Exercise and God

One aspect of my life that I have not given much thought to as being a part of my "spiritual life" is that of my physical life, particularly my health. As I have taken time to think about my physical body in relation to my spiritual life, several things stand out to me as reasons why I may have missed the connection in the past and how physical health is actually one of many aspects of a whole person that is identified in Scripture.

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First, how many pastors and missionaries do we see walking around who are severely overweight and pay little if any attention to their physical health and fitness? I have always maintained an active lifestyle and incorporated exercise into my weekly routine, but until recently, I had not seen much correlation between physical health and the spiritual life, and much of that might be due to the way I have seen other Christians fail to live this out. While fitness and body-image can certainly have too much significance for a Christian, many people I have encountered simply do away with exercise and attentiveness to one's physical body since, in their opinion, "there are more eternally significant things to spend our time on."

There are many places in Scripture that should lead the Christian believer to care for their body and to see the physical aspect of life as connected to the spiritual life. First, Scripture teaches that Jesus is going to come again, the Earth will be made new, and we will receive new physical bodies. If it is true that we should engage in ministry, in the reconciling of relationships, in justice, and in the stewardship of the Earth, why should we not also pursue the health and well-being of our physical bodies as we eagerly anticipate God redeeming that aspect of our lives? Second, if we are to live long, fruitful lives and to make the most of the short time that God has given us on this Earth, we cannot neglect the discipline of physical health and well-being. To do so would make us unwise stewards of what God has given us and would end up pulling us away from ministry and relationships as our bodies fail.

Just as any one area of our lives has the potential to deter us from our relationships with God and with others if over-emphasized, so too does the physical aspect of life. Yet, God is "reconciling all things" and every aspect of our being to Himself, including our physical bodies, so we would be wise to include the physical in our view of our spiritual lives and to give our bodies adequate attention.

-CK

*See N.T. Wright's, Surprised By Hope for further reading on the implications of a resurrected Jesus and New Heavens and a New Earth.

Someone in my Corner

I've decided that I want to keep a running journal of some of my thoughts and struggles as I go through the seminary process and to make sure that I take some time each Sunday or Monday morning to reflect on how God is at work in my life. These will likely be much less polished than other entries, so please forgive any spelling, grammatical errors, etc -  but I want to be a good steward of this season of education in my life that I've been blessed to receive and my hope is that others might be able to identify with some of these thoughts and experiences. Here's a brief section of my entry from this morning.

Maybe it’s somewhat out of jealousy, but I’ve heard multiple people who, as a part of their story or calling in deciding to come to seminary to pursue pastoral ministry, someone, or many people, have directly spoken into their lives encouraging them to do so. I guess I’ve had some general encouragements, but I’ve found myself really longing for “someone in my corner” to speak similar words of encouragement into my life. If anything, I can recall several people telling me not to go to seminary, though I think that maybe had more to do with their ministry philosophy than speaking anything into my life about my gifting or calling.

I’ve had plenty of doubts and anxiety about the pressure of being an M.Div student, needing to get certain grades and being expected to do pastoral work and it would be a huge blessing to have someone call those things out in me. It’s amazing the power that words hold and how far a little encouragement can go. I'm incredibly grateful for the people that have done that for me, and I'm praying for more people like that in this stage of my life and that I would be that person for others.

I didn’t grow up in, nor am I in the midst of terribly difficult circumstances, but it seems like a lot of people could just use “someone in their corner” to encourage them in what they’re going through - whether that’s someone’s first professional job after college, a leadership position, a new ministry, someone in suffering, or young people facing adversity in their surroundings. I think especially of young kids growing up in difficult circumstances with a lot of pressure to make poor decisions. 

I wonder if more than anything, people sometimes just need “someone in their corner” to tell them that they believe in them and that they can do whatever is before them, regardless of how insurmountable it might seem. My mentor in college was a lot like that. I may not remember most of the content that we went over, but I do remember leaving those meetings each week and feeling like I could take on the world as I stepped out in boldness for the sake of the Gospel. Speak a word of encouragement to someone today!

-CK

Badgers to the World

A little over four years ago, I left with 10 others from the University of Wisconsin-Madison for a year of ministry in East Asia. I can’t believe it’s already been four years since then!

So much has changed.

I’ve gotten married, had five different jobs, am living in my third city since then, now about 1000 miles away, and feel like a much different person than I was four years ago.

But the change that I’m most in awe of is what’s taken place in the hearts of students at the UW.

There were certainly those at the UW that came before us and took the Gospel to the world, some of whom we were aware of and many others we wouldn’t know about until later. But when I showed up to a meeting in the balcony of Music Hall in the fall of 2007 and over 20 students showed up to explore the idea of going to do ministry together in East Asia, I had a feeling God was up to something big.

I still remember sitting at a fall retreat my freshmen year, not even a Christian yet, but hearing about a few people who had spent summers abroad sharing the Gospel, and I thought, “Hey, that sounds pretty cool!” And there, just like that, a seed was planted that God would continue to cultivate starting that evening when I became a Christian, that summer as I went to East Asia, and for the next several years.

I’m not sure what that seed was for the rest of our group, but I’m grateful for those that presented on their trips that day.

I’m also grateful for close friends that modeled “going to the world” for me – going to places like Kenya and China.

Add to that list mentors, ministry leaders, and upper-classmen that from very early on instilled a love of the world within many of us and spent countless hours investing in us. For that and so much more we are forever indebted to you!

And I’m most grateful, that in some small way, God was able to use all of these preceding people, countless others who have gone and done similar things, and our group of 11 that took off for a year of ministry in a land 10,000 miles away to change the culture of missions at the UW.

“We’re Badgers and we go!” Prophetic words, no doubt.

I don’t have all of the numbers to know just how many people have gone and done similar things overseas, but every year since then, I’m blown away by Wisconsin students and their willingness to take the Gospel overseas to a messed up, dying world that’s lost without their Creator – places like Brazil, the Middle East, East Asia, Australia, Ghana, Uruguay and France.

I’m humbled and blessed to have been some small part of that and will continue to pray expectantly that from the same city and university where people protest hated politicians for weeks at a time, that ranks atop the nation’s list of party schools, and where many Christian parents shudder at the thought of sending their kids to college – that from there, God would continue to raise up a harvest of students that love Him and would take his Good News to every nation!

-CK

Note 1: As someone who has worked for several years in the "secular" workplace, I cannot overstate how appreciative I am of people who are able to live out the Gospel well in the jobs that God has called them to. While people in your position are often neglected when the Church speaks of missions and missionaries, your role in fulfilling the Great Commission is, in my opinion, often even more difficult, so thank you for all that you do! 

Note 2: I didn’t want to interrupt the sentence I was in the middle of to insert some absurd parenthetical comment, but if you’d like to be amused for 15 seconds, “Google” Madison to China and see the 10,000-mile route they give you. I hope you’re up for reading the names of Chinese roads, paying tolls, and taking ferries!