I recently saw a commercial that aired during the Super Bowl. Apparently, I only watch for the game. A group is working out at a crossfit gym while anothers are running a marathon or doing a spin class. There’s a lot of energy. Matched with the challenges and the celebration is the theme from Cheers. Okay, Cheers and beer would go together. But, what do Cheers and beer have to do with crossfit? The answer is community.
If CrossFit is new to you, it’s not just a health club or a workout facility. It’s a culture with it’s own language: “100 double-unders, 15 power snatches (105 lb.), 15 bar muscle-ups in sub-3 minutes.” Give me the interpretation, please.
I’m not a member of a CrossFit gym, as you might imagine. You won’t see me tossing around tractor tires to get fit. My only spare tire resides around my waste. But, there is something appealing about this ad and the community it portrays.
We grow in community, not in isolation.
Now, before you announce in the next staff meeting that your church is going to open its own CrossFit gym, don’t miss the point. Community comes in various shapes and sizes: small groups, activity groups, task groups, classes, Bible studies — all of these are environments where community can take place, but none are a guarantee that community will take place. Community is formed around common goals, common interests, and even common enemies. Maybe promoting community in the church is recognizing the community that is already taking place. After all, everyone is already in a group, according to Exponential Groups: Unleashing Your Church’s Potential.
We need others to challenge us.
CrossFit pairs competition with community. The commercial showed members challenging each other in the quest to do their best. They’re pushing themselves to outdo their fellow members. The thought of this makes me sweat.
Small groups should also challenge us. Maybe not in a sweating, brink of exhaustion sort of way, but in a way that iron sharpens iron and knocks off some of our rough edges. If your group is only about Bible study and brownies, you might be missing out. We have each other for more than coping with life, even though that’s part of group life. Groups bear one another’s burdens, but they also spur one another on.
Who’s pushing you? Who won’t let you get away with mediocrity? Who loves you enough to tell the truth? This is how we grow.
We need to celebrate our wins.
The church as a whole is quick to move on to the next assignment, but slow to celebrate progress. God is a God who enjoys a good party. Just look at the number of parties God mandated in the Old Testament: Passover (Exodus 12:1-4); Hag Hamatzot (Unleavened Bread; Exodus 12:15-20); Yom Habikkurim (First Fruits; Exodus 23:19); Shavout (Feast of Weeks; Exodus 23:16); Rosh Hashana (Trumpets; Leviticus 23:23-25); Yom Kippur (Day of Atonement; Leviticus 16:1-34); and Sukkoth (Tabernacles; Exodus 23:16). That’s a lot of parties.
Before groups move quickly to the next study, it’s time to celebrate. Whether the celebration is worship and communion or a barbecue and a baptism, it’s important to reflection on what God has done because we’ll need this reminders to face what is ahead.
Beyond studies, celebrate group life: weddings, babies, new homes, new jobs, promotions, and other good things that God gives. When we celebrate with others, there is no room for jealousy. Sometimes the church does an amazing job at weeping with those who weep, but misses it when it comes to rejoicing with those who rejoice. Out of anybody in the world, the church has so much more to celebrate!
Closing Thoughts
Your church does not need to start a CrossFit gym that places decades old Christian music. But, you could certainly join a gym in town. You can find community in a wide variety of places. The key is an environment where everybody knows your name, and they’re always glad you came…
