Sonya Thomas, that delectable Super-sized eater has claimed not one, but two, first prizes over the past Labor Day weekend, eating 162 chicken wings in 12 minutes and 42 hamburgers in 8 minutes! Have a look at this video of the last 3 minutes in Buffalo to witness the excitement of the end of the contest. Her secret? I will let her speak for herself:

“HEALTH, DIET, AND EXERCISE: Quite often I am asked about how I prepare for contests. Though I have been known to consume rather massive quantities of food on days during eating events, my day-to-day diet consists of healthy foods. I eat lots of fruits and veggies, and an ample amount of protein (fish and eggs mainly). And I do aerobic exercise up to 2 hours a day, 5 days per week.

Sure, I enjoy eating high calorie deserts and snacks on occasion, but when I do I counter them with at least an equal amount of exercise and calorie-burning activities. I’m also very active on my job, 10-12 hours a day, 5 days per week, which helps keep my metabolism “revved up.”

Remember, these contests and exhibitions occur only once or twice per month. They’re the exception … not the rule! Competitive eating is a sport … NOT a lifestyle. I could not be a top contender in this sport for very long if I didn’t take care of my body–both physically and physiologically. I plan to continue in that vein. That’s why you’ll hear more about “The Black Widow’s” feats in the months and years to come, God willing”

Two hours of exercise five times a day! No wonder I can’t have more than half a serving for seconds each time, despite the fact that I get served some of the best food any man can crave for most days! To read the rest of her story go here.

Over at Messy’s there is this talk among some of the commenters currently about the “Asian Church.” Messy herself was wondering about the notion of a Malaysian expression of the Emergent Church called “Emergent Malaysia” a movement that is tentatively spear-headed by Sivin Kit, Messy’s pastor. Some of the commenters have responded by asking for more information about the Asian Church.

First, let me say it’s about time Malaysian churches, and for that matter, national churches in other parts of Asia, Africa and other non-Western countries take their calling seriously as salt and light in their parts of the world. For too long, they have imported the Western man’s seasonings, and used what my mom used to call “foreign lanterns” to shine in their little corners. My mom also used to described those foreign lanterns as things that are effective for throwing light to places far off, but ineffective for doing its work for places close by, but that is another story, probably more appropriate for another post.

About twenty years ago, while in college I had one of my articles published in the college newspaper. In the article I imagined that a third world national church was writing an open letter to a Mission Board in the USA. I imagined the home church leaders pleading with the mission board to stop sending the missionaries because these missionaries brought a Western Gospel that is more “Western” than Gospel. They transplanted the quarrels such as those between Luther and Calvin to foreign soils, brought along Western hymnals, idiosyncracies, and traditions. They were reluctant to help the nationals to forge a local identity of what it means to be a Christian in their local cultural context, mistakenly assuming that the way to “do church” is the way they and their forefathers have done for so many years.

There were immediate outcry and uproar on the campus after the publication of the article. You will remember from my earlier post that this was a conservative evangelical Christian liberal arts college. Some accused me of having only read older missionary texts, and not considered modern works where supposedly more enlightened contemporary missionary initiatives and thinking were surfacing. Yet others thought I was calling for a watered-down syncretized Gospel. Unfortunately very few understood the intent of my words. They were borne not out of reading or thinking alone, but out of real life experiences. So, it is gratifying for me to see that the church, at least in Malaysia, is now rising up to its challenge to re-define what it means to be Christ-followers in their local context. And, I think, in some sense, that is what the Emergent church is about as well. It seeks to re-define the meaning of being Christ-followers in the light of our modern contemporary context, and to proclaim the unchanging message of the gospel and the claims of Christ to a changing, fluid society whose values, priorities, attention span, passions, philosophies and purpose are constantly under review, redefinition and reconstruction. It is good to see that finally Christ’s followers are beginning to see the importance to reflect what it means to be an authentic citizen of contemporary society following Christ in an authentic way, with an authentic, culturally sensitive expression of that faith so that it is not only attractive to peers, but also so that the follower of Christ finds authenticity in his or her own journey with God.