Pastor, How is Your Exercise and Fitness?
Busyness.
Fatigue.
Negligence.
Each of these serves as reasons Pastors do not make physical fitness a part of their day. There seems to be a major disconnect among our profession regarding the importance of our physical condition.
It is not my intention to create guilt, but motivation. I’m not trying to heap added pressure upon your life along with what you already deal with daily.
My purpose is to encourage you to take some kind of physical action to care for your health. I want to challenge you to understand that this is connected to your walk with Christ, and will help you relieve major stress on a daily basis. And very importantly, I want to impress upon you how much your testimony for Jesus can be enhanced by how you take care of your body.
A Personal Testimony
In my younger years, I was neglectful of my physical condition. I was going to school, not sleeping much, working long hours, and parenting young children. Physical fitness was just not a priority. Sadly, eating was a major priority. Eating is the accepted vice of most ministers. Therefore, when these combined, at one point in my earliest ministry, I blew up to 207 pounds.
One day, it all changed. I began a major commitment to my physical condition. I started walking daily. Years later, I began running some and working out with weights. I was a sprinter in high school, not a distance runner, so running never appealed to me at all. However, for the past fifteen years and more, I have become a consistent runner. Oh, not a true runner, more of a jogger. Anyone that has ever gone with me knows I will probably not outrun them, but I may outlast them.
Presently, I run an hour or so a day, four to five days a week. Additionally, I work out with a trainer for one or two days a week, focusing on weight training. This commitment is very important in my life. Even on Sunday mornings, I jog on the treadmill for an hour. I go over my message for the day, working through mastering it before delivering it.
I am convinced that I could not do what I do – with my work load and life’s pressure – without this strong commitment to running and weight training. Caring for my body is very important, not only for the quality of my health, but the management of my responsibilities.
If you have read previously concerning my morning schedule, you will see that I exercise in the morning. Delayed exercise and fitness usually results in no exercise and fitness. This is why I do it in the mornings.
Reasons I Believe In Exercise and Fitness
Let me share some reasons why I believe in exercise and fitness in my life.
Perhaps this will motivate you or encourage you in some way.
Taking care of your body is biblical
Yes, I know what the Scripture says in 1 Timothy 4:8,
For training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way….
Without question, spiritual fitness is much more important than physical fitness; however, they need to be friends and companions, not enemies and competitors. Life is about priorities. I promise you, my #1 priority is my personal walk and devotion to Jesus Christ. Yet, this does not keep me from caring for my body.
The Scripture also says in 1 Corinthians 6:19,
Don’t you know your body is the sanctuary of the Holy Spirit who is in you, who you have from God? You are not your own.
Therefore, if God lives in us, then we need to take care of our bodies, which is the temple and dwelling place of God in our lives. We are body, soul, and spirit according to the Bible. Therefore, taking care of your body is biblical.
Exercising your body is your spiritual service to God
Surely Pastor, you have quoted or spoken from Colossians 3:17 in your teaching ministry. It says,
And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him.
Therefore, offer even your exercise and fitness as a spiritual service to God, bringing Him glory as you do it. While most of the time it is not fun, it is necessary to improve your health and the conditioning of your body. In turn, it will be an asset to the quality of your life and service to God.
Benefits of Exercise and Fitness
Let me give you these things for consideration.
Benefit #1: Exercise and fitness increases the probability of my body being in better shape, which in turn should give me a much greater ability to serve the Lord now and longer in life.
Benefit #2: Exercise and fitness provide me opportunities to grow in my personal faith, as I use this time daily to have others pour into my life. Technology permits me to listen to others teach me, preach to me, and mentor me on matters of life, ministry, and leadership while I exercise. Therefore, this is not just futile physical exercise to me, but more deeply and importantly, moments to practice and grow in godliness. I cannot even begin to tell you how much I have grown the last two to three years by adding this practice to my exercise and fitness. In any given week, I may listen to four or five hours of great mentorship. If I can do this while working out, you can do this.
Benefit #3: Exercise and fitness greatly reduces my stress level. I am convinced that daily exercise and fitness helps me view life in a more positive manner, all because I am reducing stress. Personally, I exercise five to six days a week. I need it physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
Benefit #4: Exercise and fitness improves my attitude. Pastors deal with negativity daily. People pour their stuff upon us and when we do not take it to God in prayer and manage it personally, it affects our attitude negatively. Therefore, I promise you, exercise and fitness improves your attitude.
Final Challenges
Pastor, here are my final challenges to you about exercise and fitness.
- Start now – do something.
- Get it done in the morning.
- Be consistent five days a week.
I read a few days ago that John Wesley stated at age 78, “By God’s blessing, I’m the same I was at 28, chiefly by constant exercise and preaching morning and evening.”
That’s tremendously encouraging to me, and I hope to you as well.
Yours for the Great Commission,
Ronnie W. Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.
This Week at Cross Church: Dear Cross Church Family
101 faces looked at me and each one had a story to tell. I saw tears, a lot of them. These tears were shed by people. They filled eyes and many times rolled down the cheeks of people. These tears represented a personal story, their story about the power of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. I saw them in men, women, and children.
Where was I? I was standing in the baptistry at the foot of the crosses at our Pinnacle Hills Campus, baptizing 101 people at our “Fireworks at the Crosses.” These were real tears, shed by real people of all ages. Your family members, friends, neighbors and co-workers, all changed by the real and powerful Gospel of Jesus Christ, shed these tears.
While it was me in the pool baptizing all those individuals, that night I stood there as a part of our entire Cross Church family. You were a part of their story. Any time any of us have given to Cross Church over these past few weeks, we were connected to their story. Any time we give the rest of this summer, we connect to their story. This story is one of hope and changed lives.
Gifts like yours made all of this possible. So, let me thank you for your generosity. I mean it when I say without you we could not do what we do. Then let me continue to boldly ask you to give! Why? Because there is still so much more we need to do. There are more lives to reach, marriages to heal, hurting hearts to mend and much more that God wants to do through us. Your faithful gifts make this all possible.
We celebrate all that God has done already this summer but there is still more to be done and we need your faithful gifts to help us achieve it! So, please continue to give to support our work here. Remember there are five ways in which you can give and each are listed on our webpage. One of the best ways to give is to set up automated recurring giving. You can now set this up by going online at crosschurch.com/give. However you give please know that your gift will be used to advance the Kingdom.
Again, thank you Cross Church Family for your faithful financial support in helping us impact the world for Jesus! Together let’s reach another 101 people, and then another, and another all for the Glory of God!
1,000 Thank Yous,
Pastor Ronnie Floyd
Dr. Ronnie Floyd is the President & CEO of the Southern Baptist Convention Executive Committee.