Finishing Well: A guide to training for the race of life

By Jim Chapman

With humor, wit, and keen insight Jim Chapman offers a guide to the Christian life that reminds us that starting strong is important but finishing well is the goal. As I read through these pages, one moment I found myself laughing out loud, and the next I was struck by the profound simplicity of its wisdom. I recommend Finishing Well for every Christian who seeks to “throw off everything that hinders, and run with perseverance the race marked out for us.” (Hebrews 12:1 NIV) David A. Busic General Superintendent for the Church of the Nazarene

• Language: English
• Publisher: BookBaby
• Release date: Mar 27, 2014
• ISBN: 9781619279605

Jim Chapman

Jim Chapman draws on sixty years of experience as a Christian and his personal study of the scriptures to share insights on God’s Word. He has earned degrees from Wheaton College, the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, and Phoenix Seminary. He’s made a living working with numbers but a life working with words—especially the written and living Word. His previously published work is a delightful, creative story called The Night After Christmas [WinePress,2009], an illustrated hardback book that brings the reader back to the original meaning of the holiday.

Book preview

lives.

Introduction

My family is filled with athletes, not runners. My family is made up of stocky individuals who love to eat. We don’t exercise unless it is lifting weights or playing sports, preferably football. The males in my family have always been the thick, broad-shouldered type not slim and trim, the usual running physique. Several years ago I returned home from a youth retreat at which I was speaking. I wasn’t feeling well; I was tired, sluggish, and run-down. I stood in front of the mirror and asked this fateful question of my wife, Am I fat? Never ask a question of your spouse if she has, somewhere in the past, made a secret vow to never lie even if it means saving someone’s feelings.

No, you are just unhealthy. This is code for: You are fat! She was quick to keep her secret vow. Eighteen-plus years of being a youth pastor had finally caught up to me. I was fat, out of shape, and unhealthy. The next question was, What am I going to do about it?

A close friend started talking to me about a weight loss program she had tried and lost almost 60 pounds. She was convinced that I too could lose weight if I only tried this program. So, I decided to read the propaganda she gave me. It’s important to note that nowhere in the brochure did it say anything about running. I would have thrown it in the trash if it had. You see, my family’s philosophy on running can be simply explained by quoting my brother: You should never run unless someone is chasing you. Then you should stop, ask them why they are chasing you, and if it is a good reason, climb into a car and drive off!

Even though joining a weight loss program has nothing to do with becoming a runner, it did become one of my motivations to start running. The brochure mentioned that I would need to attend weekly meetings. I was a little timid about going to the meetings. I thought for sure I would be the only male there, but my friend assured me that would not be the case. At the first meeting I attended there were around 25 people in the room, one of which was a male — me. Something about losing weight for guys is just uncomfortable. There must be some unwritten, guy code that states: Males do not need a program to lose weight. You’re less of a man if you want to lose weight and be healthy.

Even though I was the only Y chromosome in the room, I continued going to the meetings. The meetings were typical of most self-help groups. Everyone was given a chance to share how their week went. If you lost weight that particular week you could share how much you went down. It was optional though.

I am a talker. I come from a family of talkers. So if given the chance, I will share. I was having tremendous success on the program. I lost 10 pounds the first week, so I shared, all the time. The first couple of weeks the room would break out into cheers. However, as the weeks went by my group members seemed to lack enthusiasm for my success. Let me remind you that men lose weight faster than women. So, I was losing and many others in my group were not. By the fourth month I did not even receive so much as a golf clap. They would just stare me down — visual daggers if you will. One particular week after sharing that I had lost weight again, a not-so-enthused group member, who looked very hungry, glared at me and whispered, There are other meetings you can go to! I simply chuckled, hoping they weren’t serious. They smiled with a half-way smile, you know the type where you are not sure if they are kidding or serious. I continued to go to the meetings, but I kept my personal victories to myself. It is important to note that not everyone wants to celebrate your personal victories with as much enthusiasm as you.

The weight loss program was simply that: a program. It was designed to give guidance, and that was something I was truly lacking in my life.

One of the main principles of the program was exercise. I needed to find time to fit exercise into my daily routine. So, I started going to the gym. I tried lifting weights, but I got bored with that very early on. I tried the stair stepper. Honestly, I couldn’t do it without laughing at myself. I would a hear a voice in my head, a line from a movie I had once seen, These stairs lead to nowhere! (said with an echo at the end.) I truly felt like I was climbing to nowhere. Then I came across an article about a program called C25K. It boasted that it could get me from a couch potato to running a 5K in a matter of months. What did I have to lose? I was already a couch potato, I’d at least gotten that part right. So I tried it. After months on the program, I finally