Saturday, January 13, 2018

from healthy to fit-your body and your church

We live in a culture that says it values health. We all want to be healthy, but there is a sizable portion of the population that isn’t interested in doing the things that it takes to get and stay fit. It seems like it’s just a lot easier to visit the doctor, see how our choices have affected our health, and head to the pharmacy for the latest in a long list of prescriptions.  Yes it would healthier to quit smoking, change the diet, cut back on the drinking, get more sleep, and go to the gym. But who has the time, energy, interest to do all that?  (as a side not, after I started reading this book, even though it’s not about our physical health and fitness, I went and signed up at a Fitness place opening near my house.) That means convicting.  I pay them money, and they didn’t even give me a tee-shirt (or a speedo, because I’m mostly interested in the pool). Ask me in 6 months how it’s working out.
        
         I started reading this book and posted this on social media: “Wow! And I’m only on page 27. XXX I think you might like this book. XXX you might get some ideas too.” And no I didn’t recommend to my friends because of any health issues they may or may not have. You see they’re both interested in the main topic of Building the Body: 12 Characteristics of a Fit Church” by Gary McIntosh and Phil Stevenson (Baker Books, 2018).And that topic is not just the health, but the fitness of the local church. 
            Since as a society and culture we’re obsessed with fitness, the authors use a physical fitness model to talk about the church. (They attribute their model to the American College of Sports Medicine.) Fitness has 5 components: cardiovascular endurance, muscle strength, muscular endurance, flexibility, and body composition. They break each of these categories in sub-categories to define the 12 characteristics. Things like outreach, effective evangelism, strategies for making disciples, vision, worship, stewardship, and several other key elements.
           
        And to further the sports analogy, the physical fitness part, they turn to one of America’s favorite fitness activities (no, not watching football on the TV-chips in one hand, beer in the other). They talk about runners, and break them into 5 categories. 1) Beginner: no experience, philosophical-they like the idea of running, but haven’t really engaged in the activity. 2) Novice: some background in running, can perhaps run up to 3 miles—actively learning. 3) Intermediate: making progress in both running time and pace, and demonstrate knowledge of running well. 4) Advanced: familiar with necessary training, they push themselves and look for others to challenge them. They also share their expertise. The final category, 5) is the Elite runner. They compete at higher levels. Olympic class athletes.
          
        So what does this have to do with church growth, one of Dr. McIntosh’ area of expertise? He applies it to the church.  Gary and Phil put churches into this 5 categories, and provide helpful ways to evaluate where your church is. And they offer a disclaimer: rejoice where you are doing the right stuff, and identify areas for improvement—then push your church to the next level. After all we all want to make a difference for the Kingdom, and just as in physical fitness, being healthy is good, but being truly fit is better!
         
         I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for my review


           5/5

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