So I am really digging this running thing. I have been reading up on what to wear and how to train and what to eat, and it is really fun! (And the physical benefits aren’t bad either). But perhaps even more interesting is what marathon training has to say to us about ministry (and really about all of life and spiritual development).
I mentioned in my previous post that in order to run a marathon in 6 months I have to do certain things on a regular basis leading up to the day of the race. The same is therefore true about life and spiritual development. If I want to be a man of prayer, I need to practice praying, if my church wants to be alive and impactful on its community we must serve and make disciples. In order to be ready for a race we have to train. And training often takes the form of small doses spread out over a long period of time that look almost insignificant by themselves and perhaps minuscule in their progress over the previous dose and yet collectively the results can be quite impressive!
So what things should we be doing as disciples and disciple-makers in order to achieve a synergy that far surpasses the simple collective of all of the individual parts? Am I doing the things in prayer, spiritual conversations, personal invitations, gospel presentations, one-on-one discipleship, Bible reading, accountability and service that really will make me the man of God I want to be in 6 months, 5 years, or a lifetime? Am I stepping up the intensity of my ‘workouts’? Am I making sure not to ‘run’ alone? Am I pacing myself? Am I hydrating and nourishing myself so that I can have the health and stamina to finish the race? Am I actually running the right race?
All of these are questions I have been asking myself and lessons I have been learning from running. Perhaps I will begin to change my spiritual and ministry training regimen and maybe even the way I ‘run’. Perhaps we all need to examine our health, our training and our progress. Let’s be careful to finish the race God has called us to!
Pastor Michael Johnson 