I’m not going to say waist size is even a top 10 issue in the ministry, but in our superficial society we can assume our personal appearance communicates a good deal about our character.
- Would you listen to a doctor who smokes in his office?
- What about a dentist with bad teeth?
- What about an expert on Christian living who lacks self-control?
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, (Titus 2:11-12, ESV)
Self-control is a bigger issue than what we eat, but a chronically overweight clergy might not be the right people to lift up the banner.
I’m saying all this from personal experience. Over the last year I’ve lost 75 pounds.
You can see the pictures above.
Here are a few things I’ve noticed about personal interactions:
- most people show more respect
- some people even admire the changes I’ve made
- young people are more ready to listen when I talk
- acquaintances around town keep asking what’s changed in my life
You can imagine the doors to Gospel impact that have opened. People are curios, even if they don’t realize that my change was deeply spiritual before physical.
I’ve also noticed a change in how I process the daily burdens of ministry.
- more energy to relate to others
- food is not my comfort after a bad day
- running alone often becomes a prayer retreat
- my best ideas for teaching come while while out jogging
- the beauty of God’s creation is often in my mind from my time spent outdoors
Let me encourage you to think this over. I’m started a running blog about my journey, if you’re serious about making some changes you should check it out.
Your comments are welcome below. I’d love to hear what you think. Should pastor’s pay more attention to their own health? Is my thinking on this issue just a matter of worldliness?
Tony,
Thanks. This certainly is a timely and relevant message/challenge for those of us who want to finish strong, and hear Him say, “Well done.” May the Lord give us the strength and power to follow your example for His glory, our good, and the impact on our ministries. This may be the most needed and helpful posts ever presented here.
As one who has struggled with this throughout my adult life, letme give an en. Every week when I stand in the pulpit, my waistline is evidence of my lack of self control.
Trying to make those changes myself.
We should start an SBC Voices challenge for any pastor/leader who wants to participate to lose weight by the end of the year. It would give us all a lot more energy and would benefit us the way that Tony has said. My biggest problem is that I am not active enough and that I eat the wrong things. I am not really given to gluttony in that I just sit and eat and eat and gorge myself. Honestly, I skip a lot of meals and sometimes don’t eat much at all. Rather, I eat foods that are high in carbs and sugars and I do not eat enough of the right stuff. It is what I eat, not how much, honestly. And, I also sit around way too much. Basically, I sabotage my own body chemistry and metabolism by my food choices and lack of exercise.
So, I am trying to change all of that. I want to lose 60 lbs. by Christmas. I have lost 10 lbs. in the past month. Taking up Tony’s challenge here, who wants to join me? We could have monthly check-ins with what we have learned and how things are changing – if we really want it too. I am glad that Tony has posted this now after he has lost all of his weight and can declare victory. It is encouraging. But, I am willing to put myself out there as one who has not attained victory yet and is in the midst of the struggle. Anyone want to join me?
Thanks, Tony. This was much needed.
Alan,
I am inclined toward signing up. I need thee accountability. Once somebody explain the particulars, if I believe that it is something that I can don then I will sign up.
Dwight,
A relatively easy way to do this is to cut out bread, sugars, fried foods, and starches. In other words, stick with meat, vegetables, and fruit. Get rid of the cheese too. Diet is the main thing. Drink lots of water. Your body starts to get rid of the fat and just starts washing it out. You end up creating a chemical reaction in many ways. I did this a couple of years ago and lost 32 lbs. in around 50 days. Unfortunately, I didn’t make permanent changes and ended up gaining it back over a couple of years. So, here we go again. But, it works and you feel a lot better, too. So, that is a start.
A lot of people really struggle with the exercise part, but you lose weight with your diet and that is where we really need The Lord for help. So, that’s where I am and I really need The Lord. 🙂
Alan,
Thanks. I will start your water, fruit, vegetables, & meat diet tomorrow. Your testimony was inspiring.
Great! I will join you. I was doing it for a couple of weeks and lost 10 pounds and then my birthday was last week, and well, I got off of it. You will lose a lot of weight at first – it is excess water weight that you are carrying around. You will be real encouraged. Then, about day 3 or 4 you will start craving carbs like crazy and will become irritable. You will see how much your body is used to carbs. You’ll give your right arm for some potatoes. But, stick with it. By day 10 or so, you body will have equalized and you’ll be fine. You’ll lose 10-15 lbs. relatively quicky and you will then hit a wall at about 2 weeks and will not lose anymore weight at all for a week or 10 days. But, stick with it. It is called the Wall. Once you go through the wall, you will drop a bunch of weight again pretty quickly. The cycle will continue as you will drop and hit the wall over and over again. Some say that you are to vary things up to get through the Wall faster, but that never works for me. I end up ditching the whole thing if I get off of it because I find it hard to stay disciplined. If you go through 4-5 cycles of that, you can drop 30-40 pounds in 3 months or less, even.
That is what I have found. Now, I will do it again. Alright, Dwight. We will start in earnest tomorrow. I am with you.
Count me in. I had lost 60 lbs and gained it all (nearly) back. Lowering carbs is what worked for me also. We have chickens and ducks so eggs are on the menu a lot. Unfortunately the garden is a disaster this year with all the rain.
If you are craving carbs, go for natural and healthy ones. It won’t kill you and it might help you stay on track.
Bill,
What are the natural and healthy carbs?
Fruits, veggies, even sweet potatoes occasionally. I get sick of eggs sometimes so I will opt for oat bran as a hot cereal for breakfast. I don’t avoid cheese altogether but the fat and calories add up quickly so be careful. You find that a little shredded parmesan gives you that cheesy goodness without resorting to a half brick of velveeta.
(when I was a kid, velveeta and miracle whip sandwiches were my favorite)
Yep. The South Beach diet says no carbs at all, meaning no fruit. But, fruit is a “good” carb that your body can process. We need some carbs for energy. So, I keep apples and melon and stuff like that around. It helps with the sweet tooth cravings too. Good honey dew melon is like ice cream almost. You body can get rid of it better and it doesn’t just turn to fat.
You can actually eat bacon and butter doing it this way. Fat is not the problem (at least as far as weight loss goes – it is a problem with cholesterol). Sugar is the problem. Exercise helps burn off the glucose that your body stores that turns into fat also – or so I have heard. But, that can come later.
So, I am starting back today. Variations will occur as I travel (next week, for example), but overall, it is a good approach if you stick to it.
“Should pastor’s pay more attention to their own health? Is my thinking on this issue just a matter of worldliness?”
#1–ABSOLUTELY!!! I don’t have a weight issue (6’4″ and 185–yeah, eat your hearts out boys), but my cholesterol is a concern (“pride goeth before a fall”). I’m working on it.
My nephew once visited the campus of SWBTS. His first question to me? “Why are all of these guys so fat?”
#2–ABSOLUTELY NOT! It is a matter of physical stewardship.
Good for you Tony! And good for all of us who are making the commitment to be healthy witnesses to the grace of God!
Tony,
I really like what you said and how you said it. Admirations and Congratulations are in order. I am not fit but I don’t have a problem with weight. Many of us have other weaknesses that we need to address. No one will ever notice my weaknesses, however, what you described about the processes of ministry would affect each of us similarly if we addressed the areas of weakness God has placed upon us. You still have a lifetime to live fit. The compliments will fade away but the character that is required to stay fit will develop into more character to fit your growing ministry.
This is going to step on more toes than the post a while ago about pastoral salaries… :/
Good idea, and congratulations.
The photos say a lot. Some psychologist could show your photos individually in a group of others and ask questions. “Whom is the most trustworthy…reliable…honest” etc., and the thinner you will picked positively for all of those qualities. It may not be fair or accurate but it is reality.
I started in October of last year with a commitment to my wife to lose. I had ballooned up to 215 pounds and I’m only 5’7″ tall. That’s a lot of weight on a little guy. High blood pressure, headaches, falling asleep after a normal day, not being able to run and play with my kids…the list went on. My wife told me she was convinced I would not see my girls graduate or marry.
So I started using an app called “My Fitness Pal.” Free, simple, and all about portion control- no supplements or special food. It was all about the one thing I had lacked- self control. I started putting in what I wanted to eat- seeing how many calories that would kill of my allotment for the day- and started making different choices. I pretty much abandoned all fast food- except for Taco Bueno on Sundays because that’s where my after church crew always seems to go- and started eating lots of raw fruits and veggies, lean meats, and water- lots of water. Cut out all cokes and went cold turkey on caffeine for 18 months. I swore to myself, God, and anyone who would listen that I would never be addicted to caffeine again- I think that withdrawl is worse than anything.
So 10 months later I am down to 179 with a goal of being at 160 by year’s end. I’ve gone from a size 38 to a size 34 pants and large shirts rather than the XLs I had been in. I even started tucking in my shirts again and not feeling self conscious.
All that to say- it can be done fellas! And congrats Tony. In the words of Billy Crystal, “You look MAH-velous!”
Tony,
I have an awful lot invested in my belly, and I don’t plan to part with it.
I’ve grown to love it, it’s part of me and I am proud of it.
You lettuce eating guys can do what you want, but when my belly gets hungry it growls at me.
Philippians 3:19, ehh?
Look at the Vegan or Vegetarian testimonies.
I agree with your post. I have had many of the same thoughts. Over the last 2 years, I’ve lost 110 pounds, give or take a few. I wrote my thoughts about the need for weight loss almost two years ago. http://dannypoyner.com/2011/09/30/343/
Age has been catching up and I need to have a pretty active lifestyle. Last year I did the hard work and completed the sixty day Insanity routine. I lost twenty pounds – that have stayed off. It is a big deal to not have your physical sloppiness not be the first thing that people see when they meet you but it is the extra energy that is the biggest benefit.
My concern is when we judge people based on how they look, that is very very wrong. Less so with men, but with women, I get very angry with the idea that a woman has to be “skinny” to be attractive in the world’s eyes. I have known girls that look awsome, but according to the world, are ugly because they have a little weight. That makes me sick, it makes me angry, it makes me want to get a baseball bat and bash peoples heads in.
In my opinion, there is a difference between being “large” and being unhealthy. Yes, having more weight increases unhealthy attributes in your body (high blood pressure, high cholesterol, breathing issues, ext). BUT, we CANNOT judge people who are “large”, simply because they are “large”. To do so, is clearly sinful. Clearly wrong. Some people are naturally, genetically, larger than others. I, according to medical charts, am obese. I am 5’11” and 230lbs. BUT if you were to look at me in normal every day clothes, you would not believe it. You would assume I would weigh in the 170-180 range. I do have a bit of a spare tire, but most of my weight is in dense bone and large leg muscles. My cholesterol is good, my blood pressure is good, no signs of diabetes (despite my past as a Mountain Dew addict). I am physically out of shape, but all my health issues I do have, have nothing to do with my weight. So on one had if you looked at me, you would not assume I am over weight, yet statistically I am. Yet if you knew what the statistics said, you would assume I am unhealthy.
Again, if you have health issues resulting from your excess weight, by all means work to loose it! But to judge yourself, others, or to let others judge you based on how you look is WRONG!
PS…Weight does not always make a bad unreliable pastor/leader. Charles Spurgeon and Martin Luther come to mind. If your churches are indicating they think less of you because of your weight, maybe your weight is not the issue, maybe it is you are not teaching your congregation how to treat their brothers and sisters in Christ in a Godly way.
BTW, just for reference according to BMI which, in my opinion should not ever be trusted. My “normal” weight range being 5’11”, would be 130-175lbs. If I were to weigh 130, I would be nothing but skin and bones! I would look extremely unhealthy! Way way WAY more than I do now. Even 175 would be hard for me with the way my bones are built.
“Even 175 would be hard for me with the way my bones are built.”
svmuschany,
How are your bones built — with concrete Legos?
Something like that. Back in highschool, just after my groth surt when I hit 5’11”, I weighed in the 170-180 range, and trust me when I say I had no fat, and was in serious shape (had a sub 7 minute mile). Actually, it is very abnormal for me to have such dense bones. I have NF1 (Neurofibromatosis Type 1), which usually results in skeletal issues, including a high risk of frequent fractures to “long bones” in the arms and legs.
And actually its is my NF1 that, in addition to my bones, that is resulting in some of my weight. Long explanation cut short, non-malignant tumors grow on nerve endings in my body. They are not composed of fat and have no relation to my weight or eating habits. Between this and my bone structure, that accounts for my higher than “average” weight. Yes I do have a spare tire, but a “true” lack of fat in my body still would be barely in the “normal” weight range, bordering on overweight.
You really need to guard your language. Threatening to get a baseball bat and bash people’s heads in is really not appropriate language.
Maybe weight isn’t your biggest issue.
Well Dave I am not sorry. I have seen girls tormented by guys and girls alike because they were “fat”. I have seen girls who destroy their bodies trying to have the “perfect” figure to avoid being labeled “fat”. I have seen the damage that societies obsession with “skinny attractive people”, their ostracising of those who do not fit the model of “attractive”, and I have come to the conclusion that those people need to be stopped in every way possible. Now my words were a bit metaphorical, but I WILL NOT tolerate anyone, man or woman, in my presence who insists that to be attractive in this society you need to look a certain way. And woe to any guy who says something like that to my future wife and daughter. This is one of my “hills to die on”. And I will not ease up on my condemnation of lesser men (and women) who objectify others based only on weight.
Well, sorry or not, you will need to refrain from that kind of language in the future.
Conan said, “Twinkies are back on the shelves. And get this: People are complaining that they’re smaller. Ironically, the people complaining about it are NOT smaller.”
Forget about your public image tonight boys. I a few minutes the MLB All-Star game starts.
Grab some hotdogs, 10 or 12 will do for a starter and enjoy the game as the NL stomps the AL.