Are we doing the wrong work out?

Recently I learned from a physical trainer that many people work out hard and feel like they are getting closer to their goals of physical fitness but in reality are not.  He shared this autobiographical story of when he was younger he would participate in professional fighting (karate and the like, not like Fight Club or MMA).

In the short rounds he would fight he would grow tired.  So after the fights he would train by running long distances in order to build endurance.  After several of these long runs, he would discover that the next fight he would be just as winded.  So more running.  What he later discovered after he studied and science exposed, is that in order to build stamina for the fights, he should not have been running long distances but rather many sprints.  His distance runs would build his aerobic system but not his anaerobic system.  

Bottom line, all that long distance runs were hard workout and he felt like he was getting closer to his goal (lasting the fights without becoming winded) but in reality he was not.  

So too in the world of spiritual formation, we are working hard and feel like we are moving toward our goal however we really are not.  

Ironically to the metaphor above, many people run spiritual sprints and think they are moving toward a strong spiritual life, when in reality we need to be running long distances.  

We attend worship one time a week.  Maybe we pray at dinner.  Perhaps we fast from eating food on Ash Wednesday.  We read the Bible one time a week.  We pass out soup at Thanksgiving and adopt a child at Christmas.  They are hard work and they make us feel like we are growing toward our goal of faithfulness.  The thing is, while good, these things are sprints. Taken alone they contribute to a faith that is a mile wide and an inch deep.   

This is why for many people the practice of giving up something for the season of Lent is such a difficult task.  Lent really is more of a marathon than a sprint.  For 40 days Christians engage in some combination of spiritual disciplines.  Doing something everyday for more than a week is something that is contrary to the instant culture we live in.  We live in a culture where 140 characters is the limit of our willingness to engage an issue.  When you hear of someone doing P90X, we tend to think those people are 'intense'.  Only the really hardcore people can go three months working out!  

The tricky thing is that running spiritual sprints feels like we are working out and growing spiritually.  It is difficult to realize that by only working on sprints we are not going to make it through the marathon of life.  

If you find you are regularly stressed out, worried, anxious, nervous about the future, seeking to control all things, fearful, angry about things you later realize were silly, or think that everyone else is an idiot then all while trying to fit in ways to better yourself - then perhaps you are sprinting when you ought to be considering distance running.  

"A veneer of sincerity"

The following conversation snip-it came out of a much larger conversation I had with a very interesting fella who trains professional baseball players here in Fort Worth:

 "Fort Worth seems to have a veneer of sincerity." he said as I took a sip of my coffee.

"Really, in what way?" I responded as the cup landed on the saucer a bit harder than normally expected.

A smile came across his face.  "Fort Worth is a place where I have gotten the sense that someone will look me in the eye, tell me that they are glad that I am here and even listen to my opinions, all while thinking, 'Bless your heart! You are a total dumb ass and you are probably going to hell.'  The sincerity is just a veneer to reality."

 ---

I could not help but think about his comments and the Church.

It is said of many worshiping communities that they are friendly but not hospitable.  The Bara Group has put out a couple of books that talk about the Church and young adults.

I wonder if the friendliness in the church is any different from the veneer of sincerity that has been this guy's experience of Fort Worth?

What can Christianity do to ensure that we are building disciples that are more like:

this and less like this?

Glimpse into Christmas Eve Worship genesis

Christmas Eve - Becoming God-bearers

On Christmas Eve at Grace United Methodist Church Reverend Nancy Allen and I will be facilitating worship at Noon.  For those who are looking to attend worship at that time, and even for those who may not be, I wanted to share the order of worship as well as a commentary on why we are doing what we are doing.  

The order of worship is in bold and the commentary is italicized.

***

Welcome

Simple words to remind the community as to why we are gathered.  

Word to the Order of Worship

The focus of worship this day is to embody the life of Mary, who was the original God-bearer.  The scripture we will look at today will call us to consider an episode of Mary's life in which over a short period of time she moves through a number of different postures. Today we are going to invite you to embody these postures of Mary in order to strive to teach us or remind us how to begin to become God-bearers.  

Mary Did You Know?

Sung as a way of getting us to reflect on the life of Mary.  The riff of "Mary did you know, that your baby boy" will be recalled later in worship - I will refer to this riff as "MDYK riff" 

Lighting of the Advent Wreath

This ritual is to tie us into a tradition that is much larger than our local community.  We are tied into Christians around the globe and around time.  We light the center light in order to remind us that tonight the light of God comes into the world and darkness and death are destroyed.  

Prayer

This is a pastoral prayer which calls us to peace, reconciliation, light and grace for our lives and the world.  

Worship in Songs

O Come All Ye Faithful

It Came Upon a Midnight Clear 

What Child is This?

Prayer

Pie Jesu

Scripture - Luke 1:26-38

Message - “Becoming God-bearers”

We are exploring Mary as the original God-bearer and the different postures she might have taken in hearing that she would bear God.  As you read the scripture, you can get the sense Mary might have moved through 4 different postures/mindsets.  As such we are asking everyone to also physically embody these postures in a way to emulate Mary the God-bearer.
First posture - cover head with hands - Mary felt that she was not worthy to bear God, that she was just a mortal that was not worthy of such a task.  This posture of humility will be our posture of repentance.
Second posture - open palms and looking up - Mary heard that she was not the sum of her faults or 'just a human' rather that she was a beloved chosen one of God.  This posture of affirmation will be our posture of worth.  
Third posture - kneeling - Mary heard that she would bear the son of God and that she would be called blessed for generations to come.  Mary took the time to listen to the message of God.  This posture is our posture of listening.
Final posture - palms together and fingertips at mouth as though one were praying - At the conclusion of the episode with Mary and the angel, scripture shared that Mary pondered these things in her heart.  We too will ponder what it means to be God-bearers in our time and the coming of the Light into the world.  This is the posture of reflection.  

Sharing of the Light and singing Silent Night

Blessing and Benediction

***


If you are seeking a worship opportunity that is earlier in the day on Christmas Eve that is not built around a lengthy sermon but focused on embodying the gift of being God-bearers, I invite you to attend Grace UMC at noon.