Carb Loading: 4 Days to 26.2 Miles

So this has to be the best/worst week of marathon training. It's like one of those old "Got Milk" commercials. Allow me to explain.

This week I train like a sumo wrestler: I'm supposed to eat carbohydrate rich foods like bread, fruit, pasta, and other stuff that would make Dr. Atkins cringe. I also don't have to run very much. The idea is to fill my muscles with glucose so that I have the energy I need for the race. I'm like a squirrel preparing for winter.

But the problem is that I don't really want to eat. I'm too nervous, so nothing sounds very good. So while I would normally enjoy eating, especially during a week when I can write it off as part of my "athletic lifestyle," I'm not in the mood for anything. So much to eat, but I can't enjoy it. Got milk?

6 Days to 26.2 Miles

This is it. Game week. I've been training for 17 weeks, and next Sunday is the day I run the Harrisburg Marathon. I must admit I'm pretty nervous. But over the last 17 weeks I've learned a few things that have kept me going, and I thought I would share them.

1. I Can Do This

My biggest hesitation back in May/June when I was wringing my hands was the thought, "I really don't think I can do this." The longest I had ever ran was 7 miles, and I knew what that felt like. So I put running 26.2 miles on par with learning to fly an airplane or running for president: a nice idea but not really feasible. At one point early in the training I had to stop 2 times during a 3 mile run because I thought I was going to collapse. I thought a marathon was a fairytale that day.

But now an 8 mile run seems short. Two weeks ago I ran 40 miles during the week, 20 of that at one time! I am simply amazed how discipline can prepare us for the unimaginable.

2. I Can Change

Back in April my doctor said something I thought I would never hear: "Kyle, you're slightly overweight." That was a first, and it pretty much ruined that day for me. Over the last 3-4 years or so I put on 25 pounds, taking me out of my ideal range. But I learned I don't have to accept this as "the new me." Like they say, if you burn more calories than you eat, you will lose weight. And sure enough, I've lost 20 pounds in 17 weeks. I'm at my high school weight! For me it took setting a goal other than weight loss. But I've learned that if I can get the right goal, I can change.

3. Exercise Takes Planning

If I have a long day at work and a long run scheduled, guess which one gets compromised. I figured out that if I'm going to actually run (not just say I am) I have to have both a schedule and a plan for accomplishing it. Of course, the fear of entering a marathon I can't finish keeps me pretty motivated. I'm now really careful to find the time I need to exercise.

4. Physical Fitness is Part of Discipleship

This one deserves its own blog post, but I'll summarize it here. God did not make disembodied spirits. The human body is not a result of the Fall, no matter how bad some of them look. He made us out of matter and breathes life into us. That makes our bodies important, and as unpopular as it is to say it in the church, the disregard many followers of Jesus show for their weight is sinful. Caring for our body is as much a stewardship issue as tithing faithfully or serving in the children's ministry. If God gives it to us, we need to care for it.

I knew this before I started running, but I have really learned it through the whole experience. Beyond health issues, staying fit has given me more energy, which means all the other stuff I do in life as worship to the Lord is higher quality, and that certainly affects my growth in Christ.

Slavery and Myth

Here is a link to a remarkable speech from Joseph D'Souza, a leader in the church of India. In a little over eight minutes, he speaks on the largest source of modern slavery, the caste system and the degradation of the Dalit people. D'Souza gave this speech at the Third Lausanna Congress on World Evangelization, held last month in Cape Town, South Africa.

Reconciliation - Exploited and Oppressed People The Lausanne Global Conversation

Two of his points stand out to me as related and devastating.

Slavery is Founded in Creation Myth
At the base of the evil that causes a person to enslave another person is a belief that each person is created with greater or lesser value. If race is seen as a biological difference that reflects God's value on us, then we are not far from dividing ourselves along the same lines we believe God percieves. And the worst part of this sort of thinking is that our devaluing of another person can then be defended as reflective of our Creator's own design. This is what is happening in India. American slaveholders used the same myth.

The Church is Susceptible to Functioning Under the Same Myth
The consistent message of the Bible is that all humans are made in God's image and this high value in the eyes of God is modeled among his people, who live together and value each other in counter-cultural ways. There is no line that divides us one from another in value. Paul makes this point very carefully in Galatians 3:28-29. God certainly makes us different from each other with differing roles to play, but the value of each person is not determined by role.

And yet, the church gets this wrong so often. I found it chilling to hear D'Souza describe the church graveyard where the dead were divided by caste. Those graves now stand as a permanent reminder that the church can profess equality at the feet of Jesus and yet not allow the Gospel to shatter the sin endemic in so many cultural norms.

Missions Month: Week 3 -- Special Guest Mike Leonzo

This week my friend Mike Leonzo was able to come share. Mike is the lead pastor at Living Water Community Church in Harrisburg, PA and also serves on the advisory board for Mosaix Global Network. Check out this very challenging message on Jesus' prayer of unity for his church.

Missions Month: Week 2

Missions Month: Week 1

For the benefit of my non-KSC readers, here's week one of The Fraglie Army sermon series.

Missions Month Begins This Week

For those of you who are part of King Street Church, this Sunday begins Missions Month, four weeks of focusing on the mission of the church in the world. We'll be studying 2Cor.4, with guest speaker Mike Leonzo joining us Oct.24 for what will be a very interesting look at multi-ethnic churches.

So what exactly is the mission of the church? In the video below, Kevin DeYoung, Ryan Kelly, and Greg Gilbert offer what I believe is a very helpful and thought-provoking discussion.

The Mission of the Church from Ben Peays on Vimeo.

Ed Stetzer Explaining What it Means to be "On Mission" with Jesus

Ed Stetzer is among the clearest speakers and writers on the "missional movement" in the church today. The video quality here is not very high, but I share it with you because Stetzer offers a very good explanation to those who are interested in understanding how mission is a integral part of the calling of the church.

Tim Keller on Being Salt and Light

Tim Keller is the pastor of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in New York City. He has written some extraordinary books and articles dealing with how Christians relate to and engage with society, particularly the city. Here he describes Jesus' metaphor of salt and light and how it is applied by two very different theologians: Dutch politician Abraham Kuyper and American professor Stanley Hauerwas, who teaches at Duke.

Mark Driscoll on the Missional Church

Here is Pastor Mark Driscoll speaking on the missional church. If you are unfamiliar with the concept of what it means to be missional, this is a good primer. I will be speaking on this topic during Missions Month, Oct.10-31, at King Street Church. Between now and then I am going to focus the posts of this blog on understanding what it means to be on mission with Jesus in the world.