Month: April 2009

Fish on Friday

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filetofish.jpgWhen I was growing up in the ’60s, our public elementary school served fish every Friday.

Part of this was in response to the large Roman Catholic community that lives in the Cincinnati area, especially on the west side of town. Where I grew up, nearly the entire neighborhood was Catholic, save for our Lutheran family and the Assemblies of God minister and his family three houses down.

Flash forward…

I can’t remember a Lenten season when I’ve seen so many ads on TV for fast food fish. Considering how little TV I watch, that’s saying something.

I think Vatican II eventually eliminated the fish every Friday thing that I experienced in school, but for some reason, it still persists for part of the year. It now shows up only during Lent, but man, does it have legs! There’s not a Wendy’s or McDonalds around here that isn’t advertising fish on its sign. And like I said, the ads on TV…

After last week’s intense debates, I’m thinking lighter, so I have to wonder—Are there that many Catholics still eating fish on Friday during Lent to justify this huge fish push? Seriously. When you consider how many self-identifying Catholics are pro-abortion, how many are worried that they’ll have to go to confession if they choose a Big Mac over a Filet-o’-Fish (which, ironically, has a Cincinnati origin).

It’s weird. That the fast food restaurants are spending millions on commercials to get you to eat their RCC-friendly fish every Friday during Lent…well, that’s even weirder.

I’m looking for an explanation.

I also want to find Evangelical equivalents. What do you consider to be an Evangelical equal of fish on Friday and why?

Dare to Beat the System

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I was talking about Petra with a friend/reader on Friday, and the album Beat the System came up. On Monday, I discussed pursuing one’s godly vision against all naysayers.

Today, I’d like to hear stories from people who beat the system. Folks who found a way to drop out of the rat race kingdom to pursue God’s eternal Kingdom. I’d love for folks to share about throwing off all the baggage, picking up the cross, and pursuing a vision others said was nuts.

You joined a Christian commune or intentional community.

You gave up your corner penthouse office and became an itinerant preacher working for goodwill offerings.

You sold it all and moved to Tanzania to minister to AIDS patients.

You leave the wife and kids behind for months on end to minister to crab fishermen off the Alaska coast.

You gave up the McMansion and moved into a poor, racially torn neighborhood so as to be a nexus for healing in the name of Jesus.

You live on a tenth of your income and give the other nine-tenths away to people who are destitute.

If you’ve done or are doing something like that, know someone like that, or can convince someone you know to comment about their beat the system story, I want to read that experience right here.

Please post away!

Oh, and if you break out in hives at the mere thought of 80s-era Christian music videos, you better avert your eyes or flee the room to avoid what follows…



(And my answer to the eternal Petra question: Volz.)