Week 15: Workout Partners Are Good for Faith
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Hebrews 10:24-25
I have a dear friend who is the epitome of self-discipline. He literally never breaks his restrictive diet. It’s eggs and hamburger patties almost every day, for every meal. He fasts and only eats a few hours a day. Days like Christmas and Thanksgiving mean nothing. He likes his restrictive menu. He’s not looking for a cheat day so he can eat ice cream. Give that man fajita meat and some eggs and he’s good. He sends me breakfast pics weekly. Just this week it was fajita meat (a pound of it alone) so he didn’t have to be tempted with silly Thanksgiving food. I love my friend, but in my opinion he’s got issues. My wife says he’s disciplined and I should note the example. Noted - now where are the donuts?
Positively this friend is trying to encourage me to stay the course on my diet. He wants to stir me up to love and good exercise. Last year he convinced me to buy into an Xbar exercise system. It sounded like a candy bar, so I was all for it. Sadly, it had nothing to do with food. Simply put, it’s working out with rubber bands. One super important thing to know is that unless your neighbor has the same rubber bands, you will do the program all alone. You have to push yourself to the brink. You have to be self-disciplined to learn the forms. It is all on YOU! Wifey told me that I was wasting my money because she knows me. While I have good intentions, I am just not in the mindset to go it alone. She said I need other people to motivate me. Like all good husbands, I secretly thought, “Wait till she sees me this summer! What does she know? I am so self-disciplined.” I have an Xbar exercise system for sale if interested.
The truth is I need the stirring up that comes from a partner. Thankfully, the Lord has provided me one. Each day we meet at the gym and push one another. Honestly, I think he does the pushing. Still, having someone there to guide, critique, and hold me accountable makes all the difference.
The Christian life is designed so that we need other people to make it fully operational. There are so many New Testament commands that involve a believer and other Christians. You really cannot go it alone. The good news is that God has organized a local gathering of other believers to help motivate you. This gathering is called the church.
The term “church” is basically the Greek word “ekklesia” (we get our English word “Ecclesiastical” from this word pronounced: Ek-lay-see-uh). In Greco-Roman times an ekklesia was any gathering of people who were called out and called together. It could be political, social, or religious. In Acts the early believers were first called “The Way” (See Acts 9:2; 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). This group was gathering together as an ekklesia in the Temple area, in homes, and for worship. They were being a “church” because they came together. They were being “called out” (distinguished) from the masses by their beliefs and focus. As the Way grew and expanded, local churches began popping up. Acts records all of these local church gatherings that were unique but united.
The writer of Hebrews tells us that a major motivator in our spiritual lives is other believers. The church is a place where people think about ways to stir one another up to love and good works. A healthy church will have the mindset that their job is to make certain believers are staying motivated and staying the course. It is not natural for us to want to do loving things to people not like us. We want to give out love and good deeds to our family and friends, but what about that person who's not your age and not in your friend group? What if they have nothing to give you? What if they can’t advance your status? The church forces us to come together with all kinds of different people from different walks. We learn to love them and do good to them. Clubs, para-ministries, and the like may not have that aggressive a focus, but the focus is good. God wants that from us.
There will also be exhortation in such gatherings. That means that truth will be spoken that challenges you in your faith. It is easy to gather with our friends and say nice things from the Bible. It is not so easy to confront, exhort, admonish, and rebuke for the good and growth of others. Speaking the truth in love is a great challenge (see Ephesians 4:15). Many of us read a sentence like the previous one and wonder what that would even look like. Generally speaking, churches today have no concept of how to stir and how to exhort, but the New Testament does. A healthy gathering of believers pushes us on so many levels, just like a good workout partner pushes us to the next health level.
The challenge for every believer is finding a healthy church that can stir up, motivate us to love and good works, and exhort us to walk in truth. Not all churches do that equally or even well. It takes discernment and discovery to find such a rare jewel of ekklesia. When you do find it, hold on to it. It will often be imperfect but perfectly challenging.
How does this relate to our Christian Education? You cannot give what you do not have. So, you can’t teach the workout class if you are stuffing your face with donuts. You need to get in shape first, and then you will have some techniques to share. Every day your students come to you with the expectation that you know something of this Christianity we all talk about. That’s a tall order for the teacher. If this were public school we’d only be worried about higher Bloom’s verbs, but this is distinctively Christian education. What makes it so distinct? I’d say your commitment to the Word. If you are committed to the Word, then you are committed to a gathering of like-minded believers. If you are committed to a gathering of like-minded believers, then you are ready to have the shaping and strengthening that God will provide through your faith partners. Stir one another up to love and good deeds. Exhort one another… and so much more as we see The Day of the Lord approaching.
Discussion Questions:
How have others been a motivating factor in your faith walk? Can you share an example of a gathering that strengthened you in your faith?
Our educational environment can be a gathering of sorts that encourages us, but how is the church different from the ministry of the school? Why wouldn’t we just gather with our ministry job and leave it there?
Can you share examples of how you were fed by your church only to be able to turn right around and bless your students? Why or why not? What are the examples?
