Move Forward with Commitment of Heart, Mind and Body

I take a ballet class on Friday mornings. This last Friday, I was having difficulty with a more complicated bar exercise. The instructor asked class members to stand at a bar attached to the wall and move our feet and legs through a series of steps. The ballet positions were a challenge for me and the pace of movement was quite fast.

I asked the instructor to explain step by step what we were were supposed to do. She stood beside me and moved through the steps, both describing and demonstrating. She told me that if I said the name of each step as I made it, I'd get the order of the movements in my head.

She said, "If your mind gets it, your body will, too."

Her statement stuck with me and I continued to think about it long after the class was done. How many times have we wanted to do something different in our lives, to improve a skill or change a bad habit, and we assume we can will ourselves to change? What I'm finding in ballet class, that if I want to gain skill in dance, I need to understand with my mind, as well as my body what is required of me.

I think the same is true with the Body of Christ. Through Vital Church Initiative, Brighton First has said "yes" to exercising new behaviors, to being more welcoming, to growing in discipleship, to reaching out to connect with neighbors. But our "body" is not going to take on these new behaviors until our minds and hearts "get it".

I, as our spiritual leader, am continually called to hold up the "why" for what we do. If I engage the minds and the hearts of congregation members for behaviors that bring Jesus Christ to others, then behaviors can begin to change.

All the leaders of Brighton First share this responsibility. First, leaders need to practice new behaviors in welcoming and spiritual discipline, intentionally, informed by understanding and a passion for Christ. Second, all leaders are called to bring other church members along.

Church culture and behavior will not change overnight, but it can begin as we seek understanding together.