Faith like Fitness

The more I learn about the fitness industry: what it takes to run a successful gym, be a personal trainer or group exercise instructor, the more I learn what it means to be Christian. This sounds like heresy, but it is founded on a statement of Carl Rogers, psychologist, sociologist and founder of client-centered therapy: "Everyone is in need of healing." The Greek word for healing is the same word for salvation. Churches often count how many people have been "saved/healed/come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior". The more I pursue health, AKA 'healing' the more I come to know Christ. It is reasonable to say the practical goal of the church is health; therefore the practical goal of Christians is to build healthy lives through Christ. Successful organizations incorporate principles of health and healing into their everyday practices. The goal of a fitness organization is to transform the physical health of their members, which then transforms emotional and mental health. Churches do this the other way around. At the end of the day the order is not what's important, but how we arrive at and practice health is very important. I'd like to share a few of the healthy principles I've learned in the fitness industry, and then take a look at how they play out as the church.

Principle 1- Challenge them to grow
Great Group Exercises classes engage everyone in the room. Finding the right blend for participants in class is tough, but do-able.

I used to attend a class named, "Sports Conditioning" this class had young, old, unfit and very fit. The regularly scheduled instructor did a good job of challenging the whole class, coming up with new exercises and modulating intensity. She was great. One day they brought in a sub. She focused on the elderly and didn't make the class challenging. At all. Her focus on a few left the rest of us wanting more. People need a reason to stay. If they've already met your goals and standards, and there's nothing more to teach them, they will get bored, stop coming or go to another class with higher expectations.

Principle 2- Encourage growth, don't force it
An odd thing happens when an instructor leads a class: people do what you say, regardless if they're capable. Asking for the right level of fitness out of participants is make or break.

If we say, "everyone needs to do flying-burpee-jacks" 90% of the class will give it a try. Which may single people out who have no idea what a flying-burpee-jack is. Regardless of the move, there are plenty of steps, variations and options to get people to do what you want them to. Saying, "we will all do this, at the intensity I want" is a great way to burn people out, not recognize people who are giving their best efforts and destroy people's confidence in the fitness they've been pursuing. If a class continually reminds people they are not fit enough, they will get discouraged and leave. It's okay to set high goals, but people need additional help along the way. A smiling and encouraging face with a modification or two along the way never hurts.

Principle 3- Nurture relationships
Get to know who's in your class, including their previous physical activities and injuries.

If a lot of the people in your class have wrist problems push-ups might be a bad idea. Even if you love push-ups. The goal of participants coming to class is to help them build health, not make them hurt from practicing your favorite methods. If you know two or three people have the same issue, makes sure you include a modification so they feel included in the class activities. One of the driving forces behind group exercise is making people feel included. Personal skills go a long way, but the substance of your methods needs to fit the needs of your people. If your substance doesn't take into account what makes them hurt, or makes them feel like they can't attempt what you're asking, then they will assume your class is not for them. Your class is for them, just make sure your methods align with what you know about them, and never stop learning about who is in your class.

Principle 4- Refresh yourself and study new methods
Instructing can get boring, especially if you're doing the same thing over and over and over again. Everyone needs to explore new ways of doing the same old thing.

A bored teacher is one who is no longer excited about what they do. The best way to get excited again is to go out and see what other people are doing, modify it, and then bring it back and teach it your way. I'll never forget a class I tried called Chi-Force. It was a body weight movement class that incorporated a lot of mobility, planks, squats, punches and other movements. It was very refreshing to find new ways of doing the same old plank, but most importantly I learned something brand new about striking. Striking with an open palm not only strengthens the wrists, but it also engages the anterior deltoid. I would have never discovered that truth had I not attended that class. It's a feeling and technique I'll never forget, and still gets me excited today.

Principle 5- Do it yourself
When it comes to leading others in class, whatever you ask them to do, you must be capable of demonstrating, explaining and doing.

You need to know what you're asking them to do, how intense it is, and for how long they can do it. This means you need to study and practice your methods, skills and modifications before you step into the classroom. You won't be able to gauge how well everyone will respond to what you're asking, but if you can show them how to do it, then they will be much more likely to try and succeed. Your greatest tool in the group exercise world is not a piece of equipment, it is your own body, knowledge of how it works and what it takes to get your body where it is. You may not be able to do every method as well as you'd like, but you need to know what its like to try, to succeed and how to modify your moves.


On a national scale, churches in America are declining, the question I see posed in many an article asks, "why?" My simple answer is, "we're not doing it right" and by 'it' I mean practicing as the body of Christ. We lose out when we focus on one age demographic or season of life. We lose out when we get upset with lack of growth, pull out the most difficult passages of scripture and flaunt them to show how little we do what Jesus did. We preach blanket messages, not thinking about the people in the pews, their struggles or the factors in their lives. We forget to take time for ourselves, slow down, learn new methods and teach them our way. We forget that Jesus message was not simply to pick up a proverbial cross, but to pick up a physical cross. Our lifestyle is supposed to have a very tangible, visible and touchable impact. This burden is not heavy, but light, although its impossible to carry without His strength.

I recognize the generic nature of my statements, and the bluntness of my words. I recognize that many churches are hurting. Yet I know there are some churches stuck in their ways refusing to change. Christ offers healing to one, but the sword to the other. For those who are unfamiliar with the sword Christ wields, let me explain. I cannot in good conscious read Isaiah, Jeremiah and Ezekiel and always refer to Jesus as kind, loving and compassionate. He is those things, but He is more. Ezekiel had a vision about the destruction of Jerusalem that drives this point home.

'Then I heard him call out in a loud voice, "Bring the guards of the city here, each with a weapon in his hand, And I saw six men coming from the direction of the upper gate, which faces north, each with a deadly weapon in his hand. With them was a man clothed in linen who had a writing kit at his side. They came in and stood beside the bronze altar.
Now the glory of the God of Israel went up from above the cherubim, where it had been, and moved to the threshold of the temple. Then the LORD called to the man clothed in line who had the writing kit at his side and said to him, 'Go throughout the city of Jerusalem and put a mark on the foreheads of those who grieve and lament over all the detestable things that are done in it.'
As I listened he said to the others, 'Follow him through the city and kill, without showing pity or compassion. Slaughter old men, young men and maidens, women and children, but do not touch anyone who has the mark. Begin at my sanctuary." '

While there are strange images and descriptions in Ezekiel's writing, the purpose is clear: God patrols his house. He spares those who are close to him, but He doesn't tolerate those who make a mockery of His house and His name. He does not let us do whatever we want under the banner of Christianity. Christian sin is still sin.

The prophets openly preached against the abuses in God's house, but simply calling the prophets abuse caller-outers isn't fair. While we have read most of Ezekiel's vision, there's more to it we need to read. The prophets were not cold, callous and unforgiving people. Their hearts were pointed towards God for the redemption and healing of Israel.

"While they were killing and I was left alone, I fell facedown, crying out, 'Ah, Sovereign LORD! Are you going to destroy the entire remnant of Israel in this outpouring of your wrath on Jerusalem?'

Ezekiel did not want to see the people wiped out, he cried out before God, afraid that all might be lost. God's consolation to Ezekiel reflects the hardness of the people towards God.

He answered me, 'The sin of the house of Israel and Judah is exceedingly great; the land is full of bloodshed and the city is full of injustice. They say, "The LORD has forsaken the land; the LORD does not see." So I will not look on them with pity or spare them, but I will bring down on their own heads what they have done.' "

God's intention is not to wipe out His people, but to cleanse them from the rotten practices that have corrupted them. God stands against the unjust, against those who are quick to shed blood and against those who act without pity. He judges them as they have judged. The purging of Jerusalem is God setting his people right, showing them how truly wicked they had become and giving them the opportunity to repent.

Repent? Repent from what? It was more than injustice and bloodshed they were practicing.

"The visions of your prophets were false and worthless; they did not expose your sin to ward off your captivity. The oracles they gave you were false and misleading."

As leaders we need to speak the truth. The truth about the church is that we are not inspiring people to lead lives like Christ, we're asking people to be good instead. Our goodness isn't good enough. We glaze over difficult conversations because they are hard, and when we do confront we have the tendency to say, "change now or get out." Change takes time. The heart can change overnight, but the body and mind take time to mold. Too often we haven't supported those who are struggling, and too often we remain silent while we drift away from the heart of our cause. Living like Jesus. We must find the courage to confront ourselves. The courage we need dawns the closer we come to Christ, accepting all of Him, not just the parts that make us feel good. We must take a hard look at our methods, what we are asking of each other, what we are doing ourselves, how we put Christ into action, renew ourselves and move forward. We have a great opportunity to rise up from the ashes of our shortsighted practices and live as the people of God.