"This isn't a diet."
"It's not?"
"NO! I'm learning new ways to think about food! I'm beginning to understand why I feel the cravings I do, and how to alter my understanding about my bodies needs."

"Do you avoid certain foods?"
"Oh yes. I'm very careful about what I eat."
"....And that's not a diet?"
"No, of course not. Diets don't work. This is a life-alteration method."
"What part of your life is it altering?"
"Every part of my life, it's wonderful!"
"But specifically...what has been altered the most dramatically?"
"Well, my eating habits, of course."

" 'Dieting; v : to cause to eat and drink sparingly or according to prescribed rules' . But this is not that, right?"
"Look, you can say what you want...but diets don't work. I don't diet. I've altered my..."
"Your understanding about your bodies needs...yes, I heard that."

Call it what you want...but it's still a diet. Isn't it interesting how we, as humans, do that? We feel like we've fundamentally changed something if we re-name it. It's still the same old thing, but somehow we feel better about it.

I heard someone say "There's nothing about Eastgate that's a normal church service. We don't do normal church here."

Really? Actually, I think we do. What do we do that's any different from our Baptist neighbors down the road? We start with a set of songs that we sing corporately. We give announcements. We have a time where someone teaches, and then it's about over. How is that not a normal church service? Re-naming it doesn't make it different.

If I were to identify what I believe is not normal...it's the sense of community and honesty that has become equivelant to Eastgate. It's the attitude of prioritizing people over programs. That is different...that's not all that normal. We do have what is considered a normal church service. But the people who make up this church, who assemble at this service, are anything but normal church people.

"Yeah, it's a diet I guess. But it's really working for me."

"Yes, it's a church, but it's really working."