Death By Cheese

Usually, I am a big fan of cheese. I like all varieties of it, american, mozzerella, provolone, pepper jack, colby jack, swiss, bleu, muenster, and etc... However at certain times, I do not like cheese at all. I don't like cheese when it is found in conjunction with the church. Now, I don't mean a church shouldn't have cheese at a fellowship dinner or even that a church should not hold a wine and cheese tasting social affair, though unlikely in the midwest. I don't like cheese in the Church in the form of cheesiness. I try to hold to a strict "No Cheese in Church" policy. Unfortunately, I am in a miniority at times when it comes to this policy. This past weekend, I witnessed a great example of keeping the Cheese out of the Church and a horribly painful example of Cheese all up in the Church. The first example was Christmas in the Chapel at LCC. Every year, they do a tremendous job writing a musical production that is funny but not cheesy. This there were a few moments that smelled vaguely of cheese, but they were handled in such a way to avoid being downright cheesy. The second example was a play that came to Mason City called For the Love of the Lamb. It was done by an acting troupe called For One Ministries. I must say that I applaud these people who are not professional actors for their passion to share the gospel in dramatic form. Unfortunately, they had plenty of cheese. Part of the reason for this has to do with the fact that they are not professionals. The woman who writes the plays is not a professional playwright. I felt like I was being tortured by the Cheese as I watched this play. What was so cheesy? In an early scene, Jesus is a young boy who is helping in his Father's workshop. He holds up two nails and simply stares at them. Joseph grabs them saying, "those are sharp". Then Jesus grabs a large board and starts to carry it across his back, but he drops it. Joseph asks him what he was doing. Jesus response was I don't know. These were meant to be a foreshadowing of the cross, but there place in the story did not fit and they felt forced, which they were. There were other examples of Cheese, but I have been trying to block all thoughts of this play from my mind so I don't remember the specifics.

I hate Cheese in the Church. If we are going to do something, we should do it to the best. We are the guardians of the imago dei. We should be at the forefront of creativity and imagination. Instead, the Church lags behind. Who will join me in a "No Cheese in the Church" policy?