Spinning Eggs, Flaming Onions and Good Friends

Last night a group of us from church went out to a Japanese restaurant in North Myrtle Beach. It was a great night. The food was good, nothing fancy, but the restaurant makes the dining-out "experience" the highlight of the evening.

An inch thick slice of onion taken apart ring by ring, stacked up like a volcano, filled with cooking oil and alcohol, and then set on fire! Flames were the big crowd pleasers, as eight of us sat around a large grill and were entertained by the chef who cooked up our food as part of his act.

You can fry an egg or you can roll the egg on the grill and announce that you are making an egg roll (Chinese joke in a Japanese restaurant). Then, you can toss the egg up in the air with the flat side of your spatula and on the third toss, as the egg is coming down, turn the spatula on its edge and slice the egg open as it hits the grill.

The food was good, but the way it was served up really got my attention and made the night. There is more than one way to cook an onion or fry an egg. The method was different but the chef was still serving up the same food.

The Word of God can be served up in many different ways too. It does not change the Word, but how it is presented can be attractive, attention getting, and effective. I'm looking forward to the new series Clay is doing at church. It's called the Ultimate Chef and it is all about serving up the Gospel to the world around us.

Great night! Good food, good friends, good object lesson.