Someone who shall remain nameless, let’s refer to him as (Nick B.), sent me an email this week about the reality of what is in the other-wordly delicious McRib sandwich.  The email claims to have researched data showing that the “reprocessed” meat comes from the pig’s entrails or other unmentionables.

I have a problem with those contentions.  And here’s why.

I watch Food Network all the time.  I mean, all the time.  Its basically down to two channels for me in life, that one and ESPN.  So I watch a lot of shooting, tackling, running and skating, and then I watch a lot of slicing, dicing, flaying and sautéing.

This season of “The Next Iron Chef” features Food Network “Super Chefs” who are essentially the “All Stars” of culinary competition.  For their first challenge, they were given a dead pig.  One of the team used the pig’s ear to make a salad.  Another team used the stomach to make a soup.  Another team used pig brains for a pate.  Amazingly, those teams all finished in the top three.

So…

When a Food Network Chef does it, its a delicacy.

And when McDonald’s does it, its gross and shameful?

Sounds like a pig-sty of culinary hypocrisy.  MAYBE, McDonald’s is ahead of the curve here!  …Maybe …not.

 

So let me boil this down to a blog post about church leadership.

It’s the Lord’s prerogative to make something fantastic out of the raw ingredients of anybody.  Sometimes as leaders its easy to look at someone’s job, or the neighborhood and think, they would really be a great addition to our church.  And then we can look at others and think, “Oh no, here comes a bunch of trouble.”

You know what James said about that?  He said, “if you show partiality, you are committing sin” James 2:9.

I have seen the best leaders in our church emerge from unexpected places.  I have also seen people I thought were potential all stars fizzle faster than a fourth of July sparkler.  You just cannot afford to make a judgment by appearance.

In the end, as with the Pig, it comes down to who’s cooking the dinner.  Am I or is God?  If I resign my position as sovereign (which I must), and let God do what God does best, anyone, and I mean ANYONE can become a delicacy in the plan and purpose of God’s work on this planet.

And I pray that you may be the next dead pig God chooses to cook.