Name: Veggie Risotto
Ingredients: 2 c Chicken-like or veggie stock; 4 c Water; 1 Cloves garlic; minced, up to 2; 1 md Onion; diced smallish; 1 sm Bulb fennel; diced smallish; 1 1/2 c Arborio rice; 3/4 c Dry white wine; (optional); 8 oz Mushrooms; coarsely chopped; 2 tb Chopped fresh oregano; 2 tb Chopped fresh sage; Salt and pepper to taste

1. It’s biblical. Jesus established the local church and all the apostles did their ministry through it. The Christian life in the New Testament is church life. Christians today should expect and desire the same. 2. The church is its members. To be “a church” in the New Testament is to be one of its members (read through Acts). And you want to be part of the church because that’s who Jesus came to rescue and reconcile to himself. 3. It’s a pre-requisite for the Lord’s Supper. The Lord’s Supper is a meal for the gathered church, that is, for members (see 1 Cor. 11:20, 33). And you want to take the Lord’s Supper. It’s the team “jersey” which makes the church team visible to the nations. 4. It’s how to officially represent Jesus. Membership is the church’s affirmation that you are a citizen of Christ’s kingdom and therefore a card-carrying Jesus Representative before the nations. And you want to be an official Jesus Representative. Closely related to this. 5. It’s how to declare one’s highest allegiance. Your membership on the team, which becomes visible when you wear the “jersey,” is a public testimony that your highest allegiance belongs to Jesus. Trials and persecution may come, but your only words are, “I am with Jesus.” 6. It’s how to embody and experience biblical images. It’s within the accountability structures of the local church that Christians live out or embody what it means to be the “body of Christ,” the “temple of the Spirit,” the “family of God,” and so on for all the biblical metaphors (see 1 Cor. 12). And you want to experience the interconnectivity of his body, the spiritual fullness of his temple, and the safety and intimacy and shared identity of his family. 7. It’s how to serve other Christians. Membership helps you to know which Christians on planet Earth you are specifically responsible to love, serve, warn, and encourage. It enables you to fulfill your biblical responsibilities to Christ’s body (for example, see Eph. 4:11-16; 25-32). 8. It’s how to follow Christian leaders. Membership helps you to know which Christian leaders on planet Earth you are called to obey and follow. Again, it allows you to fulfill your biblical responsibility to them (see Heb. 13:7; 17). 9. It helps Christian leaders lead. Membership lets Christian leaders know which Christians on Planet Earth they will “give an account” for (Acts 20:28; 1 Peter 5:2). 10. It enables church discipline. It gives you the biblically prescribed place to participate in the work of church discipline responsibly, wisely, and lovingly (1 Cor. 5). 11. It gives structure to the Christian life. It places an individual Christian’s claim to “obey” and “follow” Jesus into a real-life setting where authority is actually exercised over us (see John 14:15; 1 John 2:19; 4:20-21). 12. It builds a witness and invites the nations. Membership puts the alternative rule of Christ on display for the watching universe (see Matt. 5:13; John 13:34-35; Eph. 3:10; 1 Peter 2:9-12). The very boundaries which are drawn around the membership of a church yields a society of people which invites the nations to something better.

Jonathan Leeman

CATEGORY	CUISINE	TAG	YIELD
Meats, Eggs			1	servings

INGREDIENTS

2	c	Chicken-like or veggie stock
4	c	Water
1		Cloves garlic; minced, up to 2
1	md	Onion; diced smallish
1	sm	Bulb fennel; diced smallish
1 1/2	c	Arborio rice
3/4	c	Dry white wine; (optional)
8	oz	Mushrooms; coarsely chopped
2	tb	Chopped fresh oregano
2	tb	Chopped fresh sage
		Salt and pepper to taste

INSTRUCTIONS

prep time 45 mins
Combine stock and water in a pot and bring to a boil, then turn down to
barely simmering. While it is warming up, chop your veggies. Saute onion,
fennel and garlic using either wine or stock to keep them from sticking,
until softened in a large nonstick skillet over medium low heat. Add rice
and wine. Stir a bit to coat the rice. Once the mixture dries out add 1/2
cup broth and stir. When the it starts to dry out again add another 1/2 cup
of broth and stir. Keep this pattern up - you don't have to stir
constantly, but you do need to do it about every 1-2 minutes. Keep adding
broth as needed to keep it from sticking. After about 10-15 minutes add the
mushrooms and herbs. Keep stirring and adding stock another 5-10 minutes
checking the rice to see if it is done. If you run out of stock before the
rice is done, just add hot water as needed. Mine usually takes 25-30
minutes. Season w/ salt an pepper as desired. If you do the dairy thing,
top with ff parmesan cheese.
Posted to fatfree digest by MayfliesI@aol.com on May 6, 1999, converted by
MM_Buster v2.0l.

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