For a while I've been telling myself I need to go check out this CrossFit training which is a pretty popular training program and has an affiliate in our area. I hemmed and hawed about actually joining for several months before finally taking the plunge when the kids went back to school. Last week I participated in a four session On Ramp class which introduced us to the basic moves involved in a CrossFit workout. Once Icompleted the On Ramp class, I was invited to participate in the regular training sessions.
So this Monday morning I showed up for my first official CrossFit workout, otherwise known as the WOD - Workout of the Day. The WOD itself is pretty insane. I've been exercising fairly regularly for the last several years - first with cardio work and eventually adding weight training over the last year and a half. But over that time I've essentially been working out on my own. I had a friend training with me for a few months, but the vast majority of my time in the gym has been walking in on my own, grabbing an elliptical on my own, and then lifting weights on my own.
CrossFit is much more of a community. You participate in a class with several other people doing the same WOD with a coach walking you through the movements for the day. You're not alone in the workout, even if you're not competing with the other athletes in your class, you are surrounded by them. And I'll be honest, the first day I walked into a class, I felt totally, completely unprepared. Sure I'd done the On Ramp, so I knew some of what was going to happen. And I'd met a couple of the coaches already, so I knew I'd at least recognize someone there. But I didn't know what the workout would consist of, and I didn't know a single other person in the class I was taking.
In other words, I think I felt like someone showing up at church for the very first time might feel. It produced an incredible amount of anxiety in me. I stood on the outskirts and waited to see if anyone would say "hello" to me. I wondered what was going to happen, and when it was going to happen. I checked the clock. I fidgeted nervously pretending to "warm up" but mostly trying to pass the time until someone would tell me what to do next.
As an "insider" to the church world but an "outsider" to the CrossFit world, it was an experience that taught me a valuable lesson. There's no substitute for a friendly greeting, a quick conversation that lets someone know they matter, and an attempt to include the outsider in the insider world. That's true whether you're at the gym or the church.
So next Sunday, think about the person who's walking into our church for the first time. Think about the anxiety they might be feeling, the many times they thought about showing up but decided not to, and then realize that you could be part of the reason they come back. It doesn't take much. A smile, a handshake, finding out a name, or an introduction to one of your friends. But those little things make all the difference between a guest feeling welcomed, and feeling left out.
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