“Church body makeover challenge!” the headline screamed.

When I saw the title, I immediately became skeptical about the press release e-mailed to me from a group in Pennsylvania.

Here’s the opening excerpt:

“America’s Fitness Team in conjunction with the Rev. Michael Sloan of Divine Sources presents the inaugural Church Body Makeover Challenge.

“The Bible refers to the body as our temple! We must take care of the most precious possession we have, our bodies! America’s fit team and Divine Sources have begun a nationwide mission to makeover America and the entire church body! Churches will be challenging other churches, to get moving, get motivated and get fit for life!

“The Church Body Makeover is a 30-day challenge to donate 10 pounds of your unwanted body fat! America’s fit team has developed a complete personal training regimen that is easy to follow for people of all ages and fitness levels. Weekly body mass index calculations will be performed to monitor the progress of all the participants. At the weekly sessions attendees will learn about their diet, nutrition and body resistance training techniques.”

The effort began in Philadelphia and is moving into New Jersey and New York as churches sign on to the innovative program that offers cash prizes, gas cards and grocery coupons for top makeovers, according to the press release.

I don’t know enough about the program either to endorse or criticize it, but it strikes a spiritual as well as a physical nerve with me.

As believers, we espouse virtues such as self-discipline and the need to treat our bodies as temples of God.

Yet, I’m at the head of the line of people who really don’t make a serious commitment to physical health and fitness. If Sloan’s plan works, God bless him. Lots of us need some kind of incentive to put our faith to work in more practical ways.

I’d never thought of it before, but a “church body makeover” is what God has had in mind for centuries.

In Galatians 5, the Apostle Paul gives a detailed list of works of the flesh following by a list of the nine-fold fruit of the Spirit — “love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness and temperance.” Those are the traits that will bring the spiritual makeover we need as believers singularly and corporately.

Although I would single out temperance (self-discipline) as the one I need most in regard to my health, the first one on the list is the motivating force that brings the other eight virtues about.

For years, I’ve been told I need to love myself enough to take better care of myself, and to some extent, that’s true. However, I’m beginning to see I need to love other people enough to get in better shape so I can be of greater service to them.

Wonder what would happen if area churches would take on a 10-week challenge to promote a “spiritual body of Christ makeover”?

I wonder if the physical makeover might not just happen as we learn to be transformed from the inside out?

— E-mail: bdavis

@register-herald.com