I’ve seen CrossFit create a beautiful kind of community that spans the gaps created by age, race, and body type. Because CrossFit is scaleable, people with radically different levels of fitness work out side by side. We may all lift different weights, jump on boxes of different heights, and run at our own pace, but […]
CrossFit is Too Hard to Do Alone
Just in case I haven’t made this point clearly enough. CrossFit is hard. Really hard. Not hard as in “impossible” or “perpetually discouraging,” but hard enough that you have to brace yourself every time you walk into the gym. CrossFit hurts. We sometimes spend the first five minutes after a workout flat on our backs […]
September 1, 2011 by Leave a Comment
This Is Not For Everyone
I know what you’re thinking. Not everyone will want to be a part of a church that trains this way. That’s true. Not everyone wants to do CrossFit either. This is one possible way of pursuing physical and spiritual fitness. It may not be the best approach for everyone. I wouldn’t recommend trying to force […]
August 27, 2011 by 2 Comments
A Spiritual Hopper Deck
What if we developed a constantly varied approach to spiritual training based upon the hopper deck model? The idea would be to convene a small group of people who wanted to train for Christlikeness and embraced the concept of constantly varied training. The facilitator would identify 20 possible exercises that could be done by the […]
August 26, 2011 by 6 Comments
Spiritual Adaptation Leads to Stagnation
For context, first read this and this. In many churches, attenders pick the kind of event or gathering that is best suited to their personality and strengths. This is not necessarily a negative. It is essential to give newcomers the freedom to go where they’re comfortable in their early days with the community. But if […]
August 25, 2011 by Leave a Comment
Why is Church so Boring?
This is a follow-up to CrossFit is Never Boring and is part of a larger discussion about what churches can learn from CrossFit gyms about changing lives. Let’s compare the varied programming of a CrossFit gym with the programming of the Wooly Mammoth Community Church (Where God’s love is big and fuzzy). Let’s assume the […]
August 24, 2011 by 7 Comments
CrossFit is Never Boring
CrossFit has been called a lot of things: hard, challenging, scary, intimidating, frustrating, humbling, and painful (in a hurt-so-good kind of way). One word that is rarely used to describe CrossFit is boring. Newcomers to CrossFit are struck by how much fun it is even as its kicking (and shrinking) their butt day after day. […]
August 22, 2011 by Leave a Comment
A Personalized Training Experience
For context read these posts first: My Health Club The Problem With Many Churches CrossFit is Personal What’s missing in many churches is the kind of personalized training and attention that athletes in a CrossFit box receive. Church leaders must find ways to transition members from private, anonymous attendance to the pursuit of personal goals […]
August 12, 2011 by 3 Comments
CrossFit Is Personal
This post is part of an ongoing discussion about what churches can learn from CrossFit gyms. For context, read these two posts first: My Health Club The Problem With Many Churches The CrossFit experience tends to be more personal than the typical big-box health club experience. When an athlete joins a CrossFit gym their experience […]
August 9, 2011 by 2 Comments
The Problem With Many Churches
One of the problems with many churches is that they function like a health club. They put considerable effort into getting you to sign up and the join the community. There’s a mandatory 101 class where you can learn the history, beliefs, and strategy of the church. It usually concludes with a tour of the […]
August 8, 2011 by 4 Comments
Telling Stories, Asking Questions, Learning Lessons