Someone posed this question to me – “Why do you call yourself the Fat Pastor?” Well, I have a few reasons.
First of all, because I am a pastor. A lot of what I do on this blog is write about God and the Church. I offer my thoughts, or what I have called “my nebulous theology.” As a pastor, I am interested in sharing God’s message of love, redemption and grace. I think there is a lot of noise out there that contributes to a lot of confused people. I try to offer my view of God because, in my boldness, I think it might be helpful.
Since starting this blog, I have been given much encouragement from people that have received gifts from my words to know that I indeed have something to offer. I’ve had about 40,000 views, and get about 50-100 a day. This is not a huge site, but some people tell me they like it. So right away, in the title of my blog, people know that I am coming from a pastoral perspective. I am, and always will be, a pastor.
I am many other things too, and I write about the many things I enjoy. But one thing I am is overweight. It’s a fact that I cannot ignore. Every time I try to put on a tie, every time I tie my shoes, every time I get out of breath after light exertion, I am reminded of this fact. I am 6′ 2″, and at my last weigh-in, I’m 320 pounds. That’s grossly overweight. I named this blog in 2008 when I was shocked to find out my weight had topped 300 pounds, and it has generally gone the wrong way ever since. I’ve always been big. I was never the “fat kid” growing up, but I don’t think anyone has ever described me as skinny. I’m athletic, and actually healthy in a lot of ways, but my belly is certainly bigger than it should be.
I call myself the Fat Pastor on this blog first and foremost because its true. But I also use the word “Fat” to try and breathe a little brevity into what I am doing. I have always had a self-depricating sense of humor. People tend to think of pastors in one of two ways. Some have an automatic sense of distrust. This is something that we, as pastors, have earned well. There are far too many of us that abuse our authority, and misuse the trust we are given. There are also people that tend to think of pastors as almost otherworldly. By calling myself the Fat Pastor, I am attempting to diffuse either extreme.
I’m just a regular guy. I have struggles. I sin. I have a sense of humor. I like sports – perhaps too much. I like eating – definately way too much. I like beer and wine and scotch, but not in excess. I like some vulgar music and raunchy comedies and dirty jokes. I am not perfect. I’m fat. I don’t want to be, but I am. I don’t work out nearly as much as I should, and I eat way more than I ought. It doesn’t make me a bad person. Does it make me a hypocrite? Some would say so. But I am who I am. I want to be better, and I’m striving to live well and do good in the world.
I am gifted. I have failures. I am a sinner. I am a saint. It’s who I am. And I would bet it is who you are too.
I am the Fat Pastor. This is my blog. I hope you like it. If you do, share it with others. If you don’t, I’ll love you anyway.
For an update on how I’m trying to change, check out the #Fat2Fit page.
The Fat Pastor 