The July 19 Biblical Recorder issue on personal health and fitness was met with resounding silence...for awhile. Since readers who consumed the content have had time to digest the meaning for themselves, they've been burping responses to me in notes and in person ever since.

No matter that a rare reader or two declared that any attention to our physical health is an exercise in vanity if not in vain, many more readers thanked us for helping to bring the issue to the forefront, both for the benefit of themselves and for people they know who need a frank prod. As I said in the introduction story, an emphasis on personal health is not a beauty contest to see who can lift the most weight, run the farthest or look the best at the beach.

When you neglect your personal health you are shortening your life among us and decreasing the length and effectiveness of your ministry.

One pastor friend in the west has struggled with his weight since he was a child. He has tried every diet and says he eats no more than the skinny person sitting next to him. His son is in the same boat and both are committed to having the drastic gastric bypass surgery. They thought it would be cool to have it at the same time and go through the difficult process together.

He ran into delays from the insurance company, that covers the surgery for people like him. But the insurance company wanted first to have him commit to five months of doctor supervised exercise and diet. He thought it was fruitless because he's done all that before, he said. But he is in the midst of it, moving toward an expected zero end result and eventual surgery.

He is going to detail his journey for us in an upcoming story.

Another pastor said he had finally realized all the things our stories said were true just a couple months earlier. His goal is to lose 100 pounds by February and he is taking notes to write a book about his journey.

Another pastor said he has been too timid before his congregation to address this vital health concern.

If the single well inside your village was tainted, but people kept drinking from it because it was easier than drawing water from the well outside the village wall, would you not encourage people to take the extra steps for the safe water?

The Biblical Recorder will be printing a special personal financial health issue Jan. 3, 2009. We hope it has the same effect on helping people to consider the witness of their lifestyle of debt bondage.

Watch for it.