Faith With Feet

In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.

James 2:17

Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what it says.

James 1:22

It seems that lately, I’ve been hit with the same general message of putting feet to my faith.  These two verses recently came to the front of my mind as I’ve been processing the balancing act of serving others with humility and of spurring others on to serve as well.  I wrote about some of these thoughts in a post about walking on a tightrope.  Earlier this week, I read a great post by Michael D. Perkins about Humble Bragging.  And I continued to wrestle with the subject as I posted about Help for the Homeless on Monday of this week.

Our faith isn’t about having all the book knowledge in the world.  If I know the entire Bible front to back and back to front, it means nothing – if I don’t put it into action.  I can go to church every Sunday for my entire life, and it means nothing – if I don’t go out into the world to lovingly serve others and to bring the message of Christ to a world that is broken and lost.

We are called to be the hands and feet of Jesus.  We are called to serve others, and we have a responsibility to bring the message of hope, truth, and love – of Jesus – to a world that doesn’t have hope, doesn’t know truth, and doesn’t know the love of Christ.

How can we do this?  How do we have faith with feet?

Here’s a place to start:

1. Open your eyes today.  Find a way to serve those around you today.  It could be as simple as picking up after someone when they drop something, holding a door for a co-worker, or letting the person behind you go ahead of you.  What opportunities do you see around you to help others?
2. Inconvenience yourself.  Putting feet on your faith can be inconvenient.  Maybe you have plans that need to be interrupted so you can help someone else.  Helping others isn’t about convenience.  The Bible never says “serve others when it’s convenient or when it works with your schedule.”  Prepare to be uncomfortable.  Nobody said it would be easy.  What do you need to give up today or this week, so you can serve others?
3. Find a couple other people to serve with you.  Serving with others provides a unique opportunity to have fellowship and accountability.  When we serve with other people, we can process the “adventure” of helping others together.  Also, it can sometimes be helpful to have another set of eyes with you to recognize areas of need that you may have overlooked.  Who can you team up with this month to help someone?
4. Be intentional.  Seek and plan for opportunities to serve.  Plan to go on a missions trip.  Plan to serve in a soup kitchen.  Plan to visit a nursing home.  Seek out opportunities to serve in you area and around the world.  There may be some fundraising that you need to do to make certain opportunities possible.  Use your mind to map out ways that you will intentionally serve others over the course of this next year.  How have you blocked of time on your calendar to serve others?  Where are you planning to serve this year?
5. Be flexible.  I learned in Guatemala and I’ve learned through other service opportunities that things don’t always go the way you plan.  You have to learn to flex.  Sometimes God has great things in store – things that will have a greater impact on those we serve and things that will have a greater impact on us.  Sometimes we have to go with the flow.  Are you a spontaneous person or a person who likes to have more rigidity to their schedule?  What changes do you need to make to become more flexible?
6. Trust God.  Perhaps, this sounds too simple.  It’s meant to be a reminder.  God doesn’t promise a path of ease, peace, and comfort, but He does promise to be with us, to make our paths straight, and to work together for good if we trust Him and follow His Word.  (Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.  Proverbs 3:5-6  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.  Romans 8:28)  Where do you need to trust God this week?

I want to have a faith that is active.  I want to have a faith that is living and breathing.  I want to have a faith with feet.

How about you?  What other ideas do you have about putting your faith into action?  How are you putting your feet on your faith these days?

Be My Guest

I am always looking for opportunities to feature guest bloggers here on The Stretched Blog.  I’d love to feature your Stretch story or your thoughts on how to Stretch the Stretched Community.

To submit a guest post, contact me via the comments and I’ll send you my e-mail address.  A guest post should be 400-800 words long.  I’d appreciate it if you could include a question at the end of your post that engages the Stretched Community.  The post should also include a title and a photo or graphic that can be used to highlight your post.  Be creative!  Stretch yourself, and don’t be afraid to stretch my readers.

(One other thing, I’d love to return the favor.  Let me know if I can help you out with a guest post for your blog.  This will Stretch me!)

Over the past couple of years, I’ve had the privilege of featuring a number of great guest bloggers.  To give you an idea of what others have submitted, check out these links:

• Wondering by Leanne Stolpe – August 2, 2012
• When God Provides, You May Be Stretched by Tom Tarver – August 1, 2012
• The Choice Was Mine… by TC Avey – July 31, 2012
• Living the Lessons by Eileen Knowles – July 30, 2012
• Learning To Count To Five by Kevin Haggerty – June 12, 2012
• Back To The Basics by Joe Lalonde – March 6, 2012
• The Kid Stretches Me by Tom Tarver – February 15, 2012
• Stretching To A New Focus by Leah Adams – February 8, 2012
• Our Behavior Is Our Witness by Kevin Stone – January 26, 2012
• Rediscovering Grace Through A Two by Four Moment by Chad Jones – January 25, 2012
• Stretching Beyond the Hurt by Diane Karchner – January 24, 2012
• Managing Conflict – A Leadership Stretch by Frank Chiapperino – January 18, 2012
• How To Have God’s Will For Your Life by Brandon Gililland – January 11, 2012
• Potential, Position, and Pain by Jonathan Pearson – December 20, 2011
• Jimmy Buffett, Taffy, and Church Searches – Stretching Through Blogging Blunders by Larry Carter – November 2, 2011
• Field of Changed Dreams? by Arny Sanchez – October 21, 2011
• Limitless by Tara Watson – September 29, 2011
• Stretch A Little, Give A Lot by Michael Grasso – August 29, 2011
• Reflect More, Risk More, Leave A Legacy – Start Blogging by Jason Fountain – August 10, 2011
• The Better Way by Terri Stone – August 9, 2011
• My Good Versus God’s Good by Jeff Whitebread – August 8, 2011
• Middle School Missions Trip Recap by Hannah Stolpe – July 15, 2011
• Savor The Flavor by Alex Humphrey – July 14, 2011
• Faith Stretch by Beck Gambill – July 12, 2011
• God in the Spaces by Norman Stolpe – July 11, 2011
• Detours by Leanne Stolpe – July 2, 2011
• Zach’s Adventure by Isaac Stolpe – June 2, 2011

Have you seen any great guest posts lately?  Where have you guest posted?  Share your links here!

Help for the Homeless

Last week, I shared about walking on tightropes.  I mentioned that one of the balancing acts that we must endure is balancing humility and pride – especially when it comes to serving others.  As a reminder, Jesus shares in the book of Matthew how we are to proceed when we help the needy:

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”  Matthew 6:1-4

It’s clear that we are to help the needy – the homeless, the widows, and the orphans.  But how do we do that in an on-line world?  How also can we spur each other on (Hebrews 10:24) without getting the word out about opportunities to serve?  These are questions I wrestle with as I write today’s post.

Our H.O.P.E. (Helping Other People Everywhere) group is in the process of gathering items to assemble kits for homeless people in conjunction with Good Samaritan Shelter in Phoenixville, PA.  Our goal is to assemble 40 kits, and our group as done a great job so far in gathering items.  But we could still use a little extra help as we seek to finish up this project (which we’ll be assembling at our November 6th meeting).  If you can help out with a few items (or know someone who could help), it would be much appreciated.  Here are the items that we’re still looking for:

• deodorant (8)
• shampoo (trial size) (6)
• conditioner (trial size) (11)
• nail clipper (25)
• washcloth (40)
• hand towel (20)
• scarf (21)

If you can help out with any of the items, leave me a comment and my wife or I will get back to you.

Thanks!

Are their homeless people in your area?  How do you or how can you help?

Be Generous To The Hungry

As I was looking at this picture, I thought about feeding others.  As Christians, we are called to feed the needy.  This doesn’t start with our political vote (although you may think that will make the ultimate difference).  It starts with each one of us taking action.  Here’s a passage from the book of Isaiah that expands on this thought:

“If you get rid of unfair practices,
quit blaming victims,
quit gossiping about other people’s sins,
If you are generous with the hungry
and start giving yourselves to the down-and-out,
Your lives will begin to glow in the darkness,
your shadowed lives will be bathed in sunlight.
I will always show you where to go.
I’ll give you a full life in the emptiest of places—
firm muscles, strong bones.
You’ll be like a well-watered garden,
a gurgling spring that never runs dry.
You’ll use the old rubble of past lives to build anew,
rebuild the foundations from out of your past.
You’ll be known as those who can fix anything,
restore old ruins, rebuild and renovate,
make the community livable again.

Isaiah 58:9-12 (The Message)

How are you and I being generous to the hungry?  How can we bring light to the dark and shadowed areas of this world?

Today, I’m hooking up with The Sunday Community.  Hop on over here to see what I’m talking about.

Ice Breaker – Debate

Each week on The Stretched Blog, we ask an ice breaker question.  The questions are designed to help us get to know each other here in The Stretched Community.  I’ll provide my answer to the question here in the post, and then you can leave your response in the comments.  While you’re in the comments section, see how others answered the ice breaker question.

This week’s question is inspired by Wednesday nights presidential debate.  While I’m not interested in getting too political here on the blog, I think debate is actually one of the few fairly healthy things left in the whole election process (as long as the candidates can stick to the rules of the debate).  As I was reflecting on this week’s debate, I started thinking that there are many fun things that we enjoy debating in our culture today.  Surely, this could be a fun ice breaker question for this week.  So as you read and respond to this week’s question add your position on the “fun” debates that others provide in the comments.

Question:  Coke or Pepsi?  McDonald’s or Burger King?  What fun things can we debate?  And where do you stand in these fun debates?

My Answer:  Cubs or White Sox?  This was one of the first debates that I can remember having as a kid.  I grew up on the western side of Chicago in the Wheaton, IL area.  This was clearly Cubs territory.  So I cheered for the Cubs.

As for Coke or Pepsi?  I would probably go with Coke although I have to stay away from caffeine now thanks to my migraine headaches.  McDonald’s or Burger King?  This was a debate when I was a kid.  I probably would have voted for McDonald’s back then.  Now, I rarely do fast food and if I do…I go with Chick-Fil-A.

There you have it – my answer.  Now, it’s your turn.  Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment.  I look forward to reading your response!

I Remember When…I Met My Friend Brian

I remember when I met my friend, Brian.

When I was a freshman in high school, one of my classes was AP English with Mrs. Roszek.  This class was 8th period every day with some of the brightest students from my class.  My high school was made up of students from five different sending districts, so the first year of high school was a lot about meeting new classmates and about getting used to being in a much bigger environment.

The first week of English class, there was one kid in English class who stuck out.  He was not from one of the sending district schools.  Apparently, he was moving into the area to start his freshmen year of high school.  One thing that sticks out in my mind (and we still joke about this) is that Brian alternated between his ROTC uniform and coordinated JAMS shorts and shirts.  I don’t remember Brian being shy in class as he jumped right in on discussions about whatever topic we were covering in class.

One topic where he was more quiet and I was certainly more vocal was the week or so that we covered Biblical literature.  I’m not sure if this is still covered in the public high school setting or not, but our class spent a couple of weeks reading and discussing the Bible.  As a pastor’s kid, this was my place to shine.  I was the one who knew all the answers to the questions that came up during this week.

Not too long after school started, a family moved in across the street from my house.  I’m not sure what I was up to that day, but I wasn’t at home.  My out-going brother, David, was home though when this new family moved in, and he made sure to go over and introduce himself.  The family had an older son who had just started high school.  David told him that he had a brother who just started high school.  David invited the new guy over to our house for a drink and to show him a picture of me.  And it soon became apparent that this new boy knew who I was.

We still laugh today at the reaction we each had to this initial meeting.  It was Brian’s family who moved in across the street.  He thought, “Oh no, the Bible geek lives across the street from me.”  And my reaction was probably just as amusing, “Oh no, the ROTC/JAMS nerd from English class lives across the street from me.”

It wasn’t long before those thoughts were forgotten.  Brian and I became fast friends as we walked to the bus stop together everyday for four years.  Soon we were playing catch and running around the neighborhood together in preparation for cross-country season.  Brian was always much faster than me, but he allowed me to tag along none the less.  We would wear ourselves out on hot summer days and end up in his swimming pool practicing our “dives” and talking about the ups and downs of high school life.

Somewhere along the line, I invited Brian to youth group at my church.  He couldn’t make it to Sunday morning church as he was typically working at McDonald’s, but he became a regular and active part of the youth group (we called it SYNC – Senior Youth Nurturing in Christ).  We had a blast doing all kinds of fun things together over these four years, and I could barely scratch the surface on everything we did.

One thing that will always stick out in my memory is the note that Brian wrote to me at the end of our last missions trip together the summer before we went to college.  I don’t have the wording exactly right, but Brian’s note said something like “Jon, I want to thank you for your friendship over the years, but mostly I want to thank you for introducing me to Christ.”  Whoa!  I still tear up when I think about it.

Over the years, we have remained good friends.  We don’t see each other often enough as he lives in North Jersey a couple of hours away from my home.  But we still go camping together every Memorial Day weekend with a couple other guys, and our families still get together every August for another family camping trip.  It’s been fun to see him grow and to see our friendship continue as our families have grown and as we faced the challenges of life.

This summer during our family camping trip, Brian’s standing in the back on the right side.

Last night, I had the blessing of meeting up with Brian for dinner.  I’m up in the North Jersey area for a few days of meetings, and it worked out perfect.  We talked and talked for what seemed like minutes but was actually a few hours.  We remembered old times, but we mostly caught up on our families, and we wrestled out loud about some of the things we were dealing with recently.  And our get together made me remember when…I met my friend Brian.

How has friendship changed your life?  How did you meet one of your good friends?  Do you still keep in touch with any of your friends from high school?

Walking The Tightropes of Life – Balancing Things Like Humility and Pride

There are times in life when it seems like we are walking on a tightrope.  Tightrope walkers typically hold a long pole in the middle that they use to stay balanced.  If they start leaning one way, they move their arms and the pole until they regain their balance.

Imagine for a second that you are a tightrope walker.  As you walk across the rope, someone grabs on to one of the ends of the pole you are carrying.  Obviously, this will mess you up.  You will quickly need to find someone of similar size and weight to grab onto the other end of the pole.  (Or you would need to drop the pole – I suppose).

Throughout life, we are faced with similar decisions.  If we don’t make the right decision, our life will get out of balance.  For example, as parents if we love our kids yet we never tell them the truth, we are doing our children a disservice.  Many parents are in this boat today as they seek to become their kids best friends.  On the other hand, if we only have truth in our relationships with our kids yet never show them love, we are missing out on a huge opportunity to build up our children.  Kids who have been parented this way probably feel like they are being yelled at all the time.  There needs to be a balance of truth and love.

Can you think of other things in life that require this type of balance?

Another good example is work and life.  I need to work, so I can live.  If I work too much, I miss out on life.  If I party too much (living large so to speak), I will quickly run out of resources for living.

As I was traveling yesterday, I started thinking about how this applies to serving.  With the advent of social media and blogging, it is easy to get thoughts and ideas out there.  It’s also easy to share with everyone about the details of life.  I’ve done this recently with my trip to Guatemala.  It’s been healthy for me to reflect out loud about this trip and it’s impact on my life.  I hope that it has been expressed with a certain level of humility, but I realize that there is also a danger in sharing about this kind of experience.  We can easily make it all about me.  Look at me!  Look what I’ve done!  I’m the man!

In Jesus’ famous Sermon on the Mount, he shares some advice for those who help the needy:

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

“So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.”  Matthew 6:1-4

It seems to me that there has to be some balance here.  The Bible also talks about the importance of spurring one another on toward love and good deeds:

And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds… Hebrews 10:24

I hope that my posts about Guatemala and past posts about our H.O.P.E. activities have been taken this way.  For one of my primary goals with this whole blog is to STRETCH others while I’m being STRETCHED.  But if I’m honest, there is probably a small amount of motivation in sharing these types of things that is meant to bring me some glory.  I’m just being honest.

The Apostle Paul gives us some great advice when it comes to balancing this whole thing:

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.  In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness.  And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross!

Mentoring – Am I Ready For This?

Legacy

This weekend, our family traveled out to Western PA for my wife’s 20 year high school reunion.  As part of the celebration, her class was invited to a private art show held at her high school (Greater Latrobe Senior High School).  Each year since 1938, students have selected and purchased a couple of pieces of art work for display in the halls of the high school.  The art work hangs in the halls of the school as permanent fixtures.  The artwork is a legacy left for future students and residents and visitors of the exhibit.

I was impressed that high school students would decide to save money to purchase artwork that would be left in the school as part of the Greater Latrobe School District Art Conservation Trust.

I wonder if they truly understood the legacy they were leaving behind.  The more I thought about it, the more I thought about legacy.

According to Merriam Webster’s on-line dictionary, legacy is:

Run For The Son

Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize. Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last, but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like someone running aimlessly; I do not fight like a boxer beating the air. No, I strike a blow to my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize.

I Corinthians 9:24-27

What are you training for?  How do you discipline yourself to keep going?

Today, I’m hooking up with The Sunday Community.  Hop on over here to see what I’m talking about.