In one of those chats where you sit and talk with your wife about your day, my wife and I were discussing a common phenomenon in every church - namely, that people vote with their checkbook, their money. You and I would readily agree that legalism hurts and kills a church. But something that had never before occurred to me was this particular connection between legalism and the church's cash flow and what that connection means for leading a church.
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As I write this, the southeast US is in the heart of hurricane season, and the bands of Hurricane Dorian are beginning to dump rain showers here in the Carolinas. The storm has already claimed 20 lives in the Bahamas and devastated entire villages and communities. My wife and I moved to Fayetteville to begin ministry at Grace Baptist on October 1, 2016. Hurricane Matthew (“the most powerful storm of the 2016 Atlantic Hurricane season” according to weather.gov) made landfall on October 8 about 3.5 hours south of us in McClellanville, SC. As it travelled northward, it washed out roadways, flooded homes, and impacted families who still to this day have not been able to rebound. Then last year, Hurricane Florence made landfall in nearby Wrightsville Beach, NC on September 14. Florence did over $300,000 in damage to our church. We had a seven month old baby, so we evacuated to Charlotte with family. (Experience with Matthew taught us that it is common to have power outages and boil water advisories in Fayetteville - not workable for an infant.) There were mandatory evacuations in our city for a one-mile radius out from the Cape Fear River. It was a significant storm. Your church and community may have been devastated by a hurricane, a tornado, a fire, (God forbid) an active shooter situation, or some other tragic disaster. It is in moments such as these that we can be the hands and feet of Jesus and love our neighbors for the glory of Christ. Here are some ideas, and I’d love it if you would share some of your own in the comments.
Those who know me personally will find it ironic that I have a blog post on this topic. I have every size of clothing in storage containers in my garage in hopes that they will one day fit again. The lightest weight I have been in my adult life was in my freshman year of college in the low 180s. And that's all I'm going to say about that! This is not a post to guilt anyone into a commitment to become more physically fit. The goal of this post is to offer some biblical insights on the topic to encourage us to make time to take care of both our church bodies and our physical bodies. Personal Fitness as StewardshipWe would all agree that our bodies are given to us by God. We can destroy them; we can let them go. We can maintain them properly. Our genetics may be outside of our control, but much of our wellness is up to us to manage. We are indeed stewards of our bodies. The bottom line is that the better we take care of these bodies, the longer lives and healthier lives we will likely live - meaning, that we will have longer to minister to others, to win people for Christ, to disciple future leaders, and bear Kingdom fruit, if we get and stay in shape. Pastoral Ministry as Enemy to Personal FitnessWithout going so far as to use this as an excuse, it is a fact that pastoral ministry is one of the most stressful professions a person can have. Most pastors do not work a 40-hour workweek. Some pastors work double that. Most work north of 60 hours per week. Not good! We eat on the run. We eat out a fair amount. We eat at weird hours. We don't have the time or money or go buy healthy foods. We don't get enough exercise; many of us don't get any exercise. Add to all of this the stress that ministry inevitably brings, and you have a recipe for morbid obesity and possibly a lifespan cut tragically short. Heart attack incidence is greater among pastors than in the general population. We've got our work cut out for us! Take the Challenge!I first started typing the draft of this post in August 2019. I've heard that getting in shape is tougher with every decade of life - the 20s, the 30s, the 40s. I'm at 37 right now, and I do have to work harder to get results than I did the past several times I've been down this road. As I prepare to post this blog, it is December 1, 2019. I've begun working out daily, eating smart, and doing all the things I know to do. I've lost 35 lbs, and my body fat % is dropping. I'm heading in the right direction, and you can too. Consult your doctor about nutritional advice and before beginning an exercise regimen. But as ministry brothers, let's covenant together to optimize the bodies the Lord has given us for maximum kingdom potential!
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AuthorPastor Billy Shaw is a full-time pastor, husband, and father with a passion for helping other pastors. Archives
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