“Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training…”

1st Corinthians 9:25

I was so slow I went to speed camp…

I was headed into my Junior year of high school and most of my life revolved around chasing a big orange ball up and down a basketball court. Playing hoops was a big part of my identity and it certainly kept me busy. Open gyms, weight training, conditioning—and more, were a part of my regiment. I was training to get better and I was working to increase my conditioning. I wanted to be the best I could be—for myself and for my team.

I liked some of it more than others. Running for the sake of running was never my thing. But I could run up and down a gym floor chasing a basketball all day long. I would work hard on my footwork, my shooting form, and various offensive moves. When the gym at school was open—I was there. And, when it wasn’t I was playing in my driveway or at church or at the playground. I ate, slept, and breathed basketball.

Again, some of it was fun. It was hard work, but playing a pickup game and developing further chemistry with my teammates was always a great time. And it helped.

I remember 2 things from that preseason conditioning time. The first day of practice, when our coach was allowed to direct us instead of just watch us—it was brutal. All we did for the first day—the first week actually—was work on defense. Defensive squats, for those unfamiliar with typical coaching torture methods, are the worst. You bend your knees in an athletic stance and you just stay there. It seemed like all day. Your quadriceps start to burn 30 seconds in, which isn’t great when you have to hold the stance for minute upon minute upon minute.

Have you ever noticed that no matter how good a shape you think you are in, coach always things there is room for improvement?

We worked on defense that whole first week because coach knew all we cared about all summer was our offensive moves and ability. Coach made us uncomfortable. He put us through the defensive ringer to get us going.

The second thing I did that fall, in conjunction with all that conditioning, was go to speed camp.

What is speed camp? Pretty much torture via a treadmill.

I paid money (thanks Mom and Dad) to go to a facility where trainers led us through a rigorous workout that consisted of weight training and running in segments. It taught me how to run with better form. It strengthened my muscles. And it kicked my tail in conditioning.

Prior to signing on the dotted line for the camp experience I joined another teammate for a trial run (pun intended). They helped me stretch. Showed me how the treadmill worked with the coaches standing by my side. And they pushed me to run further faster than I had ever run before in my life.

To clear up the picture for a moment, speed camp was not like running on a treadmill at your local gym. This treadmill was industrial size. It was build on a platform. It was extra wide and extra long. It had a grab bar right in front of you. They showed you how to enter onto the machine while it was moving at full speed. Full speed you ask? The goal was to get people to run at 20 miles per hour for 10 seconds. I am not built to run at 20 miles per hour, and I wasn’t built that way back then either.

That first trial day was pretty brutal. I went through all the segments and did all the runs. I lifted the weights. I watched the other participants. I had my fun.

Then I went in the bathroom and threw up. It was the hardest I had ever worked in my life related to conditioning.

And then, even more surprising, I begged my mom to sign me up for more.

I WANTED TO GO BACK!?!? What was I thinking???

As I think about the two worst elements of my basketball days, they are—without a doubt—defensive squats and speed camp. They were the worst. Painful. Impossibly hard. Brutal.

And, while I can’t say I did these things with a smile on my face, I did them voluntarily. I didn’t complain. I believed my coach and those trainers. Today’s discomfort will lead to tomorrow’s success.

Discipline and Disciple are sister words because being a disciple of Jesus takes incredible discipline. And, by discipline I don’t mean the strict ability to live righteously and to push against sin and temptation in our lives. This may be a part of being a disciple, but it is far smaller of a piece of the pie than we often give it credit. Discipline is an essential part of our life of faith because it is a constant invitation to do the hard training of faith when it is so much easier to do the comfortable and easy.

La-z-boy makes chairs, they don’t make disciples. Being a disciple of Jesus is about showing up daily. It is about the tasks of our faith—but it is about living into them consistently. And the hard part is that often the life that you are invited into with Jesus isn’t easy. It isn’t often your first choice. The life of faith is sacrificial in nature. And it is doing this with great discipline on a daily basis.

Following Jesus means you are no longer the leader of your life. You follow Him.

I have not heard of speed camp for disciples. Being a disciple is decidedly and purposefully slow. As Eugene Peterson once said and wrote—it is a long obedience in the same direction. In some moments you get it right. And in some moments you don’t.

The Good News of Jesus is that he is consistently and faithfully inviting you back into the current of his love and faithfulness. When you fall off the way the Lord is reminding you that He is The Way. He will never give up on you as you falter and fail. But, he is also never going to settle for you remaining just as you are today. Maturing in faith is about a growth curve. It is about daily working to improve and grow. It is an invitation to discomfort on the journey and twists and turns along the way that you never would choose on your own.

Today, listen as the Lord invites you into the next phase of your strict training. Not a faith of convenience but one of conviction that instills the fortitude to face discomfort and sacrifice knowing that it is producing within you a faith that will last.

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What would speed camp for you look like this week in your life of discipleship?