Why these are the best cookies in the world

I have a grand-father-in-law who makes these cookies. They are chocolate chip cookies. They are made with Crisco. They are delicious. 

They are, by all accounts, the best cookies in the world. 

Seriously. I am sure you have a cookie recipe that is great. I am sure that you think your grandma's cookies the best you have eaten. 

You my friend are a good person, but you are also wrong. 

These cookies made by Fred Wolf are the best. 

The reason they are the best is not so much the taste or the memories that are wrapped up in them. They are the best because they each have five chocolate chips in them. They are each 3.25 inches in diameter and the bottoms of them have a slight saltiness that is countered by the upper crust's sweetness. 

They are all uniform and made by hand. Fred miraculously rolls each cookie to the right size (based upon the feel). He adds the chips by hand to each ball. He puts only so many on the pan and he cooks them to perfection each and every time. 

They are the best because they are made with the greatest intention and care. Each cookie is thought about and considered. Each one matters to Fred because he wants to ensure each bite is the best bite you have eaten. 

Call it baking if you would like, but I call it a spiritual discipline. 

There are great cookies out there, but few are made because it is a spiritual discipline. 

These are the best cookies in the world for the same reason this is the best beer in the world. 

Quick SAT analogy - Movement : Institution as Spirituality : ______

I heard Brian McLaren once say that movements are organizations which call institutions to new social gains and institutions are organizations which conserve the gains made by past movements. 


I have heard that people are now more spiritual than religious. That is people are seeking out new ways to experience the transcendent and less interested in traditional experiences of the transcendent. 

Could it be that spirituality is to religion as movements are to institutions? 

Could it be that we are a culture that is more interested in seeking out new gains rather than preserving the gains made by our past movements? 

Why do you think we as a people are more interested in movements/spirituality than institutions/religions? 

In the next post, I will submit one reason that I think we are drawn to the movements/spirituality than institutions/religions. But until then, what say you?

Church is a there to meet my needs. Right?

It is a common way to understand the church as a place where someone goes to have their needs met. This is in part why we look for a church that has a good children's area, biblical preaching/teaching, solid small groups that are not full of crazy people.

And so churches work to ensure that we are meeting people's needs. And we want to ensure people's needs are met because that is what we are supposed to do. Right?

Well, if the church is under the impression that we are to meet people's needs, then yes, we should work to meet people's needs. However, this not only creates environments where churches do not know what they are called to do but it also creates environments where churches will do everything for the sake of someone's needs.

Rather than meeting people's needs, shouldn't a church be in the position to change people's needs?

The church that is under the impression to change people's needs will have a much different way to do ministry. This church will be a place where people are changed, not just satisfied. This church might be smaller and less "full" in the pew on Sunday. This church might also be the most nimble and life changing place in the community.

So let me ask you, is your church set up to meet your needs or change them?