One of the things we committed to as a family before we left for our road trip was to stay away from fast food and chains.  We wanted to get off the beaten path, visit the side streets, and local hangouts to literally and figuratively get a taste of the places we were visiting.  Of course you meet local people that work in the fast food places and chains, but it looks the same and tastes the same as everywhere else.  Nothing unique, special, or local.  Nothing to surprise you, delight you, or challenge you to step outside of your comfort zone to try something new.

 

"Wild Rice" Rod serenading us on the way to the chuckwagon BBQ.

 

 

Well, we did a pretty good job all the way through.  A few places really stick out in my memory (and my stomach).  The Dark Horse in Custer, SD for elk and Bison steaks. The Blue Bell lodge for a chuck wagon ride through Custer State Park with “Wild Rice” Rod as our guitar player and sing-along leader, then to Parker Canyon for a great steak dinner in the Black Hills. The Grand Hotel in Big Timber, MT for the best Bison burger and frozen mocha dessert ever!! The Dash-in diner in a small town in Wyoming that I forget the name of, for great homemade food.  Tommyknockers Brew Pub in Idaho Springs, CO for more Bison Burgers, Bison Taco Salad, homemade Rootbeer and Orange Creme Soda, and a excellent Imperial Brown Ale with Maple Syrup.  Poppycock’s in Aspen, CO for their special oatmeal, macadamia nut pancakes and fruity french toast.  The Thunderhead Brew Pub in Kearney, NE for awesome woodfired pizzas, calazones, and their award winning Honey Wheat Ale.  And finally, the big surprise was finding Boxers BBQ in Council Bluffs, IA for ribs on Daniel’s birthday.  Not only did they have fantastic smoked ribs, they gave use a plate of fudge brownies and deep-fried bread pudding covered in Carmel sauce and powdered sugar for a birthday treat!

The point of making you all hungry just thinking about these restaurants is not about the food.  It is about the fact that the best stuff is local and made from scratch by people who are passionate and creative about what they are doing.  It takes more time, effort, and a commitment to an artisan’s ethic, rather than an assembly line attitude.  It is the difference between a microwave burrito from the corner convenience store and one that is homemade from scratch.  One attitude values experimentation and the necessary process of learning from mistakes and failures, while the other rigidly enforces the status quo and fears and punishes failures and mistakes.  I mean, who in their right mind would deep-fat fry a perfectly good bread pudding?  But it was awesome (though I couldn’t eat it often, or I’d blow up like a balloon and my arteries would clog!

What is the prevailing attitude within our churches?  Does one size fit all when it comes to the Spiritual journey?  Do we run after the latest fad from the “successful” church from somewhere else, trying to duplicate what worked in one community and context of faith, and despairing when it just falls flat in our own church (open expensive box, add water, mix, and wa-lah, instant successful church – really?)?  After visiting a number of very different churches this summer, both in size, context, and style, what a gift to experience both that which is unchanging (God’s Word, prayer, singing, confession and forgiveness, the Sacraments, etc.), and the wonderful ways those unchanging parts were creatively formed, structured, and lived out by the worshipping communities.  Church Historian, Jaroslav Pelikan, once wrote (whether he came up with it or not, I don’t know), “Tradition is the living faith of the dead; traditionalism is the dead faith of the living.”  Is our faith life and the ministries of our churches a living reflection of our gifts, passions, and the creative spirit God has instilled in us?  Or, are we settling for a “warmed up microwave burrito” kind of faith and church?  Personally, I’ve found the proverbial road less traveled both more satisfying and life giving.