Gymnos is the Greek origin of our modern-day word Gym. It means “naked.” GYMNOS articles in Faith & Fitness Magazine are designed to help you ask God to challenge your thinking. In the literal sense, when you’re naked in the locker room there is nothing to hide. That makes most people uncomfortable. Use this scenario to get naked spiritually—be honest, transparent, undisguised and willing to be totally open with yourself and others. All characters in this scenario are fictional. Any similarity to an actual person is coincidental.
Some of the most incredible outcomes happen in the most unlikely of places. Take my gym for example. They have several group exercise rooms, a spin room, the cardio room, and another room with selectorized weight machines and various other gear. Then there’s the free weight room. AND THEN there’s the iron pit or what we now fondly call the gym confessional.
To get to the iron pit you go past the water fountain, down the hall and at the back of the building you literally go down steps into the “pit”. There you’ll find more free weights along with squat racks, deadlift platforms, sleds and more -A LOT MORE! Here, even though there’s AC, you’ll find a big shop fan blowing. Gym chalk isn’t just allowed it’s encouraged. – so that you can grab hold of your greater potential. The pit is known for some serious lifting by both men and women and for some seriously tough gym attitude too. It’s a place with it’s own culture, which is why the gym confessional became such a powerful counter culture.
You’ll find my friend Chet Priest in the iron pit usually 3 times per week. Guy’s call him “Priest the Beast” and for good reason. He’s huge. He’s never pursued getting his pro card. Said he didn’t need it – didn’t want it. Maybe that’s why people are often surprised to discover that he’s even a huger Christ follower, with, I can tell you, the hugest amount of humility and grace.
The iron pit was on the verge of being closed by management. Frequent and loud profanity, wandering eyes, lots of lust topped with arrogance, lies and mean spirited behavior was the reputation of the pit. Yeah it was bad and some of the worst there were puzzled how Priest could push so hard right along with them and yet never join in any of the ugliness. It drove ‘em crazy.
One day, with a guy spotting him and several others watching, the Beast squatted a new personal best — barely. In the midst of his lift, Andre, yelled from behind, “Come on man, for Christ’s shake, show us what your F***in’ made of!” With the lift successfully complete, and everyone now cheering, Chet returned the weights to the rack, looked at Andre and gently said, “For your sake, Christ died.” The room got real still – real fast. Priest then looked at everyone and continued, “Christ died for all of us that we could be made new.” Then he started to walk out of the room.
Andre scoffed with a smirk on his face, “Bless me Father, for I have sinned. It has been … too long – maybe never, since my last confession.”
Priest slowly, quietly and yet deliberately turned around and looked directly into Andre’s eyes. Everybody thought he was going to beat the crap out of him. In that long silent moment we all stood stunned and caught off guard. The fan roared. Andre’s head dipped as he repeated the grave truth, “I… I HAVE sinned.” Chet walked up to him and gave him a big bear hug – and I swear I’ve never seen Andre weep like he did that day, first with pain and regret, then with repentance, and most notably with joy as he experienced God’s grace that day. To this day Andre still calls that moment his personal best.
That was a few years ago and all of us since then have found that the gym confessional isn’t just a place to lift heavy. It’s become our place to be accountable to each other, repent and grab hold firmly to God.
THINK ABOUT IT
- Your gym may not be the ‘iron pit’ but chances are you’ve seen more going on than just physical exercise. In fact, if you’re honest, some of what’s going on is going on inside your own head. Take a moment to look directly into you. Give it a long silent moment. What is the culture of your heart?
- In this story humility and grace are two qualities identified that give Chet Priest a reputation of loving Jesus. What Jesus qualities do you want people to see in you? How do you communicate and demonstrate those qualities?
- Sometimes life circumstances can come together to create a pivotal point. On a spiritual level that point can be the Spirit of God calling you to be obedient and be used of God for His purpose. In this scenario it was Andre’s choice words spoken in the presences of others as Chet was in a physically challenging moment that led to Chet speaking faith-building life-giving words. What extreme or dramatic moments with others have you experienced? In those moments how has God’s Spirit moved on you? How did you respond? What was the outcome?
- The concept of making a sincere confession, whether to God alone or in the presence of someone is difficult for many. What challenges do you face in this regard? What does it mean to have a mindset that is freed by God? Identify the qualities you would need in an individual or small group to pursue deeper fellowship and accountability. How would you grow in God if that was a consistent part of your lifestyle?
