Strengthening the Weakest Link

"I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me... I tell you the truth, when you refused to help the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were refusing to help me." -Matthew 25:40;45

Wow! It's been a while since I added an entry to my blog. My last post was over 5 months ago. A lot has happened since then. My father-in-law finished his cancer treatments and moved back to his home in New Mexico, I celebrated my 40th birthday, my 11 year-old son started Boy Scouts (which has resulted in some weekend trips), my 14 year-old daughter spent the Spring season on the High School Track Team, and I gradually recovered from an injury.

In my last post, I wrote about making the transition to minimalist, near-barefoot shoes. About a month after I wrote my blog entry, I suffered my first running-related injury in years: a stress fracture in the third metatarsal of my right foot - which led to a self-imposed 5 week vacation from running to allow my foot to heal. Over the past several months, many people have asked me if my minimalist shoes caused my injury. When they ask me that, I never say yes. My shoes didn't cause my injury - I caused my injury.

A stress fracture is an overuse injury. It isn't caused by blunt force like other bone fractures. As I wrote in my last blog, the muscles in our legs and feet serve as shock absorbers. When muscles are overtired, they are no longer able to lessen the shock of repeated impacts. When this happens, the muscles transfer the stress of impact to the bones. This can create small cracks or fractures. That is exactly what happened to me. When people ask me what caused my injury, I tell them the rest of my body was in better shape than my feet and I pushed my feet too far, too fast. My feet were my weakest link... and the weakest link broke.

I knew that going in to the transition from traditional running shoes to the Vibram 5 Fingers. I knew that if I didn't give my feet the opportunity to adapt to the added stress, I would develop a stress fracture. I knew it... I was just too impatient. My body was capable of running 5 to 6 miles (or more). My feet weren't. Instead of taking the time to strengthen the weakest link of my body, I impatiently forged ahead, running 5 to 6 miles a day, until my feet couldn't keep up any longer. I remember the day it happened. The arch of my left foot was a little chaffed and irritated. That caused me to favor my left foot a little and put just enough of an increased load on my right foot to "break the camel's back," so to speak. That was it... no running for 5 weeks. Obviously, cutting off my feet and getting a stronger, faster pair wasn't an option. So, the body that was eager to run 5 to 6 miles a day was forced to stop running all together.

That whole experience got me thinking. How many times do I do that in my relationships with other people? How many times do I do that in the leadership roles that I have... as a father... as a worship pastor? How many times do we as leaders in the church or community do that? Do what, you ask? How often do I... do we get impatient with the weaker ones in our body and try to forge ahead with those who are up to speed with where we want to be... leaving the weak susceptible to hurt and injury?

Throughout the Bible, we see that God's heart is not just for the strong and able. He pays special attention to the weak. We see story after story where God hand-picks the smallest and the weakest to work on His behalf - pouring into them His grace and strength and equipping them for the God-sized dreams He calls them to. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus gives us this insight into the heart of God:

"If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn’t wander away! In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that even one of these little ones should perish." Matthew 18:12-14

In speaking about the promised return of the Lord, the Apostle Peter says this about God's heart toward the weaker amongst us:

"The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent." 2 Peter 3:9

If a holy and perfect God can be that patient and longsuffering with sinful mankind, then shouldn't we, as recipients of His patience and mercy, be patient and longsuffering with those who need our help to grow into mature disciples of Jesus. Besides, the fruit of the Spirit, if we indeed are filled with the Spirit, is patience/longsuffering, kindness, gentleness, goodness, etc.

Throughout the New Testament of the Bible, the Church of Jesus is often compared to a body. Just as cutting my feet off and replacing them with a stronger, faster pair was not an option; treating weaker souls under our care as dispensable resources should not be an option either. In a true body, all parts are needed - weak and strong alike... otherwise it is not a complete body. In his first letter to the church in Corinth, Paul wrote this:

"In fact, some parts of the body that seem weakest and least important are actually the most necessary. And the parts we regard as less honorable are those we clothe with the greatest care. So we carefully protect those parts that should not be seen, while the more honorable parts do not require this special care. So God has put the body together such that extra honor and care are given to those parts that have less dignity. This makes for harmony among the members, so that all the members care for each other. If one part suffers, all the parts suffer with it, and if one part is honored, all the parts are glad." 1 Corinthians 12:22-26

After my five weeks of rest were over, I began running again - this time with a focus on strengthening my weakest parts. For the past 10 weeks, I have been gradually increasing the intensity and distance of my runs - starting out 10 weeks ago with a very conservative run/walk program, to now running 30 - 40 minutes at a time. As I have paid special attention to strengthening my weak feet, my entire body has gotten stronger. The same should be true of a church... or a team... or even an organization. If everyone in the body works together to strengthen it's weakest parts, then the body as a whole will get stronger.

My question now is, am I applying that knowledge to other areas of my life: When I lead worship, am I only leading the most exuberant worshippers in our congregation, or am I taking care to lead the newest worshippers in our body as well? Do I get impatient and feel frustrated when other members of my family can't move forward as fast as I can, or do I take the time to teach and explain so that we can all move forward together? I hope so. I know that if I am daily filled with the Spirit of the ever-patient God, then I will be well able to. The same can and should be true of you as well.

Let's run the race... together... not leaving anyone behind.

Leaving the Crutches Behind

"Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees, and make straight paths for your feet, so that what is lame may not be dislocated, but rather be healed." - Hebrews 12:12-13

I have been running fairly consistently for just over 8 years now.  For the most part, my muscles, ligaments and joints have pretty well adapted to the rigors of running.  It is a rare occurrence when I actually get sore muscles from a leisurely 5 - 6 mile run.  That is until recently.

When I first started running, I didn't want to invest a lot of money into the pasttime, because I didn't know how long my desire to run would last... so I bought the cheapest pair of big-box department store "running" shoes that I could find and headed out the door.  Those shoes served me well until I started increasing my mileage beyond the 6-mile mark.  Around that time, I developed a severe pain on the outside of my right knee - a very common overuse injury called iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS).  A good friend of mine (once he saw the shoes I was running in) suggested I go to a running specialty store and get fitted for some proper running shoes.  Later that week, he took me to our local Fleet Feet running store, where I underwent a very thorough shoe-fitting. Through that session, I learned that I was a "heel-striker" and an "over-pronator," and I needed "support" running shoes to correct my imperfections. Armed with a pair of $100 support running shoes on my feet, I continued running and my ITBS went away.

As I transitioned from being a casual runner to a student of running, I came across a short book titled "Running Fast and Injury Free" by Gordon Pirie.  Gordon Pirie was a mid-twentieth century British long-distance runner. In his book, he listed his 12 Laws of Running.  All 12 of his laws helped to transform me into a much more efficient runner, but the first two of his laws really peaked my interest:

1. Running with correct technique (even in prepared bare feet), on any surface, is injury free.
2. Running equals springing through the air, landing elastically on the forefoot with a flexed knee (thus producing quiet feet). On landing, the foot should be directly below the body. (Walking is landing on the heels with a straight leg).

I knew that over-pronation was the cause of my bout with ITBS... and I knew that I was a heel-striker. I wondered if I could transition from being a heel-striker to being a forefoot striker, then possibly my tendency to over-pronate and my susceptibility to injury would go away.  It was worth a try. So for the next few months, I worked on transitioning my running form, and successfully left the world of heel-striking behind. Soon after becoming a forefoot-striker, I was able to transition from using stability shoes to cushioned neutral shoes. Over the years since then, I have gradually shied away from shoes with any kind of correctional technologies and have gotten more and more minimalistic in my shoe purchases with each year. All the while, Pirie's first law has been a lingering question in the back of my mind: could I actually run barefoot and remain injury free.  A few times, I tried running barefoot, either on a soft rubberized track, or a well-manicured football field, but was always afraid of the possibility of cutting my feet on a sharp rock, twig, or piece of broken glass.  That was until a few weeks ago.

A couple of years ago, a new type of shoe came on the scene: Vibram FiveFingers.  Their shoes were not specifically created for running, but runners wanting to try running barefoot were snatching them up left and right.  Just a few weeks ago, I finally determined that the time was right, and I bought a pair of Vibram FiveFingers (KSO model).  With these shoes, the only thing between the road and my bare feet is a 3.5mm piece of rubber.  No cushioning, no corrective structures or technology... just a thin piece of rubber to protect your feet from sharp objects.  In fact, I recently saw an advertisement for Vibram FiveFingers that says "You are the technology."

I have been surprised at the difference running "barefoot" makes. So far I am up to running just over 4 miles in the Vibrams.  My feet do not hurt, but I have noticed a lot more muscle soreness than I am used to. Muscles that were never fully engaged when I ran in cushioned shoes are now enlisted in dampening the impact of each stride and moving me forward step by step. Since running "barefoot" I have experienced tightness and some soreness from my lower legs, all the way up to my lower back and obliques.  The muscles that were taking it easy and going along for the ride as I ran in cushioned comfort are now being activated and called to duty. Now that my comfortable cushioned shoe crutches have been left behind, my body is completely committed to the act of running... probably for the first time in my life.

God designed the human body to run, with built-in systems for dampening impact and propelling forward. Many times, shoe companies design shoes to mask people's bad habits and improper running form instead of encouraging people to run correctly and utilizing the "technologies" that God has already built in to the human body. As the Vibram advertisement says, "You are the technology."  You can't help but run correctly in a pair of Vibrams.  It's too painful not to. A few days ago, I came across this quote from David Platt in his book "Radical: Taking Back Your Faith from the American Dream" and it got me thinking:

"You don't need to have inordinate skill or unusual abilities to make disciples. You don't need to be a successful pastor or a charismatic leader to make disciples. You don't need to be a great communicator or an innovative thinker to make disciples. That's why Jesus says every Christian must do this. One of the unintended consequences of contemporary church strategies that revolve around performances, places, programs, and professionals is that somewhere along the way people get left out of the picture. But according to Jesus, people are God's method for winning the world to Himself. People who have been radically transformed by Jesus. People who are not sidelined to sit in a chair on Sundays while they watch professionals take care of ministry for them. People who are equipped on Sundays to participate in ministry every day of the week. People who are fit and free to do precisely what Jesus did and what Jesus told us to do. Make disciples."

Performances, places, programs, and professionals have become our comfortable cushioned shoes... they have become our crutches... and because of them, we are not fully engaged in the Great Commission, and sadly, we are not fit and free to do what Jesus has called us as the church to do. This is not true of the world-wide church as a whole. I would not say this is true of the church in China, or Africa, or India... but it is true of the church in America. Instead of fully running the race, we have designed performances and programs, invested in places, and hired titillating professionals to mask our imperfections and hide our immaturity. I can say that because I am just as guilty of it as the next person. Check out this quote from the Apostle Paul:

"Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love." Ephesians 4:10-16

Just as God designed the body to run, He designed the Church to be fruitful and multiply and cover the earth with the knowledge of the Glory of God. When we use our own methods and "technologies" to mask our imperfections and appear fit to the world, we do the church and the world no service. If anything, we weaken the church and cause her to become irrelevant to the world. Don't get me wrong: performances, places, programs, and professionals are not bad - as long as they complement what God is doing and fully utilize the people that God is using.

Back to the quote from Hebrews above. The Message puts it this way:

"So don't sit around on your hands! No more dragging your feet! Clear the path for long-distance runners so no one will trip and fall, so no one will step in a hole and sprain an ankle. Help each other out. And run for it!" Hebrews 12:12-13 (The Message)

Let's leave those comfortable cushioned crutches behind, get fully engaged, and run the race!