Image from ToughChurchPlanting.com article on CrossFit & Church
Mark Oppenheimer, NY Times religion Beliefs columnist, explores the lives of committed CrossFitters, asking if it isn’t a replacement for both the secular and spiritual aspects of church.
Oppenheimer focuses on the Ali Huberlie, an education consultant in Boston, who lives with the boyfriend she met through CrossFit in an apartment near the gym the two attend. The implication–that community and our life paths are affected by CrossFit–places it in the historic role that church life played for many people.
Huberlie is the focus of the story because she was interviewed by Casper ter Kuile and Angie Thurston, the Harvard Divinity Students who co-authored “How We Gather“, a study on the ways in which secular spaces are increasingly used to accomplish many of the goals of religious spaces.
From the article:
“CrossFit is family, laughter, love and community,” Ms. Huberlie told the researchers, who quoted her in their study, “How We Gather.” “I can’t imagine my life without the people I’ve met through it.”
The Times isn’t the first outlet to write about this; the blog “Tough Church Planting” provided a humorous list of the 7 ways in which CrossFit out-churches church in February.
Do you think the rise in secular communities like CrossFit has any lessons for the Church? Do you think it’s a coincidence that churches are in decline as secular alternatives grow?
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Yet at the same time – groups that used to draw commitment are fading, Masons, Elks, bowling, etc. Why Crossfit and not those?
I wonder why too; it mirrors an observation that the former mayor of my former town made about our bike advocacy group. He observed that when he started his tenure as mayor (a decade plus prior) neighborhood groups & church groups were the people working to improve the city; after more than a decade, it was groups organized around more specific issues (biking, homelessness, police reform, housing regulations, etc). I wonder if it’s a side-effect of our more pluralist society? Is it a generational issue–are these spaces newer so have more freedom for youth to lead in? I know that many people in gens X & Y feel that they can’t make meaningful contributions in spaces that the baby boomers are heavily present in. One example–loosely environmentally focused groups are boomer heavy & seem to struggle with attracting millennials, but more contemporary climate focused groups (350.org) are absolutely bursting with millennials.
David – Thought provoking. – Thanks.
I enjoyed reading about the Cross Fit phenomenon in my NYTimes. They seem happy with their choice, and I can see how what they do together is a positive, & bonding experience.
I don’t think there are more secular groups now than in the past… I myself grew up at the Yacht Club. All our family’s sports, social events, vacations, (& now poignantly Memorial Services at sea), were with our Yacht Club friends, a close knit, family-oriented group. The difference being, we all went to our respective churches/synagogues on the Sabbath, then met up afterwards. There was a spill-over influence that was good for the whole group.
I think the increased time spent in secular groups at the expense of belonging to The Church (body of Christ) is more of a commentary on individuals –not The Church.
LGMarshall
Santa Barbara County