Cathleen Hockman-Wert – co-author of the Simply in Season cookbook – will headline Sustainable Food and Farming Conference 2008, set for March 7-9, 2008, at Laurelville Mennonite Church Center in western Pennsylvania.

“Growing and Eating Simply in Season” is the theme for this biennial event at the intersection of Christian faith and innovative farming that builds farms, families and community. The weekend will feature singing, worship, reflection, practical and inspirational workshops, and ample time for networking and sharing stories.

soon

He plants annuals,
packets the old lady gives him-
nasturtiums, poppies, sweet peas, petunias.
He loves folding the hoed ridge of crumbs of soil over the seeds.
Sealed, they cease to be his.
The simplicity.
Getting rid of something by giving it to itself.

-Rabbit, Run, John Updike

prosperity gospel or consumerist religion: we need a better handle on this stuff

something stinks
it smells like death
i smell it at my workplace
i smell it in the church
i smell it in my own life
I believe that it is tragic
It is a tragic misrepresentation of the The Way
It's what I like to call the "False American Gospel"

simply stated...

my life + Jesus = my better life

Or what some folks call "prosperity gospel" or "health and wealth gospel" ...

I think the widely accepted definition is tied directly to the green stuff...

yet i believe we need a broader definition than that

The American Evangelical Complex is becoming more and more aggressive with individualistic "blessing" language.

Concepts of success in business or personal life as external evidence of God's favor are becoming more rampant in society at large.

These "blessings" are often seen as a return for fervent prayer and good faith.

I would guess that scriptural support for the Prosperity Gospel is based largely on a verse from the OT (Deut 8:18) "But you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who is giving you power to make wealth, that He may confirm His covenant which He swore to your fathers, as it is this day"

However, I'm not so sure that what I am witness to is rooted in anything Biblical. It seems more deeply rooted in the American Evangelical Complex, and more specifically, our veracious consumerism.

To be more specific... Any American Christian needs a good self examination for this self-centered theology. We all need to ask ourselves questions like

"does following Jesus COST me anything?"

"is my life marked by suffering with Christ rather than blessings from Christ?"

"is Christ's victory manifested in my abundance or among the least of these?"

This isn't about Joel Olsteen
or Mega Churches
or Rod Parsley
or Jim and Tammy Faye

American Christianity created these folks, these entities... they are the ugly personification of our greed.

It's about what we see in ourselves

I have felt this way for sometime, but I have recently been placed back into a work setting where this is again becoming so real to me.

I've heard a saying that we hate most in others that which we see in ourselves.
I need a re-evaluation of my own Christian context.

and kevin peterson got me fired up with his most recent blog posting...

Kevin posted a fantastic video you should go watch

check your vital signs for this invasive consumerist disease
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