Guest Columnist: Is the Body of Christ Too Fat?

Joe McKechnie

It was one of those statements for which I was completely ill-prepared. I was back home at my parents’ church for a Christmas cantata, and an elderly gentleman, a retired physician whom I have known for almost two decades, approached me, pointed to my mid-section, and tenderly (and seriously) said, “Joe, I say this in love. You have gained quite the pastor’s belly. You need to lose 20 pounds or you’re headed for a heart attack.” I was not expecting such a statement, and was a bit embarrassed. But, mere moments later I was able to appreciate the truth of his remark. The truth is, my diet and exercise is not what it needs to be. As a pastor I pay close attention to the discipline of prayer, Bible study, sermon preparation, relationship-building, and leading our congregation. And yet the condition of this temple of God has been gradually falling apart.

While I like to think of myself as a scholar (and follower) of Scripture, there are a few verses that I often fail to obey. There are numerous passages about the sin of gluttony (Proverbs 23:2, for example, declares that it would be better to cut your throat than to engage in gluttony!) In Galatians 5, Paul writes about the fruit of the Spirit when he mentioned self-control. In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul was writing about how we treat our bodies when he writes, “Do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your body.” How can I justify an unhealthy lifestyle? There are many clergy who would be appalled at the thought of getting a tattoo or having parts of their body pierced, all the while asking for a second helping of mashed potatoes. As a pastor who deeply cares for his congregation, I worry about the devastating effects of drugs, underage drinking, abortion, and sex outside of marriage, all the while failing to acknowledge my own lack of self-control at the dinner table (or, preferably, the dessert cart!) What does my physical condition say about my discipline and self-control?

A recent national survey conducted by Duke Divinity School, indicated that 76% of clergy were either overweight or obese, compared to 61% of the general population. But it wasn’t always this way. Research from 50 years ago showed that clergy lived longer and had healthier lives than workers in almost every other vocation. Like many conferences, the Western North Carolina Conference had to tackle the issue of rising health-care costs for its clergy and had to struggle just to reach acceptable contract terms with its insurance provider. The Conference has seen its medical costs rise by 33% over the past five years, adding to the amount that each clergy spends on insurance.While the weight issues of many individuals are the result of genetics, most of us are getting bigger because of a lack of discipline and self-control. Leslie Sansone, author of the best-selling book “Walking Away the Pounds,” says that, as Christians, we must make our physical health a priority. She stresses exercise, because “no drug, no pill, nothing takes the place of what our natural body produces when we are in motion, because God’s design for muscle and bone is for them to be active.”

There’s a great story of legendary preachers D.L. Moody and Charles Spurgeon, who were great admirers of the other and looked forward to meeting one another. When they finally did meet, Spurgeon answered the door while smoking a cigar. Moody was shocked and asked, How could you, a man of God, smoke that?” Spurgeon smiled and pointed to Moody’s stomach and replied, “The same way you, a man of God, could be that fat.”Being in vocational ministry is demanding and stressful. At Arbor Pointe United Methodist Church, we are serious about the way we treat our bodies, and we pay our staff members for an additional five hours a week if they use that time to exercise. While a lifetime of good health and honoring the temple of God takes more than five hours a week, we hope to acknowledge the importance of our physical health. After all, when Jabez cried out to God to “enlarge my territory,” I don’t think he was talking about his waist size!

The Rev. Joe McKechnie is the at Arbor Pointe UMC in Jefferson, Ga.