Fat and Faithful: Learning to Love Our Bodies, Our Neighbors, and Ourselves
You are already enough, and you are not too much.
J. Nicole Morgan grew up fat and loving Jesus. But she was forever burdened by what she saw as her biggest spiritual flaw: her weight. In Fat and Faithful, she shares her journey from body shame to fat acceptance and shows us how to care for the image of God found in every body–including our own. When the world tells us that our bodies are too much, J. Nicole Morgan reminds us that all people–no matter their size, shape, or ability–are beloved of God. Bodies of all sizes, shapes, colors, ethnicities, genders, sexual orientations, and abilities are expressions of the body of Christ. When our first prayer isn’t about changing our bodies, we create space to care for our neighbors and to celebrate the unique ways we are equipped to serve our communities in the bodies we have. Fat and Faithful shows us that the world is wider than the size of our waistline.
An interview with four other women about being fat in the church.
In all of my remembered days, two truths remain constant: I believe in God, and I am fat. While there have been seasons where I struggled with my faith or my fatness, neither has ever left me.
Changing the way the church interacts with fat people requires a critique of the cultural norms. Churches need to cross diet devotionals off their schedule. Pastors need to erase sermon illustrations that end with something like “or you’ll end up fat and lazy!” Youth groups and women’s ministries especially need to combat the cultural ideals of bodies and beauty. Governing church bodies need to erase explicit size requirements and ask themselves if they are making subconscious size judgments. Individual Christians of all sizes need to refuse to participate in body hate and shame. Congregants need to see people of every size, appearance, and ability living life, and arm flab should be free to jiggle as hands wave in praise.