew who was coming so that we would have enough food.  However, I quickly started to narrow down the guest list based on the grateful versus ungrateful participants.  
One particular Sunday an individual started by asking someone else at church, "Well what are we going to have that's worth $5?"  Right there I was ready to say, "Don't come over."  Because the fact of the matter is there is NOWHERE around here could he have gone and gotten a nice meal for $5.  He couldn't have even cooked a meal for himself the equivalent of what we were having for $5.  Despite all of his gripping before hand he came over, however the gripping didn't end there.  As he ate he proceeded to tell me what I should have done differently.  "You should have had rice.  You should have bought ice cream." Blah, blah, blah.  Needless to say that was the last time that individual was invited over.  Be grateful or just don't come.  If you don't want what we're eating that's fine.  You will not hurt my feelings.  However, if you come and gripe insessently about what I am serving you will certainly find yourself on my bad side.

Rebecca reminded me of this scenario as we talked over the concept of being "fed" spiritually.  Last night while on Facebook I was prompted to send a Twitter/status update after reading a series of wall posts between mutual friends that basically built my soap box and set it in front of me.  I said, "Be planted where you are, or go where you want to be planted. Either way stop calling the grass greener elsewhere!"  I get so tired of people comparing the church they are in with other ministries and pointing out how things should be different. 

Everyone always talks about "being fed, being fed."  People leave churches because they're "not being fed."  Rebecca repeated to me last night something that Jermaine once said to her.  As a child I was fed, but as an adult I have a responsibility to feed myself!  Even scripture correlates spiritual eating with physical eating when it says that as babies we drank milk and as adults we eat meat.  (Side note: I remember an illustrated sermon by one of my Youth Pastors in High School where he actually gave a kid a steak dinner.) 

The Bible says that Apostles, Prophets, Evangelists, Pastors and Teachers were given to equip the Saints.  It doesn't say they were given to hold our hands and walk us through every situation.  No, they were given to equip the Saints.  We equip children to take care of themselves; to dress themselves; to clean up after themselves; to feed themselves; to cook for themselves.  God established leaders to equip us to take care of ourselves! 

I'm not saying that we ever reach a point where we no longer need a message from a Pastor or a word from a Prophet, etc.  However, at some point in our Christian walk, and growth, we should shift from needing them to feed us to being responsible to take the food provided and feed ourselves.  Also, we shouldn't depend on them providing food to be fed!  If I invite people over and provide a spread of food (which I always have too much) and they leave hungry, it's not my problem.  I made the provision, but they had to make a choice to eat what was provided.  But what happens to the people who do partake while they are at my house?  Do they go hungry until I provide food for them again?  No, most likely they have figured out how to cook for and feed themselves.  Maybe it's not as elaborate, but it's food, it's sustenance.  And with practice and the right tools they may find that they can fix themselves something way more exciting than I can provide. 

Maybe when we study and feed on the word on our own it's not as earth shattering and revelatory as when we hear a message from an annointed dynamic minister, but it's food none the less.  And the fact of the matter is, no matter how annointed and dynamic a minister is, if we don't take the food provided and eat it we won't be fed!  Rather than thinking of your Pastor, etc. as the momma bird chewing and spitting food into your mouth, think of them as the host of a meal.

Here's my challenge to you:  If you feel as if you are not being fed take a minute for some self-evaluation and determine if you are making an effort to feed yourself with the food provided.  If you really don't like what's being served, if you really can't find any nutritional value it in, then go ahead and find somewhere else to eat.  Stop giving everyone else indigestion because you can't stop gripping about the meal.

Also, take a minute to evaluate all of the things you think you know about God and what He's saying and doing.  Are all of those things someone else's thoughts?  Or do you have some revelation that is uniquely yours?  If you are only ever quoting the last big minister you listened to and not sharing the individual revelation that God has given you, then you probably aren't feeding yourself.  And if you're not feeding yourself then you can't blame your Pastor for your not being fed.  The food may look better at some other ministry, but if you're not feeding yourself you will be as dissatisfied there as you are now!