I confess that I enjoy working out. I've always been a
relatively large guy, mostly around the middle, but there is something
biologically and spiritually cathartic about a good, sweaty workout every
morning at about 5:30am. I am blessed to have a gym near my house with
reasonable rates and excellent amenities. I've been able to form a community of
fellow-sufferers from the few people who are working out at that hour of the
morning.
Unfortunately,
though, I think I'm a Lunk. That's right - I'm a sweater, a grunter, a
heavy-breather. At Planet Fitness (not my gym) such people are ostracized and
expelled from the gym for such behavior.[1]
The premise of Planet Fitness’ business plan is to create “judgment free zones”
for novice exercisers who want to complete their 30 minutes on an elliptical
machine without Lars grunting his way through a set of 500lb squats. The
company has gone so far as to install a “Lunk Alarm” for guests who break an
arbitrary noise level by grunting, breathing hard, or dropping their weights.[2]
Planet Fitness has released several commercials demonstrating the type of
client they do not want, many of which are hilarious.[3]
I’m
certainly not as big, cut, or strong as the men in these commercials, nor am I
so dumb. One particular commercial shows three “hot” women being about as vain
and unintelligent as possible while a “normal” woman looks on with curiosity.[4] I
don’t think these caricatures of people who like to be in shape and strong are
fair, but I get the point of the ad campaign: Planet Fitness wants to welcome a
demographic made up of people who do not work out regularly, and therefore have
a certain level of fear when surrounded by people who make body building or
fitness a priority. With low monthly dues and a friendly, “judgment free”
environment, Planet Fitness is growing and attracting many people who would
otherwise never set foot in a gym.
This
reminds me of our discipleship in the Church. It seems that we have an internal
“Lunk Alarm” when we meet people who are more advanced in their discipleship
maturation than we are. We call them “holier-than-thou” or “holy roller” or
accuse them of non-Christian progressive ideas and Biblical interpretations.
They are, in our Christian perspective, the Lunks – they grunt, sweat, and breathe
heavily, making themselves a spectacle in prayer, piety, and public profession
(alliteration is fun!). What is more, these Christian Lunks intimidate us. They
make us feel inadequate, too far behind, or just out of place in discipleship
formation.
The New
Testament would call Christian Lunks “Pharisees” and accuses them of hypocrisy
and intimidation. Their public prayers, legalistic interpretation of Mishnah
and Torah, and their personal piety turned out to be the main points at which
Jesus attacked them. They had missed the point of the greatest commandments,
loving the Lord their God with all their heart, soul, mind, and strength, and
loving their neighbor as themselves.
Let’s not
be so hasty in kicking out the Lunks, though. I personally think that Planet
Fitness has taken the same over-zealous approach to fit people that many
Christians take toward mature believers. We have a tendency in our culture to
seek the lowest common denominator in our groups, which often leads us to a
devaluing and dissolution of expertise and experience. I am personally
motivated by the people Planet Fitness would exclude from their gyms, much as I
am inspired by the people around me who are far more spiritually mature than I
am. The tendency in our culture to remove the “intimidating” people is to
render the community as a democratic, equal-footing congregation of people all
at similar places in life. While this sounds perfectly American and certainly
Christian, our tendency to judge people as hypocrites or Lunks in our churches
means that we have few examples of spiritual maturity to copy.
Paul was a
Lunk. He was spiritually mature compared to the people to whom he wrote. He
arrogantly instructs them to “emulate” him as he “emulates” the Lord. What
bravado! What self-centeredness! What man would dare encourage his Christian
brothers and sisters to live like he does? Yet Paul consistently offers
direction from a position of spiritual maturity and authority, and we
consistently resist such language as un-democratic and in some way a violation
of the Priesthood of the believer.
Our
discipleship efforts in the church must
include those believers who have progressed farther along the spiral of
spiritual maturity. We must not seek out churches where everyone is at the same
level of maturity – such churches are nothing more than Planet Fitness
wannabes; as soon as a brother or sister starts getting spiritually fit we
sound an alarm, decry them as a Lunk, and seek that more comfortable setting
where no one will judge our weak, pathetic attempts to self-disciple. Our
churches must actually produce disciples who are strong, powerful, and mature.
They must be the ones whose souls have been strengthened and built up through the
teaching of the Word. We must resist the feelings of intimidation and
inadequacy that come when we are around such people. Rather, they must be the
ones we look to for motivation, for inspiration, and for the proof that a life
well lived is a life of discipleship to the Lord our God.
Perhaps,
then, our churches need an anti-Lunk alarm to detect those who refuse to mature
spiritually. Nevermind – our churches would be empty if we demanded that
members grow in faith and wisdom. There’s too much sweat involved.
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