Winning the Food Fight , livre ebook

P RAISE FOR Winning the Food Fight

The message of this book rings true with me because I, like Steve, believe we are expected—even commanded—to care of our bodies. Balance is key to healthy living, and this book provides a roadmap to success. I strongly urge anyone interested in living his or her life to the max to read and embrace the message of this book. It is a life-changer.
Michael W. Smith
Singer/Songwriter
Winning the Food Fight asks you a simple question: What would Jesus do about our obesity epidemic? Read this book and join the fight to overcome the suffering of millions.
Ryan Blair
New York Times Bestselling Author, Nothing to Lose, Everything to Gain CEO, Visalus Sciences
Steve Willis is a local inspiration. In his work in our community and in the book Winning the Food Fight , he puts both his faith and energy on the frontlines of one of our nation’s toughest battles—unhealthy lifestyles—and shows us a path to change.
Ed Dawson
Editor/Publisher, The Herald-Dispatch
Huntington, West Virginia
The Bible starts with a meal (God’s provision in the Garden of Eden) and ends with a meal (God’s celebration of the Marriage Supper of the Lamb). In between, our rebellion is cast often in terms of appetites, from Eve’s forbidden fruit to Jesus’ stones-to-bread temptation. For too long, Christians have pretended as though obesity and gluttony are matters to be ignored, if not joked about. Steve Willis calls our consciences to our responsibility to obey the Spirit of Christ, not the pull of our appetites.
Russell D. Moore
Dean, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Louisville, Kentucky
Steve writes like he speaks and speaks like he lives, taking the reader on a ride through his life experiences and subsequent lessons. This is more of a confession than a sermon; more a voyage of discovery than a discourse. Steve Willis is to be commended for addressing this national issue in a holistic fashion, and offering no-nonsense directions anyone can follow.
Allan Thompson, Ph.D.
Director, Great Commission Center
East Texas Baptist University
Marshall, Texas

2012 Steve Willis
Published by Revell a division of Baker Publishing Group P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287 www.revellbooks.com
Revell edition published 2014
ISBN 978-1-4412-2614-3
Previously published by Regal Books
Ebook edition originally created 2011
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means-for example, electronic, photocopy, recording-without the prior written permission of the publisher. The only exception is brief quotations in printed reviews.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version ®. Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Other versions used are:
KJV — King James Version . Authorized King James Version.
NASB —Scripture taken from the New American Standard Bible , © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.
NET —Quotations designated (NET) are from The NET Bible® Copyright© 2005 by Biblical Studies Press, L.L.C. www.bible.org . All Rights Reserved. Scripture quoted by permission.
NKJV —Scripture taken from the New King James Version . Copyright © 1979, 1980, 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
To my wife, Deanna, who cared about our children’s health long before I “got it.”
Contents
Foreword by Jamie Oliver
Preface
Acknowledgments
Round 1 The Call
Round 2 Weighed Down
Round 3 Does God Really Care?
Round 4 A Biblical Plan for Change
Round 5 The Man in the Mirror
Round 6 There’s No Place Like Home
Round 7 Our Church Isn’t Growing (And We’re Happy About It)
Round 8 It’s Taking a Village
Round 9 Back to School
Round 10 The Politics of Food
Round 11 Life in the Fast(ing) Lane
Round 12 It’s Not Business; It’s Personal
Recipes by Jamie Oliver
Resources
Endnotes
Foreword
By Jamie Oliver
Pastor Steve and I share a common goal: He wants to inspire his community to be healthier and have a better relationship with food, and I want to inspire people around the world to question what they are eating and consider what their dietary choices are doing to their health.
The fact is that diet-related disease is killing Pastor Steve’s community. Because of that, he’s put this brilliant book together. It’s a patchwork quilt made up of many different stories from his community as well as his personal experiences of the Food Revolution—a process that we’ve only just begun.
We have both faced the day-to-day reality of the devastation caused by the obesity epidemic in the United Kingdom and the United States. Diet-related disease is the biggest killer in America and the costliest to the American health care system. One in three Americans is overweight or obese, and we now know that this will be the first generation where children are expected to live shorter lives than their parents. We live in a time when five-year-olds are having their teeth removed because of gum disease caused by a reliance on soda pop as their only source of hydration.
It’s time to change the way we treat ourselves, the way we nourish our families and the way we buy food. We need to think about where that food comes from, how it’s made, what impact that has on the world around us, and the future choices of our children’s children. We need to reconnect with real food and start placing value on basic cooking skills so that people are properly equipped to feed themselves.
I spent the early part of 2011 carrying on the work of the Food Revolution in Los Angeles, and what I experienced there made me even prouder of the community in Huntington, West Virginia, and the Tri-state area where we first began our campaign. The community at large has carried on with the work we started and has achieved more than we ever imagined. Huntington has become a symbol of what is possible. I humbly salute them.
During a particularly rough patch, Pastor Steve advised me to stay strong and stick to my beliefs. Then he said something I’ve never forgotten: “Nobody changes until the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of change itself.” Never a truer word has been spoken. Just because some things are hard, slow and painful doesn’t mean that you should stop doing what you know in your heart is right. The things that inspire me have nothing to do with the future; they are little bits of good information from the past—the stuff your great-grandmother would have known, like how something you’ve cooked yourself will taste 100 times better than something that comes out of a box or on a fast-food tray.
So, lovely people, please enjoy this book that has been passionately put together by our main man, the one and only Pastor Steve. I hope it will inspire you to do things differently, and maybe even engage as a member of the community by acting as a Food Revolutionary yourself. I’m proud to be able to support Pastor Steve and his book. He speaks with the voice of reason, and he talks to his community not only as a pastor but also as a friend.

Big love,
Jamie
Preface
This book is not just for those who need to lose weight, although reading it will help. Nor is it solely for mothers who want to do what is best for their children, although reading it should help there too. Even though I am a pastor, I did not write this book just for people of faith. Why? Because the food fight confronting our nation affects people of every race, gender, personal belief and socio-economic level. You name it, it concerns us all.
Winning the Food Fight is intended for anyone who cares about the health of their family, the wellbeing of their community, and the future of our nation. You may consider that an exaggeration. After you read this book, however, I think you will agree that the battle being waged over food is a fight that we must win—sooner rather than later.
There are few things that are as tantalizing, satisfying and enjoyable as a delicious meal. However, like any other substance, pastime or avocation, too much of a good thing can ruin us. From the beginning of human history, we have struggled to say no to the wrong things. Like our ancestors Adam and Eve, we struggle to walk away from that which is “pleasing to the eye” (Gen. 3:6). Because of this, the food God created to sustain and strengthen us has been transformed into something that now leads millions to an early grave. That which He created to give life inflicts pain instead.
To put it bluntly, I wrote Winning the Food Fight because I am tired of watching people die before their time. I am tired of seeing too many young families weighed down by the mental, spiritual, emotional and physical burdens of poor eating habits. I am tired of seeing children fail to reach their potential because they have been given too much junk food and not enough nutrition. As a pastor, I am tired of seeing the lives of people I love get cut short or who barely exist during their golden years because they lack the education, discipline or resources they need to make wise dietary choices.
We can do better. We must do better. As you read this book, I pray that your heart will break as you consider truths about a dietary system whose deadly impact has devastated individuals and families. The news isn’t all bad, however. You will also see numerous stories about people who took charge of their food choices and today are doing better. Much better. You will also hear how people living in what had been labeled the “unhealthiest city in America” are changing, and you will learn how your community can take similar steps.
You are about to wade into the ri