The NEW Chicken Sandwich

If you have spent any time of the past year either online, watching TV commercials or visiting any Fast Food chain anytime in the past year or two, chances are you've seen 2 things. One, a now hiring sign (more recently, cause EVERYONE is hiring it seems) and two, a sign advertising a NEW Chicken Sandwich. Popeyes is the one who started the chicken sandwich war. And literally, I mean a war. Brawls broke out, they ran out of sandwiches, it was intense. And ever since then, everybody, and I mean everybody, has been trying to compete to make the NEW Chicken Sandwich. From Wendy's to Zaxby's, KFC to McDonalds, Church's to the latest of Burger King. Everyone's doing it. Some restaurants have even tried multiple chicken sandwiches and recipes during that time frame.  

Now all of these chicken sandwiches are VERY similar in appearance. A fried boneless chicken breast, placed on a toasted buttered bun, with two pickles on top. Sound familiar to anyone? Sure some throw in lettuce and tomato, but for the most part they are all trying to look the same...Because back in 1964, a man by the name of Truett Cathy invented this chicken sandwich at a place called Chick-Fil-A, and their recipe hasn't really changed since.

Now, I'm going to go ahead and stop right here and put a huge DISCLAIMER because I know the controversy people have with Chick-Fil-A. I know people disagree with their political stances or religious views, but that's not why I'm here. I'm strictly here to talk about what they do extremely well, and that's make delicious chicken.  And I won't even waste my breath explaining to you why they are the best fast food chain of all time (just my humble opinion😜). But I digress....

First off, lets start with the word "NEW" Why is this word so catchy to us? Because let me tell you, its not just in the world of chicken sandwiches it gets used. New iPhone, computer, car, house, new look, etc. I could go on for days! We have a culture that is obsessed with new. We must always have the latest and greatest thing. It's something that's been built into our culture. We have associated the term NEW = Better. And that's not certainly always the case is it? Let's take a look at a case when NEW failed miserably. Anyone remember "NEW" Coke. I mean it came out before my time, but I've heard the stories about how it wasn't as good and it wasn't very successful. We live in this ever changing world, but that's not always a good thing. 

First off, this makes me extremely thankful that we have a God that is not ever changing. 

Hebrews 13:8- Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever. 

Could you imagine if we worshiped a God who changed as much as these chicken sandwiches do? We wouldn't be able to keep up. And I think we would quickly be annoyed with understanding what was the newest and greatest thing and what we were expected to do. I'm thankful for a God who never changes. 

However, NEW does not always equal a bad thing. In the bible, we see God use the term new multiple times to talk about us, as Christians. But this is the one I want to focus on. 

2 Corinthians 5:17-21: Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come. The old has gone, the new is here. All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the  ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 

We are called to become a NEW creation. But here's the key, we can't turn the old person into a new person. The old must be completely striped away and the new creation must replace it. And because of Christ, this new creation is even available. 

But the next thing I wanna talk about with these chicken sandwiches is the imitation factor. As I mentioned above, they all look very similar to the original made by Chick-Fil-A. And do you know why that is? Because all of these companies know that Chick-Fil-A struck Gold. They know they do it well and have for so long, and so these companies try to copy them to compete with them. There's a saying that goes "Imitation is the greatest form of Flattery." Every time I see one of these companies try to take a shot at Chick-Fil-A, whether talking bad about their food or whether or not they are closed on Sunday's, I just say to myself "Chick-Fil-A is laughing all the way to the bank" because it hasn't affected their business one bit. 

The bible also talks about a form of imitation. 

Ephesians 5:1-2: Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. 

1 Corinthians 11:1- Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ. 

Both these books, Ephesians and 1 Corinthians, were written as letters by Paul to both the churches in Ephesus and Corinth. And I find it interesting that he uses very similar language. First off, we are called to be imitators of God. I mean this, as Christians, is our entire life's purpose. To become like Christ so that we can bring others to Christ. To Walk in love, like Christ loved us. And giving everything back to God. It's by no means easy, but it is what we are called to do. 

But then, I love the boldness of Paul in 1 Corinthians. He no longer says to imitate God, but to imitate him, because he is of Christ. Paul founded the church in Corinth, so these people that he is writing to have a deep amount of respect to him. They looked up to him as their leader, and what a leader he was. Now, this doesn't mean Paul was perfect. That's not what imitating Christ means. Sure, the ultimate goal is that of Holy Perfection, but its not obtainable here on this earth (at least in my opinion). But imitating Christ means living with EVERYTHING you've got for Him, giving it your all towards him, and not following the ways of this world. 

I want to be like Paul. I want to have that boldness about me, that when people look at me, they know without a shadow of a doubt that I am imitating Christ, therefore they can imitate me. I want to be like that Chick-Fil-A sandwich. The OG, that everyone is trying to imitate. I want my life to undoubtedly be that of one that is for Christ. Especially as a person who is working with teenagers, shaping that next generation of youth. Actions speak louder than words. So I want to be that example of Christ to not only them, but everyone I come into contact with. 

I'm not perfect, nor am I anywhere close nor do I claim to be. But I'm trying. I'm giving it my all. The old has gone, the new has come. 

And for now, I'm going to eat some Chick-Fil-A.

Until Next Time.

Todd Handell

Is this thing on? - Finding the Good in the Bad

I know I never write on this blog anymore, yet here I am! Welcome back everyone! It's only been what, almost 2 years since my last post? Which was really just a mission trip update so... yea. But today, God really laid something on my heart and I think this is the best place to post it. I shared it with the church staff during our staff meeting today and something told me to share it with everyone else because someone else might need to hear it. 

I think its safe to say that since March 2020, many of us have faced some of the hardest times of our lives. Between the isolation, the suffering, the pain, the mental health issues, feeling the weight of the world on our shoulders, its been a bad year.  Every where you turn, something bad is happening again. In those moments, I think its really hard to see any good come out of it right? Like when bad things happen, its hard to step back and go "Oh its okay, it will work out for good eventually." 

Unfortunately, I think its in our human nature to focus on the bad, not the good. Its like the saying goes, that someone could give you 10 compliments, and 1 person will say something negative, and all you will focus on is that one negative comment. 

Now, I'm not saying this to try to minimize anything that has happened to anyone in the past year. That pain is real, the suffering is real, all the emotions that have been felt are very real. It's easily been the hardest and toughest year of my life, without a doubt. But something keeps telling me the good is going to come out of it. 

As I was thinking through all of this and reflecting, I kept thinking of the bad things that have happened in my own life, and not just in the past year. Times when I've lost loved ones, suffered immense grief, experienced emotional pain, felt lost with no direction to go, all of it. In fact, sometimes I reflect back and go "How is it possible that a 29 year old has experienced as much as I have at this point in my life?"

In each of those painful moments, I could have never seen the good. I could have never been able to probably point out even one positive thing to come out of those. But I was having a conversation with someone last night talking about some of these tough moments. Talking about the troubles I've faced in life. And I was able to say with 100% confidence that I am thankful for everything that has happened to me thus far in life, because I know for a fact that because of those, I'm who I am today. I know those situations shaped me into the Christian I am today, and my faith wouldn't be as strong if it wasn't for all those situations. 

What's crazy is, most of those situations were out of my control. Life just happens sometimes right? And sometimes you have to just deal with the cards your dealt and do your best to make some lemonade. We've actually come up with a saying here, that 2020 (and now 2021) kept handing us tomatoes, but we still make lemonade. Because its just what you do. 

I've always considered myself to be a positive person. I think of myself to be optimistic and can usually come around to find the good. But I have to be honest, the longer this year goes on (and I know its been more than a year, but I swear we are all still living in March 2020 sometimes) the harder it is to see the positive. The harder it becomes to remain hopeful and patient that some good will come out of it. 

This reminded me of a character in the bible who faced some tough times. Joseph (no not the Father of Jesus, the one with the fancy coat) grew up in a large family. A family of brothers who grew to hate him fairly quickly. So much so they sold him into slavery assuming he would die. I can't even imagine what Joseph must have felt in that moment. But you know he had to be feeling all hope was lost. There was nothing left to live for. But if you've read your bible, then you know how the story turns out. He becomes the second most powerful man in all of Egypt next to Pharaoh. His brothers end up returning to him when famine hits the land, and their father dies. His brothers assume he is now going to turn on them and seek out revenge, so they go to him making up lies of what their father said and begging for forgiveness. But this is how Joseph chooses to respond...

Genesis 50:19-21: "But Joseph said to them, "Don't be afraid. Am I in the place of God? You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives. So then, don't be afraid. I will provide for you and your children." And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them. 

Joseph could have taken a bad situation and made it much worse. But instead, he choose to see the good God brought out of a bad situation. Joseph's family lived "happily ever after" for a long time in the land of Egypt, despite all the bad that happened to him along the way. 

Maybe many of you out there are feeling like Joseph. Maybe you just feel like life keeps kicking you when your down. The longer this pandemic goes on, the tougher it feels. The harder it is to find the hope and the good. As we maybe are finally able to see the light at the end of the tunnel of this thing, we begin to find hope. Now, I think most of us will just want to wipe our brow and go "Thank goodness that is over." move on, and never want to think of it again. 

But I'm hopeful it won't be like that. I'm hopeful that we will be able to reflect back on this tough year, something that most of us would say would be intended to harm us, and find the good that God has intended to come out of it. 

It will be easy to try to just return back to normal. But I don't think that's what we need. Normal was already broken. We live in such a broken world, that seems to just become even more broken by the day (or minute at times). So going back to the way things were is not the answer. I pray that as a society, and particularly as a body of Christians, we can learn from everything that has happened in the past year, and bring the good out of it as God has intended. So where are you going to find the good? Because I promise you God will bring good out of this, no matter how long it may take. Maybe you wont see it for 1, 5, 10 or even 15 years. But I promise you it will be there, and I encourage you to find it along the way. 

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I hope you enjoyed this post, but there are no guarantees it will be written on again anytime soon. Guess it just depends on what else God lays on my heart. If you are still reading this far, Bravo! Most people won't make it this far. But know this, I love you, God loves you, and we are going to make it through this. If there is one thing I have already learned out of this, its how much I appreciate time with people I love. Being a single person during a lockdown / pandemic is not fun! I need people in my life, and I'm thankful for all the people I do have in my life. And I want you to know I'm here if anyone ever needs to chat. I love talking to people and can always use more of it in my life! Have a great rest of your week (or month, year, or however long until I write again.)