How Christians Should Eat Meat

“You may eat meat whenever you have the desire.” Deuteronomy 12:20b Yep, that’s in the Bible. You may eat meat whenever you have the desire. After my last blog post, my father and brother were shocked and appalled. “Jarrod has gone vegetarian!” their text messages lamented. But let me set the record […]

Should Christians Eat Meat?

“We should start doing meatless Mondays,” my wife said. “No,” I responded. “We should. You know it’s better for our health. Plus, they say cutting back on meat and dairy is the best thing to do for the environment,” she continued. “You’re the food and creation guy, you need to take this seriously. […]

A Theology of Whole Hog Barbecue

I’m pretty sure I learned more about church at a barbecue pit than I did at seminary. When I was 12 years old my father, also a United Methodist minister, was appointed to Ebenezer United Methodist Church in Raleigh, NC. It was probably the best thing that happened to my family when I was […]

Two Things I Learned Through My Medical Malady Mystery

The morning after Christmas I was standing in an airport terminal, waiting for my wife and kids to get back from getting coffee, when a thought occurred to me: I’m going to end up in the emergency room before this day is over. We were traveling to San Diego to spend some holiday time […]

Recipe: Tortellini Soup

When my wife was pregnant with our firstborn, her number one craving was soup. I suppose as far as pregnancy cravings go it was pretty innocuous. So for close to six months I made a pot of soup every week. According to her, I got pretty good at it. This is my favorite one that […]

Recipe: Roasted Brussels Sprouts

I remember eating Brussels sprouts just once growing up, and hating them. I believe they were boiled, or maybe steamed. Either way, I remember them being stinky, mushy, and gross. It’s no wonder I didn’t try them again until just a few years ago. But I have learned a secret about Brussels sprouts, one I’m […]

Daniel’s Diet: God and Healthy Bodies, part three

[Note: this is the third in a four part series developing a theology of physical health. You can find the first part here, and the second part here.] When Daniel sat down at the table that first night, I’m sure he could not believe his eyes. Captured and taken to Babylon, enslaved for the […]

The Spirituality of Canning Tomatoes

I’ve been canning tomatoes. It’s something I do every year around this time. I ended up with 28 pints of stewed tomatoes and 14 quarts of spaghetti sauce, which is about what I usually shoot for. This should be enough to last until next June or so, when the fresh tomatoes will be available once […]