Last week I taught three classes at the Pepperdine Lectures about what churches can learn from CrossFit. The material was reverse engineered from my book, Train For Something Greater: An Athlete’s Guide to Spiritual Fitness, available at Amazon.com. Here are nine observations I shared about the life changing environment at a typical CrossFit gym. Let the reader […]
The View From The Floor
The following is an excerpt from Train For Something Greater: An Athlete’s Guide to Spiritual Fitness available at Amazon.com. The View From The Floor CrossFitters have much in common: language (WOD, AMRAP, Pukie), diet (Paleo-Zone-Primal), apparel (Lulu, Vibram, Inov-8), and philosophy (pain is weakness leaving the body). Before we started talking, eating, dressing, and thinking alike, we shared […]
August 21, 2012 by Leave a Comment
Making a Name for Ourselves
This post is a continuation of last week’s You Are Not Your “Fran” Time. Just about every Christ-following CrossFitter I know struggles to manage the tension between being in love with a sport in which every second, every rep, and every pound counts and embracing a way of life in which our identity and sense […]
March 22, 2012 by Leave a Comment
You Are Not Your “Fran” Time
Here’s a quick spiritual workout to try. Read the following list out loud as many times as necessary (AMTAN) until you believe what it says. Ready? 3-2-1 Go! • I am not my “Fran” time. • I am not my max snatch. • I am not my ability to do a muscle-up. • I am […]
March 13, 2012 by Leave a Comment
My Version of Spiritual Fitness in 100 Words
One of the exercises we did at the Lift Conference was to spend some time creating a personalized version of Spiritual Fitness in 100 Words. Here’s what I came up with. Feel free to share yours in the comments. Start with grace. Practice humility. Ask big questions. Love others with your words AND your actions. […]
February 13, 2012 by 1 Comment
Spiritual Fitness in 100 Words
I’m preparing talks for the The LIFT Conference this Saturday in Dallas, (There’s still room for you. Sign up now!) and I’m thinking about what is known as a Rule of Life. A Rule of Life is an intentional pattern of spiritual disciplines that provides structure and direction as we train for Christ-likeness (Spiritual Fitness). […]
February 6, 2012 by 1 Comment
What Are You Doing In That Tree?
In Luke 19, we read another story about how Jesus goes out of his way to give an outcast a new identity. One day he’s walking through the streets of Jericho and a crowd gathers parade-style, by the side of the road to welcome him. In the crowd is a short tax-collector named Zacchaeus. He […]
October 18, 2011 by 1 Comment
You Are Who You Eat With
It takes time for many of us to accept this new identity and even longer to live into it. It may take some radical action from Jesus, or his followers, to open our eyes to the truth of it. One of his first disciples was a tax-collector named Levi (aka as Matthew). Jesus picked him […]
October 13, 2011 by 1 Comment
We Are Little Christs Now, Not Later
Being called a “little Christ” is appealing, yet we struggle to embrace our new identity. We hope to transformed someday, at the resurrection, but it is hard for us to imagine ourselves ever playing the role of Jesus in the world today. Consider the stories in the gospels where Jesus interacts with someone and bestows […]
October 11, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Become Who You Were Born To Be
There’s a great scene in Return of the King when when Elrond presents Aragorn with a big ole sword that can only be wielded by the true king. He tells Aragorn that its time to “set aside the Ranger, and become who you you were born to be.” The time had come for his behavior […]
October 5, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons