Hi, I'm Bobby, I'm a baptist pastor in SW Louisiana who was born and raised down here, which meant a steady diet of white rice, seafood and meat/gravy. About 2 years ago I decided to get myself healthy before my 40th birthday and also started running. A little over a month ago I decided to try going vegetarian for a week and liked it so much I kept it going for 10 days before eating at a friend's cookout on July 4th. I went back to vegetarian and have maintained it for all but one meal since then. I initially began this for health reasons, but I'm slowly but surely seeing the ethical reasons why many choose this lifestyle.
Right now I do consider myself eating a plant based diet, mostly vegetarian, but I am considering giving a vegan diet a shot.

It is a blessing to have another brother in Christ, considering veganism. My chaplain's office has three vegans in it and we definitely support each other. Thanks for writing and let me know how things are going.

Tony

Hi Bobby,

I think that's wonderful to hear! Going vegan will give you even further health benefits, as I'm sure you've been learning. It's so nice to see Christians becoming more concerned with animals and realizing that God's love extends not just to humans, but to all of his creation.

This is one of my favorite quotes by the Rev. Andrew Linzey from England:

"Animals are God's creatures, not human property, nor utilities, nor resources, nor commodities, but precious beings in God's sight. ... Christians whose eyes are fixed on the awfulness of crucifixion are in a special position to understand the awfulness of innocent suffering. The Cross of Christ is God's absolute identification with the weak, the powerless, and the vulnerable, but most of all with unprotected, undefended, innocent suffering."

Blessings to you, Bobby...

Monique

Hi, Bobby. I, too, am a Baptist vegan. I've been vegan since December 2007. Many members of my congregation know that I am vegan, mainly because I am Facebook friends with a lot of them.

-- Mike