The Gym Membership Illusion

The Early Church and PersecutionThe Early Church and the Cost of Courage

By 100 A.D., there were tens of thousands of Christians scattered throughout the Roman Empire — despite having no buildings, no official recognition, and living under constant threat.

Emperor Nero (AD 64–68) famously used Christians as human torches to light his palace gardens at night — and yet the faith still grew.

Tertullian (early church father) said it best:"The blood of the martyrs is the seed of the Church."It wasn't comfort that caused Christianity to explode.

It was courage.It was everyday believers willing to suffer, to lose, and even to die — because they knew the treasure they had found in Christ was greater than anything they could lose in the world.

Connection to Christian-ish Today:

Comfort never grew the Church.Casual, cultural Christianity has never sparked revival.

Comfortable faith settles for belonging without sacrificing, believing without obeying, attending without following.

The Comfort Zone vs. Growth Zone

Psychologists define the Comfort Zone as a behavioral space where a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviors to deliver a steady level of performance.

Inside the Comfort Zone:
Risk is minimized.
Stress is low.But growth is stagnant.Motivation, creativity, and breakthrough are rare because everything stays predictable.Comfort may feel good — but it traps you.

Scientific Study: Yerkes-Dodson Law (1908)In 1908, psychologists Robert Yerkes and John Dodson conducted experiments to study the relationship between arousal (stress) and performance.

They discovered what we now call the Yerkes-Dodson Law:Performance increases with physiological or mental arousal — but only up to a point.Too little stress = boredom, laziness, disengagement.Too much stress = anxiety, panic, collapse.Optimal stress (“the Growth Zone”) = peak performance, creativity, and transformation.In other words:1. Some discomfort is necessary for real growth.2. Controlled, voluntary steps into challenge create resilience.3. Avoiding all discomfort leads to stagnation, decline, and decay.

In the Bible, faith is almost always born in the discomfort zone:

Abraham leaves his home and wanders by faith.

Moses faces Pharaoh with trembling hands and a stuttering tongue.

David steps onto a battlefield with only a sling.

Esther risks her life before a king.

Peter steps out of a boat onto the waves.

The early Church risks imprisonment and death to preach Christ.


Faith is never built in comfort. It’s built when you step out, trust God, and face the unknown.

Real Life Application:

Sharing your faith feels uncomfortable — but it grows boldness.

Serving when you're tired feels uncomfortable — but it grows perseverance.

Forgiving someone who hurt you feels uncomfortable — but it grows freedom.

Giving sacrificially feels uncomfortable — but it grows generosity and trust.

Confessing hidden sin feels uncomfortable — but it grows holiness.

Choosing to stay connected to the Church after being hurt feels uncomfortable — but it grows healing, resilience, and true Christlike community.

Sometimes the hardest step of faith isn't leaving a bad situation — it's staying connected to God's people even after you've been wounded.

Warning: If you are in a bad abusive situation I don't want you to stay there, I do want you to find a way to stay connected to God's people in the Big C church.

Isolation feels safer.

Walking away feels easier.

But real growth happens when you bring your wounds into the light,forgive,heal,build again,and become part of the Church that Jesus is still building — scars and all

The Church Gym


1. Faith is voluntary.

2.Faith must be chosen.

3. But our role is to keep building an environment where they see real faith lived out and know:“There’s room for me at the table. There's strength for me in this gym. There's a place for me in this journey.

”We can’t lift the weights for them. But we can make sure they know the gym is open — and the invitation is real."

"I can’t make my kids — or anyone else — choose the hard, beautiful, surrendered life of real faith.But I can make sure they see it’s worth it."

5 Signs of Lukewarm Faith

Craving acceptance from people more than acceptance from God.

Rationalizing sin instead of repenting.

Rarely sharing your faith in Christ.

Only turning to God when you need something.

Living no differently than the world around you.



"Which of these five signs shows up most easily when we settle into comfort instead of courage?Where is Jesus inviting you — today — to move from lukewarm faith to living faith?"

Challenge:
1.Name one "hard thing" you're avoiding. Step into it this week by faith.

Practical:
Pray publicly.
Share your faith.
Confess sin.
Volunteer for something inconvenient.
Start a bold forgiveness conversation.
Get Baptized.

"Real faith is built where comfort ends and courage begins."

Pastoral Reflection

"I want to say something especially to those of us who are parents, leaders, mentors:

I have four kids.They're not all in the same place on their journey with Jesus. And honestly — my wife and I have tried very intentionally not to force them into a faith that's only tied to my job, my story, or my timeline.

I want them to find their own journey with Jesus. I want them to choose it because it’s real, because it's worth sacrificing for, not because it’s expected. While I’ve chosen this path with passion — I love pushing myself spiritually, stepping into discomfort and faith —I also recognize that I can’t project my urgency onto their timeline. In the same way —I don't believe we need to force our timelines onto people who are new to faith, young in faith, or healing from past hurts.