5K

   This morning (Saturday morning since I couldn't post till today - Sunday) I ran my first 5K (37 Minutes, so I have some work cut out for me) and yes I am still sore.

   The 5k was a fund raising effort by Lanvwa to fund their cyber-schools (Joconal, Guatemala and Port-Au-Prince, Haiti – both places I'd love to return to multiple times if I could; yes I've been there). So now as I recover (and somehow got some chores done) from both the run itself and my OCD over my possible over-use of parenthesis; I have some interesting thoughts.

   First, unless you're an athlete, a superhero or Jack Baur, you can't roll out of bed and run a 5k. You need a month or two of training. You need to build up your muscles and push yourself outside your comfort zone. Some of the biggest improvements in my run time actually came through learning how to pace my steps and breathing; as opposed to muscle strength.

   Now, I think there are Christians who do this with Christianity. I know I have. You need training and practice before you can do ministry, evangelism, outreaching, etc (notice I didn't say “if you do these things” if you're reading this and a Christian, you should be doing these things). This takes the form of serious Bible Study, Prayer, Fellowship with other Christians, attending Church, Fasting and Meditation (Yes, there is a Christian version to meditation). By the by; There's an excellent book about this: “Celebration Of Discipline” by Richard Foster. Tis very well written.

   Second thought. Throughout the run, the various volunteers along the way and then a cheering crowd at the end gave me a very singular thought. They were only encouraging and uplifting. No one shouted judgments or condemnations over if they thought someone was too slow. No one jabbed at me over having not taken running seriously sooner in life (although maybe two people knew this and even they were nothing but encouraging).

   Unfortunately, the Church does not have a perfect track record here. We are told to rejoice with those who rejoice and mourn with those who mourn. We are told to bear with each others weaknesses (Ephesians 4 : 1-6 and Romans 14 : 1-12). We do not always do this. I am not saying that we shouldn't beware of false teachers/prophets and I'm not saying we shouldn't hold each other accountable. I am saying there are encouraging and uplifting ways of doing so (Or speaking the Truth with Love).

   Third thought. Everyone was either running, helping “behind the scenes” somewhere, or both. Few, if any, were mere spectators. You shouldn't need an explanation on how this relates to the Church body. Yet, if you do, look no further than the fact that most of Jesus' instructions involved actions. There is no mention of “sit and watch” / “sit and talk about” (or tweet for the modern folk). In fact He even directly told a few to “get up and go”.

    Since I haven't just crashed and passed out like I thought I was, I'm going to go squeeze in some more chores and make some banana bread. Because, sure, why not?