In Search of Perfection

I’d be a big fibber if I told you I didn’t like good food. The trouble is I’ve got a champagne taste and ginger pop money. Nevertheless, it doesn’t stop me from enjoying the foodie programmes and the odd culinary indulgence.

On Monday I watched Nigella Lawson do her goddess thing by suggesting that whatever you find in your fridge you can do something amazing with it. Unfortunately, when she opened her fridge it had little resemblance to mine.  I am happy for her that she “never gets fazed with doing impromptu entertaining for guests that drop in” But for me she is hardly the people’s cook.

I suspect that crown belongs to affable Essex boy Jamie Oliver, a crown once worn by Delia Smith and Marguerite Pattern. And he does turn out a good book of recipes. His programme is also currently on and called Jamie’s Garden. Worth a watch. Though the graphics are dead annoying.

But the guy I personally like knocking up something in the kitchen is Heston Blumenthal, or as Terry Wogan calls him, “Heston Bloomin’ ‘eck”.. His new  programme is on Tuesdays, BBC2 and called In Search of Perfection.

The man is a genius.

He has been described as the man who got lost on the way to the science lab and found himself in the kitchen.

Last night saw him go in search of the perfect burger. He scours the world, tests beef for the perfect tissue texture, blends, wraps, freezes, calculates bite size, experiments with elasticity, and emulsifies proteins and fats with sodium citrate. Dontcha just want one now?

The problem is a burger is a burger. It is a fast-food experience. So all this effort would seem slightly contradictory.

Being a perfectionist is a blessing and a curse. At worse, it makes you intolerant of someone who is less able than you and becomes a nightmare for all people around. At best, it means that you are driven to give the best experience possible and aspires others to aim higher for themselves.

As a church pastor, and being prone to perfectionism, I have really had to get my head together on this one.

Although perfectionism is admired, much like Heston’s wizardry, it can also have the adverse effect of putting people off from even picking up a ladle in the kitchen for a fear of anything they do will not be good enough. Yet, we value good cooking, because the pay off is so rewarding.

In church terms, the leader is not there to be the master chef. That title belongs to Jesus.Our Bibles all say he is the only perfect one that has ever lived. Perfectionism implies that weakness or deficiency is not allowed. So perhaps the ism in perfectionism needs to be tackled as a condition or disease.

To be in search of the perfect is not bad, as we all aspire to be better people, but to claim we have got it perhaps is another thing.

The problem is we can find it hard to see anyone who can do the job as well or better.  Our defence against this condition is to continually humble ourselves before the Perfect One. By default, our own unworthiness will appear and pride will dissipate.

The job of any leader is to encourage new Christians to feel that anyone can do what we can do. That means lowering the bar so everyone can jump over.

Otherwise, how will we ever grow our churches? The Anglican Church talks famously about the "priesthood of all believers". In the Vineyard we say "everybody gets to play!" It all the means the same. Like food, ministry needs to be democratised and not made to be an elite activity.

Something to chew over.

ASD

 

Comments

[the advocate]

"So perhaps the ism in perfectionism needs to be tackled as a condition or disease" ... perhaps a better phrase would be perfectionitis!!

The trouble with food programmes is we can only absorb about 5% of what they are sayign and just watch in marvel at the designs on the plate because we have no clue how they taste. This should be different in a church context in that we are supposed to be able to "taste" the wonderful manna that god provides in our life (probably taking the metaphor too far!. I fear there are all too many similarities. Perhaps too many in church listen to the "recipes" for a healthy spiritual life, absorb about 5% (if that) but have no idea what they really taste like. If we truly ingested the word of god we would be in a more nutritious, health body of Christ. Now that is enough of such imagery... I'm off to BK for a whopper. And there is one next to the local church - even better!!