The Gym

A couple of months ago, in a conversation about church leadership, my pastor made an analogy liking being a part of the church to being a part of a gym. It was a good analogy, but it didn't really sink in until I went to my first Zumba class in over a year.

It's been 5 months since baby number 4 was born and my poor body has been abused and neglected. So, I signed up for Tuesday night Zumba class at the gym. An hour a week is better than nothing at all, right?

The first night of class, the instructor, who wears bedazzled "Zumba" shirts in a size extra small, explained the "easy" steps in one of the songs to the class.
Let me just clarify something here. I am not known as the queen of coordination. I didn't learn to ride a bike until I was 7, couldn't skip until 2nd grade, and have never done a cartwheel in my entire life. Remember that episode of "Friends" where Phoebe and Rachel go jogging in Central Park? That's pretty much what I look like doing Zumba. My instructor, on the other hand, brings to mind "Dancing with the Stars" finales. She wiggles and moves those tight little abs and glutes with seemingly effortless grace. Her "easy" steps are still a huge struggle for me, even after 3 classes.

Watching the other women struggle through the class gives me some hope. I try not to look around, but there are mirrors on the walls that make it impossible not to notice how the rest of the class is faring. Most of the women in this particular class are in their 40s or 50s and somewhat overweight. A few seem to have the steps down, but for the most part, we're all just watching the perky bedazzled girl in the front and hoping she tells us what to do next. Not a one of us would be able to fill her shoes any time soon.

So it is with the church. Like the gym, everyone should go. Regardless of race, color, age, size, income level, experience, gender, etc everyone is welcome. Coming in doesn't require you to fit any particular mold. In fact, at many gyms, you're not expected to be in shape when you start. They offer personal trainers to teach you how to work out, what to eat, and how to get healthy. An effective church would follow the same model. We should be discipling newcomers; teaching them the disciplines necessary for having a real relationship with Christ.

Taking a once a week class or attending a once a week church service isn't really going to change my life. I'm never going to look like my instructor if my only exercise is one hour on Tuesdays. Stopping at Dairy Queen on the way home from class isn't really going to help either. People don't just drop 100 pounds or become prepared to run marathons in a matter of days, weeks, or even months. It takes time, effort and commitment to see results. It usually also takes a support system of people who are willing to come along beside you and cheer you on in the journey.

Becoming a fully devoted follower of Christ doesn't really happen overnight, either. New believers need to be discipled by quality instructors. No one would ever expect me to teach an aerobics class in the shape I'm in now. We shouldn't expect -or allow- undisiplined teachers in our spiritual classes either. Our goals in both physical and spiritual fitness should be to take those who are out of shape and nurture them until they get to a place where they become leaders and begin to nurture and grow others.

Here's a few other quick similarities I see between the church and the gym:

• Just because your momma/daddy/aunt/cousin/friend is an aerobics instructor doesn't mean you are. You can't get to Heaven on someone else's salvation.
• If you don't keep at it, you won't stay in shape. If you went to the gym/church all the time in your 20s, but never once in your 30s, you're not going to be in shape when you get to your 40s.
• Not everyone who works at the gym will teach aerobics. For it to function well, many different people are needed. Some maintain the building, some pay the bills, some make the hard decisions, and some are out preparing the fields for games. So it is with the church. We've all been given different gifts. Guess what? God did that on purpose, so it's okay.
• People can always find an excuse not to start going. We're afraid of not looking/acting/being like the people who've been going for a long time. We're afraid we'll look silly or do the wrong thing. We're afraid people will talk about us or expect things from us. All of that may be true, but we'll never be in shape if we never even make it to the gym.