In March of 2010 for the first time in my life outside of an occasional soccer practice, I ran more than a mile. My goal was to run a marathon, but I had never run a mile. I armed myself with a schedule and a running mentor for the longer runs on the weekend. Mark’s thin frame and excellent discipline made it easy for him to run long distances, while let’s just say I enjoyed eating tacos. He was also very patient.
The first day I ran two miles. I struggled and stopped a bunch, hating especially the first quarter mile making up femur issues in my mind. But I finished. Sweaty and confident, I sluggishly repeated that run the next day. Then the weekend rolled around and so did I, at the distance of 4 miles.
Two weekends later, Mark and I ran 8 miles. The poor guy must have hated his life as he regularly stopped with me, encouraged me, and pushed me to keep going. My thoughts were not clean as I may or may not have cursed him out silently, realizing he probably could have finished a long time before he did.
Summertime came and my running schedule reached the 10 mile mark, and I changed my goals to running a half marathon. I understood that for now, the goal stood too tall, and I was not in good enough physical shape to endure that trial. So that September, I ran a half marathon at a 10:31 mile pace. Later that fall, I ran a 5k in a 10:00 mile pace.
Christmas time came and you know how that goes, but then in January, I began to take what I ate seriously , and began to slim down as the spring approached. When it did arrive, I planned another half marathon for June, but this time, I was down 40 pounds. I remember a specific time Mark and I ran one weekend, and he was visibly shocked at how my speed and distance had improved.
June rolled in and so did the half marathon. I cruised through the 13 miles and by the end, I had completely crushed my personal best by more than 2 minutes, finishing in 1 hour and 51 minutes. I capped out in October of 2011, running a 5k with a 7:51 minute mile, then later running 20 miles on route 12 through Worcester.
Tonight I sat with two pastors who I love and consider them family. Each of us have similar stories of pastoring in a church and now being called away from there, wondering what comes next. We laughed, ate, talked of the past and the future, and encouraged one another. One of the topics of discussion centered on the difficulties and positives of being in the “Wilderness.”
We considered this wilderness simply the place in between where we once were and where we are going. All of us spend some time in the wilderness, whether it’s because someone brought us there or we walked there, it really doesn’t matter. The wilderness is a place all followers of Jesus find ourselves in and can be very difficult to exit.
The reason its so difficult to exit is because, though it can be hard, it can also feel very comfortable, like the guy who should run because it’s good for his health, but chooses instead to eat a lot. Or the young lady who is seriously struggling with her finances but can be found daily at the local Starbucks sipping the latte.
Of course the topic of church was talked through and we all talked of the weight lifted by not having to attend, yet feeling the need for Christian community. Afterwards it hit me. What would I tell the guy who should be running but likes to eat or the young lady who should not be spending money but does?
There is another way.
Just because something always has been doesn’t mean it’s the way it has to be. Just because you’ve always gone to church, doesn’t mean you can’t be the church. Just because you’ve never run before, doesn’t mean you’ll never be able to run miles and miles. It just means starting something is difficult, takes discipline, and will mean a change in the way you currently do things.
But let’s not look at the current landscape of the church like we’ve done for years and say that it always has to be that way. For years, I’ve heard Churches in the west are dying, and people don’t believe anymore. I see little evidence that that is in any way true. But what is being attacked, and rightfully so, is churchianity. Churchianity is the worship of a church that is highly influenced by money, power, and fame. And believe me, that is todays evangelical church.
So people don’t look away from Jesus. They look away from his bride. Because his bride claims to be into their groom, but it’s obvious his bride is really into his bride. And everyone knows to stay away from a bride thats really into herself. There are actually television programs that highlight these wedded nightmares that are entertaining enough to be broadcast on the airwaves.
So we all understand it’s happening in Christianity, say its nuts and ask why are people walking away, and then do nothing about it. Like me before I put myself on a running schedule.
But that’s where the fun comes in! One of my friends tonight mentioned how much more discipline is needed in his life because he is in the wilderness, and I absolutely concur. To stay away from Scripture, prayer, and other believers is easy in our current atmosphere. But if we truly believe Jesus is Lord, and because of His death, burial, and resurrection, everything in the universe has changed, and freedom can truly be found, wouldn’t it be worth it to get ourselves on a “training program” and discipline ourselves, maybe even with a mentor or two?
Listen, the institutional church is not wrong, nor is it a sin, but I’ve been a part of it long enough to know that if something becomes successful enough, money, power, and fame amongst other things is not far behind. Then we hear stories of pastors, both famous and not so much, who have ‘fallen’.
If you are reading this and find yourself in the wilderness, let me suggest you find yourself a spiritual training program, and go after it. You’ll need a mentor, and you’ll need to make time. The first followers of Jesus didn’t have a paid staff member calling them and putting them on a weekly schedule to watch kids on the upcoming weekend. They had a Savior they followed, and two entire cultures actively persecuting them for what they proclaimed. Men, women, and children were willing to suffer and die for what they believed.
Yet we get all huffy and puffy when someone says they don’t like our president or current hot political candidate. How about we start being a bride thats not so into ourselves?
I’d love it if you could share some of the “disciplines” you have outside of an institutional church program that spur you on to follow Jesus more.
written by Marty Holman
