Flowbee started it all.  He and Grape Nuts.  They kept talking about this thing called F3 and how I should come try it out.  I kept brushing them off, smiling politely and saying, “Yeah, I’ll think about it.”  Well, their persistence pushed me over the edge.  Much like the persistent widow.  I just had to see what this F3 thing was all about.

One of the best choices of my life!

I still remember my first workout last summer.  It was probably about right now, come to think.  I showed up around 5:30 am at Heritage Park.  The sky was beginning to lighten.  The thickness of summer humidity was not quite hanging in the air yet.  A cool breeze welcomed me to the parking lot where a group of about 20 men were doing jumping jacks.

They were chanting, military style, down from 10 to one.  Was this boot camp?  Crap, I hated being late the first day!  And I was late by like a few seconds.  They started promptly at 5:30 am.  No leeway.  I could barely make out the faces as I jogged into the circle and started doing jumping jacks with them.

“New meat!” someone shouted.

A few others yelled it out too.  So much for inconspicuously entering the circle to blend in.  I found my buddy, Flowbee, and he gave me a fist bump.  Grape Nuts did as well.  It made me feel cool.  Like I was part of the group.  But I wasn’t really.  You have to survive your first workout to be inducted. 

Come on, Daniels.  You got this!  Holy smokes, is this just the warmup?  Why am I losing breath already?

My self-talk was somewhat helpful.  Before I knew it, we were jogging around the parking lot.  A few other guys gave me fist bumps, telling me their names. 

“Hey, I’m Huckleberry,” one guy said.

“Morgan Freeman here.”

Morgan Freeman?  Pretty sure he is a famous aging African American actor with a memorable voice.  Not this younger white dude jogging next to me.  Flowbee soon announced my presence to everyone.

“This is my buddy from church, Clint!” he proudly declared.  “Clint likes cats, sushi, and long walks on the beach!”

Not true, somewhat true—although I would never order it, and … uh … don’t we live in Kansas?  Long walks on the beach?  I digress.  Flowbee moonlights as a comedian if you haven’t picked that up.  Always the joker.

The jogging stopped as we ended up moving over to the wet, dewy grass, circling up again.  Some dude named Back Stage took over.  He was older than me but somehow began smoking me.  I simply couldn’t keep up!  Some dudes were matching him pushup for pushup, but there were others like me who took a few breaks.

“Modify as needed!” he barked out.  “No shame in modifying.”

I was definitely modifying.  I hate pushups more than I hate calculus.  It made me less shameful to see that about six or seven guys on my side of the circle were at the same level.  The sun was beginning to peek over the horizon, and suddenly some sweet 1980’s tunes blasted through the air.

“Hey, Rug Burn, I found your favorite soundtrack!” Flowbee shouted from a nearby truck.

It was a classic mix of Bon Jovi, Def Leppard, Guns N Roses, and other hair bands.  The workout didn’t seem as bad with Whitesnake’s “Here I Go Again” fueling my burpees. 

It was challenging but fun.  Exhausting yet fulfilling.  I pushed myself to my limits, and poof!  The 45 minutes were up before I knew it.  More fist bumps.  More introductions.  Did that guy just say his name was Lime Disease?

Back Stage took center stage.  We huddled around him as he told this story that made us all think deep thoughts.  I have no clue what the story was about; it has long since slipped my mind, but it was good.  Honest.  He definitely exposed himself and became a bit vulnerable.  It was actually kinda cool.

Suddenly, it was time for something called name-o-rama.  I was told by Flowbee to state that my name was FNG, so I did.  FNG stands for Friendly New Guy, but others shouted out their already given F3 nicknames.  Once it was done, I got to be the man in the middle.  Oh joy!  Nickname time!

“Tell us about yourself,” Back Stage probed.

Good thing my heart rate had finally subsided enough to where I could actually breathe and talk. 

“Well, my name is Clint Daniels.  I am currently unemployed and looking for a job, but I have taught Language Arts for 20 years in Olathe.”

“Language Arts!” someone shouted.  “He knows how to read!  Hooked on Phonics!”

Hooked on Phonics?  Was that going to be my nickname?  Multiple guys started yelling, “Hooked on Phonics!”    I mean, whatever.  It felt cool to just be a part of the team.  There were some more fist bumps.  I think that is the F3 secret handshake or something. 

“Bring it in!” Back Stage bellowed.

We huddled into a tight circle for a quick word of prayer, arms wrapped around each other’s sweat-drenched shirts.  I was lucky someone near me had put on aftershave.  Apparently, everyone had showered beforehand.  The expected smell of body odor was nonexistent.  Lucky me!

“Flag pic!” Flowbee shouted.

The 20 of us posed around an American flag that was stuck in the ground.  I hope they got my good side.  The selfie was posted to the F3 website. 

I followed the men to Hy-Vee Market Grill for a little fellowship.  It was optional but about 15 showed up.  We pushed four or five tables together and suddenly became “that group” that was a little too rowdy for the early morning grandpas trying to enjoy coffee together.  We toned it down in time for Flowbee to start talking about F3 stuff. 

I found out that F3 stands for Fitness, Fellowship, and Faith.  All three were incorporated that day.  I did those workouts until the school year started, and then only came on Sundays after that.  Sundays were different.  Just a 5K walk at Heritage Park.  More my style.  Will I return to the boot camp workouts?  That remains yet to be seen.

Like I said, it has been about a year since I started F3.  I love the workouts.  I love the camaraderie.  I love the aspect of faith being inserted.  Rug Burn gave a beautiful devotion this morning about F3 being welcoming to everyone.  I started thinking how easy that looked.  Man, I could do that!

No sooner did I get on Slack, the F3 social media network, and find that the dudes were talking about me.  Morgan Freeman had actually said that Hooked on Phonics might make a good leader!  Weird how God works like that.  I replied that I could lead anytime.  All I needed was a smoke tunnel and my walk-up song playing loudly in the background. 

Huckleberry replied immediately that I was on for next week.  The bubbles on the bottom of my screen were bouncing right after I typed my comment in.  Let’s goooooooo! 

I have come a long way since that first day.  I have even recruited a few other guys from church to join.  Jolly Green Giant and Venus.  Williams that is.  John likes tennis, sooooo.  Yeah.  Hey, I was pulling for Andre Agassi.  Sorry, John!  I mean, Venus.

Why am I writing about this today?  Because we need all three of those F’s in our life.  God wants us to take care of our bodies through fitness.  He wants us to commune together in fellowship.  And He wants our faith to be the cornerstone of our lives. 

I have come to realize that I have been a dedicated Sunday morning walker and that my faith is strong as ever right now, but I have been lacking the fellowship.  I don’t spend time with anyone outside of the group.  Why?  Why haven’t I reached out?  Honestly, I am not sure, but I realize that I need to make that effort to go deeper with other men.  I need to take a step out of my comfort zone. 

When small groups connect throughout the week, magical things happen.  Whether you are in F3 or a Bible study or even a book club, make that effort.  Check in on one another.  Make coffee dates.  Have lunch.  If someone misses, reach out in love and ask if everything is okay. 

People need community.  We crave hospitality.  But for some reason our society isolates itself.  I was not surprised that my wife told me the 20-year-old man who tried to shoot Donald Trump yesterday was a loner.  So sad.  I wonder if that guy would still be alive if he had a group to belong to?

Christ commands us to love others.  In John 13:34 we come across an emotional scene.  Jesus is talking to his disciples.  He knows Judas is about to betray him.  The road to the cross is at its domino tipping point.  He could be filled with hate, but instead Jesus says something revolutionary: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” 

How are you doing in that respect?  Are you loving others?  Are you taking advantage of the time off this summer to share love with others?  I feel God nudging me this week.  Hooked on Phonics, dude, get out of your comfort zone!  Lead an F3 workout.  Ask if any of the guys want to meet up for coffee on Slack.  Find someone to show the love of Jesus to this week.

I have no choice but to obey.  And I don’t have to obey.  I get to!

To learn more about F3: https://f3nation.com/

Just for fun: Did anyone else miss the amazingness of Flowbee presenting Grape Nuts above? Pretty sure Grape Nuts was unaware of his buddy behind him. Catch the magic of the closeup below …