Ice Breaker – Childhood Nickname

Each week on The Stretched Blog, I 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.

(I’m always looking for Ice Breaker question ideas.  If you have an idea, send me an email at jon@jonstolpe.com.  If I use your question, I’ll give you credit and share your links.)

This is a big week in my area as Pope Francis is in town for the World Meeting of Families.  Our city has been planning for a while, and his visit is causing all kinds of road closures, school dismissals, and business delays.  This week’s Ice Breaker is inspired by Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia.

Question:  What was one of your childhood nicknames?

My Answer:  My family moved from Illinois to New Jersey when I was eight years old when my Dad took a pastor job in the town of Mt. Holly, NJ.  We moved the summer before I started third grade.  When I started the new school year at a new school, my classmates soon learned about my Dad’s job.  Since many of my classmates were from a Catholic background, they thought my Dad was a priest.  They also thought my last name (Stolpe) sounded a little funny, and they played around with different rhymes to go with my last name – Dopey was one of those.  But the nickname that seemed to stick for a little while was Pope.  It doesn’t rhyme with Stolpe exactly, but it kind of looks like part of my last name, and it goes with my Dad’s job.

No one calls me Pope now, but there was a period of time at my current job when a few people called me Raging Reverend.

Answer this week’s ice breaker question by leaving a comment. I look forward to reading your response! (As always, feel free to share links.) And keep Stretching!

ADVENTure Day 7

What is your nickname?

Have you always had the same nickname?  Or has it changed throughout your life?

People call me Stretch and Stolpe now.  But I’ve also been called The Reverend, Stain, and Pope.

Nicknames are an interesting thing.  They are part of our identity.  Sometimes the names are good, and sometimes the nicknames carry a negative meaning.

Advent is all about the coming of our Savior – Jesus Christ.  If you read through the Bible, He is marked with several names.  I’m not sure they would be called nicknames, but they are definitely markers of His identity.

The prophet Isaiah gives us a glimpse into some of His names.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders.  And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6

Knowing Jesus’ names helps us to better understand who He is.

ADVENTure Activity:  Make a list of the names and attributes of Jesus Christ.  Share your list in the comments.

ADVENTure Question:  What is your nickname(s)?  How did you get the nickname?

Ice Breaker – Nicknames

It’s time for this week’s Stretched Ice  Breaker.  I ask a question that helps “break the ice”.  I’ll answer it first.  Then it’s your turn to answer the question in the comments.  By answering the question, we get to know just a little more about each other.  This is one way to keep The Stretched Community growing.  Here we go….

Question:  What is one of your nicknames?  How did you get it?

My answer:  You don’t have to go far to realize that one of my nicknames is STRETCH.  I post about it on my About page.  I picked up the nickname STRETCH when I was in high school.  When I started my junior year in high school, I was 5’6″.  Now, I’m almost 6’6″.  I did a lot of STRETCHING over the last couple of year’s of high school and in college.  I don’t remember who gave me the nickname although I suspect it came through my high school youth group.  I liked this nickname a lot better than a few of the other nicknames I’ve had over the years like Pope, Stain, and even just Stolpe.  STRETCH has now become a big part of my life as I blog about life’s STRETCH marks every day right here.

There you have it!  Now, it’s your turn.  I’m looking forward to hearing about your nickname(s).  Leave your answer to today’s Stretched Ice Breaker in the comments below.