What God has taught me through CrossFit part 3: COMPARISON and PROGRESS

As I was running during a WOD a few weeks back, I had a moment with the Lord that leads me to share “What God has taught me through CrossFit, part 3: COMPARISON and PROGRESS.”

We recently made a move to a new city and began working out with a new community.  This obviously has been a transition, but we have begun to develop relationships with some wonderful new people in our class. However, my wife and I noticed something particularly strange during our first weeks working out.  There is one individual who shows up every day, attempts movements, but simply is not honest when it comes to the white board.  The whiteboard, for those not familiar with CrossFit, is simply, well, a whiteboard used to track workouts for the classes and to record scores.  For this person, it seems the whiteboard is what they show up for.  Over and over again my wife and I would leave the box and while driving home we would remark to one another, “Did you see what this person said they did? That’s ridiculous – there is absolutely no way.”  I think the CrossFit community as a whole values honesty, and this person wasn’t being honest.  On top of that, this person was using the whiteboard as a comparison when they simply should have been focused on completing the movements correctly.   However, what God spoke to me that morning was not a problem with the individual; rather, he showed me a problem in my heart.

You see, deep in the inner workings of my heart, there was a sense of anger that this person would be perceived as doing more than me.  I had in a sick way begun looking to this person as the measurement for my success.  Now, for those who have ever met me know that I am a slightly competitive person – ok – very competitive person.  There is room for competition in CrossFit, but this type of sick comparison is simply unprofitable.   Teddy Roosevelt once said, “Comparison is the thief of joy,” and for me comparison was ripping the joy out of my workouts.  When I first started CrossFit  I knew I couldn’t keep up with anyone, so for each WOD, I went into my own little world and simply did the best that I could.  In fact, hardly ever did I look at the whiteboard to see where I stacked up.  Suddenly, months later I am looking to someone who cannot even complete movements to find my acceptance.  How warped is that?

So that morning, God basically asked me, “David why are you looking to this person for validation?  Who cares what people think?  Are you living for their approval or for your progress?”

Before I could finish the 400m run, I was like, “Wow God – guilty as charged.”  What I realized pretty quickly is this is exactly what we do in our Christian walks too.  We look to those around us and try to validate our walks based on where we stack up. We are always trying to measure up, and as long as we feel like people think we measure up, we are content.  Problem is: this is not what God has called us to.  In fact, the Scripture demands holiness.  Holiness is simply not being a little better than the next person – holiness is only found in God alone.  He is the standard – not humanity.  When we are simply satisfied with pulling out our measuring cups and comparing, we are not progressing towards Christ and this is sin. 

So as I processed through this I realized that comparison had begun to steal my joy.  The fact of the matter is that no matter how fast or how strong or how toned I get, there will always be someone who is ahead of me – someone faster, someone stronger, someone who looks better.  I didn’t start CrossFit to be the best.  I started and have continued CrossFit to progress in my fitness journey.  So to it is with Christ…if we are honest with our walk with the Lord, there will always be someone more spiritual, more knowledgeable, more loving, and more like Christ.  We didn’t start following Christ to be the best – Christ is the best.  We started and are continuing to become more and more like Christ – He is the standard and it’s His glory we are after.

So in redefining success for Crossfit, I have learned to look at PROGRESS.  I have begun questioning myself, how have I progressed as a whole and how have I progressed with certain movements?  The reality is that I cannot do any movement half as good as some people, but I sure can do them better than when I started.  During my first month of CrossFit I tried to do a pull-up – it was an utter failure – I wasn’t even close to doing one.  Thankfully there exists resistant bands and using the largest one, I could complete some pull-ups.  I then remember trying to learn how to perform a kipping pull-up and that was humorous for everyone present.  Fast forward to today, and I can complete strict pull-ups with no band.  Obviously losing several pounds helps, but it truly was a progression.  It wasn’t like one day I couldn’t do pull-ups and then suddenly I could.  Instead it has been a process - the process leads to progress.

CrossFit has taught me the value of progress.  Suddenly success isn’t trying to beat everyone at the workout – it is committing to do my best, day in and day out, and to commit to the process.  I compare myself to myself and see that there is progression.  I get better and stronger each day and that is a measure of success in CrossFit.   Perhaps many of us would benefit greatly with this thinking in our spiritual lives.   The successful Christian life should not be defined by comparing ourselves to others – for in that we will always fall short of the true standard.  Instead, we should seek to progress in our walk toward Christ.  As we grow closer to Him, He transforms us, and hopefully who we are today is somewhere closer to Christ than when we started.  Instead of defining the wellness of our spiritual life by what we do, perhaps we should begin defining it by how we are growing in love toward others or we growing in our love for God. 

May our minds capture a picture of the holiness of God and squash our attempts to match up with comparison and may this vision catapult us to a progression in our walk with God so that we are becoming more and more conformed to the image of Christ.

2 Corinthians 3:18 “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord as in a mirror, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

What God has taught me through CrossFit part 2....discipline is not a curse word!

Many people will tell you that one of the things they like most about CrossFit is the community, so it is no wonder God has used that to speak to me.  However, there are so many other things that God has used to teach me through CrossFit.  For part 2 of this series, I want to focus on the fact that God has taught me a great deal about DISCIPLINE and CONSISTENCY.  In my mind, these two words complement one another quite well – in fact I would say, discipline feeds consistency.  Thanks to this last year, God has been teaching me about these two to a great deal and here are some of my thoughts.

Several years ago, while in seminary, my mentor had challenged me to lose weight.  His exact words were, “David – you are fat and you need to lose weight.”  Sounds harsh huh?  He was absolutely right.  I had “let myself go,” so to speak and I needed an honest evaluation and a butt kicking.  He and I decided to work out together and begin working towards a healthier lifestyle.  We put certain challenges before one another and accompanied with incentives as rewards.  During this time, I remember my friends remarking to me, “You’re so disciplined.”  When someone says this to you, you are tempted to begin believing it.  I really wasn’t disciplined in any area of my life, much less in my fitness or my spiritual walk.   I simply made accommodations to lose some weight, but I never created lasting habits that would be sustainable.  I simply wasn’t as disciplined as I let on to be, and therefore I wasn’t consistent in my health.  In fact for the next couple of years, my weight was like the Georgia Cyclone at Six Flags, up and down so fast that when you had a moment to pause…. it left you spinning and looking at your candid picture wondering if your truly looked that bad or why in the world you felt so bad.

I am convinced that for many Christians, including myself (for a long period of time), this is exactly what our Christian walk looks like.  We simply do not have a disciplined spiritual life.  For some of us it’s we are distracted with the world and for other it’s like I used to argue that discipline leads to legalism.  Whatever the reasons, the truth is clear in our lack of consistency – we are not healthy beings.  By the time we get off the season of the roller coaster, we pause and look back and do not like the pictures that portray what we have just experienced.   Quite honestly, my wife and I began to look at pictures of our experiences together as a married couple, and we began to despise what we saw – I couldn’t bear to look at myself and well she didn’t like the way I looked either.  (She has always looked fantastic)  So, in her pushing, we began the CrossFit journey.

God has used CrossFit to show me that discipline is not a curse word.  In fact, discipline is so beneficial to us, that it really is crazy for us not to embrace it.  Many people ask how we continue to get up and work out at 5am – we simply say, “It’s what we do – we love it.”  When I say that, please do not get the idea that we love getting out of bed – we DON’T.  For me, sleeping is similar to a hobby.  I embrace it, love it, need it, and want it!  However, CrossFit has shown me the value of something greater and for that I will pull myself out of bed each day, drive myself to the box, and go to work! There are many days I do not FEEL like getting up, or FEEL like working out, or FEEL like giving my best.  However, CrossFit has provided a DISCIPLINE that demands it.  On those days where I haven’t FELT like it, I can honestly say that when I finished the WOD and was walking back to the car, I was GLAD that I had shown up – IT WAS WORTH IT! 

So I have learned the value of DISCIPLINE and with this discipline comes CONSISTENCY.  When it comes to CrossFit, there is really not an option.  If I am in town, I will show up.  One – because I am paying for it, but two I miss working out when I am out of town.  It has brought extreme value to my life, and for that we make time.  Even in the culture of CrossFit, there is consistency.  Any box you go to will encourage you to find a time that works for you and to be consistent with that time.  Part of the reason is the consistent community you have.  There is also the consistent reminder that no one has arrived. We are all in process together.  There are the coaches who are consistent and even the soreness that is now a consistence in my life. 

So what is the connection with discipline and consistency in things God has taught me? First of all, the Gospel demands that we live lives of discipline – not in a legalistic way, but in a way that says we prepare our bodies for what is most important.  We are running a race as the apostle Paul describes, and if we want to run faithfully and obtain the prize, we discipline ourselves.  In our discipline, it should drive us to our Lord with a passion.  With CrossFit, I do not show up at the gym or learn movements so I can check things off a list or to say that I did it.  I show up and discipline for a greater cause.  So it is with our spiritual discipline.  We do not exercise discipline to be legalistic, to say we did something, or even to earn the favor of God – no - we are disciplined realizing that in seeking the Lord, knowing the Lord, and growing in the Lord our lives become more in line with what a disciple of Christ should be.  Our discipline feeds growth and growth in Christ feeds growth for the kingdom.  May we pursue to be disciplined disciples who seek to make disciples and love God passionately!

1 Corinthians 9:24-27 “Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one receives the prize? So run that you may obtain it.  Every athlete exercises self-control in all things.  They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable.  So I do not run aimlessly; I do not box as one beating the air. But I discipline my body and keep it under control, lest after preaching to others I myself should be disqualified.”

As we experience and exercise discipline in our spiritual walk, we will undoubtedly become more consistent.  I will never forget the first moment I heard the prelude to the DC Talk song, “What If I Stumble.”  I was a junior in high school who had recently been saved, and I was sitting in my girlfriend’s car.  The following words from Brennan Manning were read, “The greatest single cause of atheism in the world today is Christians: who acknowledge Jesus with their lips, walk out the door, and deny Him by their lifestyle.  That is what an unbelieving world simply finds unbelievable.”  Those words will forever be etched into my mind, and regardless of your thoughts on them, we all must agree that the church has a consistency problem.  Charges of hypocrisy run rampant, and people long for integrity.  Believers, on the whole, struggle being consistent, and yet this is exactly what the Gospel demands of us – the Gospel demands integrity – integrity is all about consistency and believing that what we do every day matters more than what we do occasionally.   I want to be consistent in my walk with the Lord and for it to be such there must be discipline. 

CrossFit has challenged me to be consistent – to show up faithfully – to work hard habitually – and to grow continually.  For this I am so grateful.  Now if I can just transfer more of this to my spiritual walk, I will truly be progressing.

What God has taught me through CrossFit

This month marks a year since I began what has turned into the most enjoyable workout regime of my life – CrossFit.  It has also been the most intense, the most demanding, and the most rewarding.

A little over a year ago, my fitness level had plateaued once again.  A year prior I had done “Insanity” and competed in a weight loss competition.  The adrenaline of that was wearing off and the pounds were beginning to add back on.  My wife and I talked through options, and it was actually her pushing that led us to try CrossFit.

When we first explored signing up, the price alone was a huge weight staring us in the face, but I rationalized it by deciding that we would try it for 3 months, and if it “worked” we would simply transfer back the YMCA and do the workouts ourselves.  Naïvely I figured I just needed the CrossFit trainers to teach me how to do the workouts and then I would be sailing.  It didn’t take us three months to make the decision CrossFit was for us – not even three weeks – after 3 days with our wonderful trainers I knew I was ALL IN!

While I still have to write a check with each new month, I can honestly say for my wife and I the same is true – the benefits (both fitness and lessons) FAR OUTWEIGH any cost we have paid.  Over the next few posts, I simply want to share what God has taught me through CrossFit (thus far and in no particular order).  If I was a better listener and learner I am sure there would be plenty more and far greater lessons, but I am convinced that with each new day dawning, there is a step to take and growth to be made.

GOD HAS TAUGHT ME ABOUT COMMUNITY THROUGH CROSSFIT

During our first week of foundations, it was clear that community was a huge deal at our box.  While I attempted to pay attention through the class, my eye was continuously drawn across the room as a group of 15 people worked out at 6am.  What struck me as odd was how they seemed to all know each other, talked to each other, and quite frankly seemed to enjoy being around one another at 6 in the morning.  As my wife and I transferred into the normal classes, it definitely took time for us to find our niche and what schedule worked best for us, but once we did, I cannot overstate what an incredible community we had in our class at 5 AM – yes 5 AM! 

We immediately began to bond with so many friends, who like us, were setting their alarm clocks around 4:30, showing up at 5, and leaving before most people even began to think about waking up.  It was this community that pushed me to do things I never thought possible, to try things I have been scared of my entire life, and to finish workouts when all I wanted to do was quit a WOD.  When we didn’t show up for a morning for whatever reason, my wife would often get a text inquiring about her well-being.  When we returned to the box, we were always greeted with “It’s good to see you again!”  This community was unlike anything I had ever experienced in a fitness community, and one, which honestly made it really difficult to make our move to Myrtle Beach.   In my wife and I’s discussion about pursuing a new ministry adventure in Myrtle Beach, our CrossFit community came into the discussion on multiple occasions. 

So what is it about CrossFit that God used to teach me about community?  What are some of the things that happen at 5am in a box that the Christian community should consider for how the Gospel community should be?  God has shown me real world examples of what is described in Scripture:

COMMUNITY THROUGH CONSISTENCY AND ENCOURAGEMENT

Simply put – when you see each other on a consistent basis with the same purpose in mind, it stirs everyone up to good works – to push forward – to grow!  As you spend time with people you begin to learn how to BEST encourage one another as well.

Hebrews 10:24-25 “And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.”

1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Encourage one another”

COMMUNITY THROUGH SUPPORTING AND SERVING ONE ANOTHER

While I have grown personally through CrossFit, the journey is not solely about me.  As I grew in the community, it became more and more about seeing others fulfill their goals as well.  I never thought putting up someone else’s weight after a WOD would be enjoyable, but after seeing people serve me so faithfully, it becomes easy to serve one another. 

Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

COMMUNITY THROUGH LOVING ONE ANOTHER

It didn’t take my wife and I long to see that people genuinely cared about one another in our box.  Through actions and words, it was so encouraging seeing people not only get along but also really love one another well.  I remember asking our trainer if everyone “really” got along, and she simply said, “Yes, our people love one another.”  Over and over again this love was displayed as people cared for others, prayed for others, and served others so well.

John 13:34 “Love one another”

Lord I pray that more and more of our churches would experience this kind of community around the Gospel. 

THANKFUL

Thankful.  What an incredible word that carries with it so much meaning.   On this day dedicated to the act of giving thanks, we must ask ourselves to whom are we giving thanks.  The clear answer is Almighty God, who reigns with sovereignty, loves abundantly, and showers us with His grace.  On this day, I am extremely thankful to this great God for so many things – far too many to list in a few words.

For those of you who may not know, my wife and I began exploring a call to ministry in another context in late August.  This journey has dominated our recent months and really caused us to rely on the Lord’s leading.   The opportunity before us was one that would take us to Myrtle Beach, SC to begin a new work at Coastal Carolina University.  So why in the world would we even consider leaving Anderson University, where the Lord has been so good to us, to begin a new season of ministry – a season that will be more challenging, more lonely, and with less resources?  Why would we consider uprooting and moving away from the only place we have known as a married couple?  Why would we “risk” what we “have” for the unknown?

In reality, the answers to these questions were not hard to come by.  In fact, the only thing we continually came back to was, “In light of the current situation at Coastal, and in response to a faithful God who is calling, how could we not go?”  How could we not trust this faithful God with our lives?  So, my wife and I decided fairly quickly that the Lord was calling us to a new work, and we immediately began some of the transition preparation.  We informed our students that we would be transitioning to the new work, and the students were incredibly supportive and excited for this new ministry.

So on December 1^st, my wife and I will begin a new season in Myrtle Beach, SC, and we are extremely thankful, despite the unknown, despite the tough road ahead, and despite the sadness of leaving friends behind.  We are thankful because we serve a great God who is incredible faithful no matter what the outcome is.  We are thankful that our acceptance as children of God will not be dependent on our performance in this new work; rather our acceptance before Almighty God is secure because of the finished work of Jesus Christ.  We are thankful because God has confirmed over and over that this is our path.  We are thankful because our house sold quickly.  We are thankful because Amanda was able to transfer more quickly than expected.  We are thankful because we have a place to live for the short-term in Myrtle Beach.  We are thankful because our students have seen this as a commissioning rather than abandonment.  We are so thankful for how God has continually worked out the details in the midst of our unknowns.

While this move has dominated our energy and thoughts over the last several months, we have so much to be thankful for!  We are thankful for the opportunity to serve at Anderson University over the last four years.  It has been an incredible time of ministry, growing, and friendships that I will have for a lifetime.  I am thankful for so many students who inspire me by their faith, who have served extremely well during their time at Anderson, and who have allowed me to share a part of their life.  I am thankful for students who welcomed me in four years ago and allowed me to lead them and serve with them.  I am thankful for students who have given countless hours to serve the campus and make disciples.  I am thankful for friends who have been there to encourage me and challenge me in my walk with the Lord.  Though times have not always been blissful in Anderson, there is no doubt I have so much to be thankful for what God has done over the last four years!  I am also thankful that I have had an amazing wife to share this journey with.  She has been my partner in ministry and I am excited to continue our journey in a new location.  I am thankful that she is willing to sacrifice as well so that we can take the Gospel to a new context.  I am thankful that the Lord will use her just as much as me in the coming days!

We truly have a lot to be thankful for!  God has blessed us in countless way and through countless people.  Thank you for sharing the journey with us, and thank you for your continued prayers.  On this day, please join me in thanking the Giver of all good gifts, the Lord!  He is worthy to receive our thankfulness, our affections, and our praises.

In reminding myself of how thankful I ought to be, I am reminded of David’s words in Psalm 103.  It was as if David were worried he too would forget how awesome the Lord had been to him, and so he commands his soul to praise God.  He writes:

Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and all that is within me,
    bless his holy name!
Bless the Lord, O my soul,
    and forget not all his benefits,
who forgives all your iniquity,
    who heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life from the pit,
    who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
who satisfies you with good
    so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.

Let us be thankful for this great God and what has been accomplished through Jesus Christ!

Thoughts from "Leaders That Last"

Over the next few days, I want to share several key thoughts from a book I recently spent time at the suggestion of a student at AU.  Whenever a student recommends a book, several thoughts go through my mind, but at this recommendation, I immediately ordered the book and read through it this past weekend.  The book is "Leaders That Last" by Dave Kraft.  Kraft has incredible wisdom to share and I just want to unpack a couple of thoughts in a couple different blog posts.

Right out the gate, Kraft shares a prayer of his that stirred my soul - he writes, "Make me a person who leaves footprints in people's lives.  I don't want to be a person who comes and goes with no lasting impact. Because of contact with me, may people never be the same again.  May I be a person who intentionally and lasting influences others" (p. 41).

This prayer resonated with me and it is in fact the prayer of my heart.  When God called me into the ministry, I was in between my Sophomore and Junior year at UGA and I had no idea what that meant or what it looked like.  Naturally, I connected it with those I knew best who were in ministry and at that time one of my mentors was a traveling worship leader and so I was around him and traveling evangelists or itinerant preachers.  To make a long story short, I went to seminary thinking, I am going to be a traveling evangelist, even though I hadn't preached but a handful of times and I really didn't know what it meant.  Over time and through FUGE camps, God really began to change my heart (not that all itinerant evangelists need a change of heart) - He called me to college ministry and really making disciples in the college context.  This meant living life with college students and investing in them for the short amount of time we have.

As I wake each day, I pray that God would continue to stir in me the passion to make disciples as Jesus calls us to, and that my life would not be about numbers or about status or about job positions, but that it would truly be about leaving footprints in people's lives and seeing LIFE CHANGE.  See, the thing about the life change is that in my flesh there is no power to change anyone's life.  But CHRIST in me, can change anyone's life and that is my job to intentionally show Christ and allow Christ to live His life through me so that people are changed.  As we do this, disciples multiply and in people's lives we see lasting influence.  This is what Paul writes about in 2 Cor. 3 - Christ through him has impacted the Corinthians and changed their lives!  This is our mission and the ministry to which we are all called.  As a leader of college students, it then also becomes my duty to seek leaders who are dissatisfied with the status quo and watch God radically change their lives as well!  To GOD be the glory!

Prayer

The last few days have been intense, interesting, and simply exhausting.  Last Thursday night at BCM, we continued our study through the book of Colossians, and it was a joy to study and teach about the ministry God entrusted to Paul and how he prayed so earnestly for people he never even met yet people who he loved dearly.  He had heard about them and he cared for them, so he petitioned God on their behalf even in the midst of his struggles.  

On Friday morning, a member of our campus community became very ill and over the course of the weekend, his condition deteriorated.  Today he lays in the hospital and no one knows what to do.  What the students have been doing, however, is praying.  Saturday evening, a group of students invited me to a time of prayer in the student's dorm room and they petitioned God on the student's behalf.  They cried out for healing, but the most important and most consistent prayer was for God's glory in the entire situation.  Students recited Scripture and prayed that God would heal, that God would comfort the family, and they prayed that God would receive glory.  I was floored to hear such prayers, yet I was so encouraged by their faith in Jesus.

On Sunday evening, we had a larger gathering to pray for the student.  Student after student prayed and talked to the God of this universe and petitioned that He might heal this ill student.  Again, I was amazed at the prayers of these students crying out to God and begging for Him to move.  Yet the agreement in faith was:  HE IS MIGHTY TO HEAL, but HIS WILL NOT OURS.  In the midst of brokenness, sadness, and sickness, students honestly crying out to their creator - God do what you want - we want you to heal, but if not, may you STILL be glorified in all.  It was an incredible time to share with students and a time where I was reminded of how awesome it is to live life with these students.  

We are still praying for the student to be healed, but my prayers have also shifted to - Lord, may our campus see a revival, may students pursue You Lord like never before, may they truly desire to see your glory in every situation.  May we cry out and petition you for the salvation of those who do not know you.  Oh, how incredible it would be, to see students continue in their desperation for the Spirit of God in all things.  I ran across the video last Feb. and I was reminded of it today, and I thought I would share it.  May we be like Paul and pray diligently and faithfully for people!