Broccoli Church

There are many different types of churches out there. I’m not talking denominations here, such as Baptist, Methodist, AME, or COGIC. I mean different church flavors. You have your Cotton Candy Church, where everything is always sweet and sugarcoated. Then there’s your Popcorn Church, where everyone settles in each week for the big show. But my favorite happens to be the one that’s losing popularity these days—Broccoli Church. You know, the one where you might not always like the way it’s prepared, but it’s always good for you.

What’s wrong with Cotton Candy Church? Doesn’t Psalm 119:103 say, “How sweet are Your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth”? True, the Word of God is sweet to us—but it is so much more than that. A look at 2 Timothy 3:16 shows us that other characteristics of the Word are “teaching, rebuking, correcting, and training in righteousness.” And there are many more.

The truth is that the Word in and of itself is a full spiritual meal. Not just dessert. If you leave Cotton Candy Church every single Sunday with a “feel-good” spirit and never once with conviction or re-evaluation of your spiritual walk, you may not be getting your nutrients.

What about Popcorn Church? Why can’t we just sit back and enjoy the Sunday Show? We start with the musicians and a hot praise and worship set to get our soul all stirred up with praise dancers performing as spiritual cheerleaders, then on to the excitement of the service with more falling out than an old Michael Jackson concert—and that’s before the preacher even preaches. When the spiritual head of the House does arrive to take the podium, we’re hanging on to every word he utters, every phrase he turns, because his performance is just captivating. After service, you can hear folks leaving with words of, “Girl, that was some sermon” and “Oh, my spirit is so filled!” But come Monday morning, who knows what the sermon was about…oh, and who cares? We’ll be back on Sunday for the next show—and maybe even Wednesday night for the matinee!

There are plenty of defenses for Popcorn Church. There are those who will tell you that people don’t want to go to church and be bored to death. Or they argue that thanks to technology, we can take the church experience “to a new level.” Some may even say that because of the animated and likeable personalities of these preachers, more people are at least coming to church. But God is not looking for a church with quantity—He wants quality Christians.

And that brings me to Broccoli Church. I love Broccoli Church because it’s so beneficial to spiritual growth. It is full of healthy nutrients and always fresh. So it may be served up with praise and worship music that ministers to your soul—not just gets your heart racing. On the side you may get a presentation from the dance or drama ministry—not to distract you from the service, but to support it. And when the pastor comes to deliver the Word—it’s always so good, your spirit just eats it up. And even when the message is a little bitter in that it corrects or rebukes your spirit, it always goes down the right way.

I thank God for Broccoli Church, a place where I can grow spiritually healthy and strong!

What are other church flavors you’ve experienced? Are you also hungry for Broccoli Church? Leave a message!