MEET REVEREND DAVID PRITCHARD
I was in to lifting weights early on, at about the age of 13 or 14, because my brother used to have one of those weight sets with the plastic sand-filled weights we all remember and love. Since I wanted to be like my bro I just imitated what he did and tried to figure the equipment out – all while he wasn’t around of course (I didn’t want him seeing my using his stuff).
In junior and senior high I was on the gymnastics team and we loved how we looked when we were in shape. And by “how we looked” I mean we had abs! Once this ended and I graduated into college I would lift weights here and there because my brother bought me a better set of weights – an Olympic bench and Olympic style weights with some dumbbells. I would try and do a routine but really just messed around. My best friend and I would hit the gym every so often and that began to get me hooked.
Once I got into seminary I began to play racquetball and lift with a bit more of a though-out routine in the gym. I still had my high school weight and look but didn’t really feel as though I had made too many gains. I began to take it more seriously and have slowly gleaned over the years what to do. Now I am an avid gym-goer and love to lift. I'm aiming to have an esthetic look over the next few years.
PASSION: FAITH AND FITNESS TOGETHER AS DISCIPLINES FOR HOLY LIVING
One thing that holds true for all the various styles and ways to do fitness is this: consistency. The same holds true for our spiritual lives. We don’t like to think of living out our beliefs in a disciplined way, but the Bible and the early Church show how dedicated our early brothers and sisters were to their Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Can we say the same about our lives?
I have a passion for the deeper reality of God and His ever present Kingdom. Our daily lives should reflect our devotion – but not for the sake of "doing a devotion" but because we desire to know God more in our daily reading, prayer, conversation, worship, and for some attending the Lord’s Supper. In order to grow and focus attention on our spiritual senses to the reality of God around us it takes consistency through obedience to the maturing of our daily life that reflects more and more an understanding of how we are to live as Christians.
As much as we are often unable to discern the steady changes in our bodies as we exercises daily, so too we will not notice the changes in our dispositions as we live out our devotion to God. People will notice our changes better than we will. Thankfully those changes do come. When they do, they leave us feeling better, more confident, and more alive!
Fitness is a great tool for personal Christian witness because the majority of people in the U.S. can relate to the consistency and discipline need to get or stay healthy. The same holds true for living out our faith. I am passionate about both.
WHAT YOU CAN EXPECT FROM ME
Being passionate about both faith and fitness my specific hope and goal is to develop and present articles about people in college life that live their faith in the context of fitness. There are many things I plan to write. My goal is to create articles that you will look forward to reading. More importantly I want you to be able to walk away with something to use or consider in your personal walks with Christ. I feel blessed and privileged to do so and my prayer is that I do not write things that are too simple or non-informative. There is already enough “fluff” out there both in the fitness world and in the devotional world and I hope to move a little more deeper through living witnesses to aid you in your goals and your passions for your life that God has put within you through his Holy Spirit.
While these ideas and articles will be in the context of college I believe there will be principles anyone can use. I want to help you see the various disciplines within the Church that can be used to strengthen our spirits. They strengthen us for life's battles we will have to fight and endure to the end, or until our joy is made complete. The articles will focus on the challenges college men and women face with spiritual views into the nature of those things and practical steps to fight those various battles. Pornography, for example, is a huge issue for many seeking the face of Jesus and it is a constant battle – but it is not just one of lust or physical attraction, but is spiritual. I plan to share some prayer guided and prayer filled thoughts in each issue. I appreciate you reading the College Fitness Department of Faith and Fitness Magazine. Share it with those you know who in one way or another are involved in college life.
