Calculated Risk

Spiritual Training Cycle: Connection (wk. 13/13)

Reading: Acts 9:10-19

My son gripped the barbell and then let go. “I don’t know, Dad.”

“You’ve got this,” I told him. “You’re about to PR your deadlift.”

“But I’ve never lifted this much weight before.”

“I’ve seen all your training and preparation. Your hard work is going to pay off.”

With a very light seasoning of confidence, Jack cinched his belt, braced his back and lats, and attached himself to the bar. Moments later, he let out a roar of joy when he locked out his new PR. As the barbell landed on the mat, I rested in the confidence that his attempt was a calculated risk.

Risk. Just the word itself can incite fear and anxiety in most. Because who likes taking risks? Maybe the daredevils on the Red Bull channel in my doctor’s office, but me? You? Risk? Feels a little dicey. And it can be. If you don’t know what’s on the other side. But if you do know, or you’ve taken that risk before, it changes things. It’s not the dark abyss of the unknown. It’s calculated.

And that’s good news because we must take risks – especially when it comes to building community. Community is God’s design for the growth of humanity. Plain and simple – if you have no community, you will not truly experience the fullness of life.

But entering a new community is not easy. It takes risk. Risk is the price of admission in community. Take community fitness gyms for example. If you’re a part of one, then you know it took a risk to join. For some of you the risk was low. You had a friend who constantly gushed about how great the gym was and how she’s made so many friends and you’ve seen how great she looks in her new skinny jeans. So, when you joined her to “check it out,” the risk was definitely calculated.

Others of you didn’t have that experience. You went in blindly, which is to say you hit the website, filled out the new athlete intake form, and came in the next day ready for a new adventure. Or did you? Maybe you had a little extra nervous energy. Maybe you even considered “trying again tomorrow.” But when you pulled up to a place you had never been before, and started looking at a whole bunch of faces you had never seen, the truth is you wondered. You didn’t wonder if the programming was good. You didn’t wonder if the space was clean. You wondered something much deeper – Could you belong? Would there be a place for you there? Would you feel known and safe? And that required a risk.

You didn’t even know what was on the other side. The friendships you would make. The camaraderie you would build. The support you would get from your coaches. As you became a part of the fabric of you community, you found yourself being the class ambassador, always welcoming new athletes who were punching their own risk tickets. But like I knew with Jack and his lift, you knew about the community you’re a part of. The risk was worth it.

In today’s passage of Scripture, we read about a disciple of Jesus named Ananias. Ananias found himself in a town called Damascus, where another man, a persecutor of Jesus followers, also found himself. His name was Saul. God spoke to Ananias and gave him a simple message – go and lay hands on Saul. But Ananias hedged. He had heard the reports about Saul and the harm he had done to other followers of Christ. For Ananias to carry out God’s calling, he would need to take a risk.

A risk that would initially result in welcoming Saul into a new community faith when he committed his life to Jesus. A risk that would eventually lead Saul to become the Apostle Paul, who would be the chosen instrument to bring the Gospel to a whole new audience of people – the gentiles. Ananias may not have realized it, but his risk was calculated – because God was at the center of it!

What are you willing to risk to help others grow? Would you risk stepping out in faith to start something new? Would you risk offering an apology with no expectation of one in return? Would you risk sharing the pain of your past or your anxiety about tomorrow?

There’s only one place to take those risks – in community. When you find a healthy community with God at the center, jump in. If you haven’t found one yet, start praying about it. Life transformation requires that we live somewhat uncomfortable lives. Lives which require us to take risks. With God at the center, even when you can’t see it, the risk is calculated.

Questions for Reflection:

Does taking a risk make you nervous or anxious?

What kinds of risks have you taken to help yourself grow?

What have you risked to help someone else grow?

Currency

Spiritual Training Cycle: Connection (wk. 12/13)

Reading: Acts 5:1-11

Imagine this: the workout is over. You’re lying on the ground, completely spent. You felt like it went well. Someone comes and asks, “How many rounds?” “Six plus 22,” you reply. “Wow, you crushed that,” they say, impressed. Word gets around the gym. You knew it was in your wheelhouse, but you really crushed it. You enter your score and head home. Later, you check the leaderboard; you’re still on top. Then, you re-read the workout… You skipped the second run every round. Now what? Do you pull your score down? Text your buddy, and tell him the truth? Just let it ride cause you know there will be another workout tomorrow?

Do missed reps, shaved reps, and half reps truly matter in the grand scheme of things?

Only really if you lie about it.

The Scripture this week is a weird one, a shocking one. Imagine this: a wealthy man and his wife hear about Jesus and commit their lives to follow him and his new community, the Church. People start abandoning their wealth. Selling their big homes, businesses, and more, they give the money to the church and allow the new community to disperse to help widows, orphans, and the infirmed. It’s exciting, and it seems like every week, another person is pledging huge sums of money to help the poor, all in the name of Jesus. So inspired are the man and his wife that they sell a plot of land and take the money to give to the church. But not before pocketing half. This is not the problem, though. It becomes an issue when he takes the money to the church leaders and tells them he is giving them all the money. The Apostles, prompted by the Holy Spirit, give him a chance to tell the truth. He doubles down on the lie – then drops dead. A few hours later, his wife does the same thing and suffers the same fate.

If you’re like most people, you’re asking yourself, ‘Why did this happen?’

The answer is simple: Pretense kills community. And community is God’s design for the growth of humanity.

Honesty is the currency of community. This is why shaving reps is such a major crime in the gym. Not because people are mad you beat them. They’re angry because they can’t trust you. The need to be seen as a winner, always having it together or never appearing weak, is the absolute death of the community. It tells others that you’re not going to show up as yourself. That this co-unity isn’t real. That your priority isn’t the team but your image.

Honesty, on the other hand, shows up big for community. When you’re real and honest, you invest in the unity you share with others. You’re giving permission for others to bring their authentic self, to be known and accepted. That’s when the walls come down and people not only share more of who they are, they realize the community they’re in is a safe space to be vulnerable because they see others doing the same. Vulnerability is some of the best honesty you’ll ever share. And it’s a currency that strengthens and unites communities.

Questions for Reflection:

When has dishonesty destroyed a relationship or community you care about?

We are most tempted to lie, fake it, and bend the truth when community is on the line. How do you show up as your authentic self in those situations?

Who models honesty in your community?

Together

Spiritual Training Cycle: Connection (wk. 11/13)

Reading: Acts 2:42-47

It doesn’t matter One of them is the CFO of a local healthcare company. Another one is a mom whose hardest workout each week is just keeping up with her several young children. One of them is a commercial pilot who spends his days jetting between Texas, the Caribbean and Colorado. Another one is a college student. One of them owns several local businesses. Another one just got laid off in a recent high-tech cutback and needs a job.

But when they show up for the community workout, their place in life doesn’t matter. They are in it together for the next 60 minutes. The walls of their individual lives disappear, replaced by the shared endeavor of stretching, sweating, and confronting the challenges given by the coach. It's a collective effort of determination. Equipment is shared, encouragement given, and, most importantly, a sense of unity prevails. Friendships are forged amid shared grimaces and laughter. In this microcosm of the community workout, individual stories merge into a larger story of collective growth. As a result, they all grow as individuals as well as a community.

Being in community goes against the grain – and makes us better people In an era when much of the world’s anger is polarized against anyone who is different, the people who work out together focus on what is shared. Here, energy pivots from what sets people apart to what ties them together. Their societal status, career trajectories, and personal situations melt into the background. In fact, in some respects, a healthy community fitness gym looks a bit like the early church.

A community of differences that is 2,000 years old In the years immediately following the resurrection of Jesus, the growing community of new Christians in Jerusalem lived life together.

These new believers came from various backgrounds. Some of them were local residents; some of them came from far and stayed because of the amazing things they saw God doing. Some were rich, some were poor. Some came from deeply religious backgrounds. Many were brand new to living a life of faith. Friendships were made and strengthened. Differences were minimized. The commonality of their commitment to a life in Christ overshadowed their differences. As a result, they grew as individuals and a community.

Luke, one of Jesus’ early followers, recorded what he saw in this new community toward the end of the second chapter of Acts:

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon ever soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common.” — Acts 2:42-44

Christian community changes individuals ‑ and ultimately impacts the world Living in Christian community is powerful. Two thousand years ago, the new Christians who were living in community found themselves changed people. They also started a movement that impacted everyone they influenced. Their faith in Jesus and how they live their lives changed people. In fact, Luke goes on to share that people living in this new Christian community “had favor with all the people” – everyone they touched was touched by them. Two thousand years later, the power of their Christian community has forever changed the world.

Questions for Reflection:

What does “living in community” mean in 2023?

How can you grow in accepting people who are different than you?

What impact will that make on them and on the world around you?