Ice Breaker – Superhero

(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.)

Question:  If you were able to be a superhero, who would you be?  What would you call yourself?  What would your super powers be?  And to what use would you put them?

My Answer:  Superman has always been my favorite, but he is already taken.

At this time in my life, I’m going with Everywhere Man.  Everywhere Man has the ability to be many places at the same time.  I would use these super powers to be at work, be at home, be at my kids’ activities, be at the gym, and be many other places at the same time.  This super power would give me the ability to be present in many different places at the same time.

On second thought, I may not want this ability.  Instead, I’m thinking I should go with Present Man.  Present Man has the ability to be present in the moment right where he is with who he is with.  I struggle with this super power, because the other side of me wants to me like Everywhere Man.  Present Man is exactly the superhero I need to become.  (For more thoughts on this, check out my post – The Discipline of Being Present.)

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!

The Best of 2014: Top Stretched Post #1

2014 is rapidly coming to a close, and I thought it would be a good time to back at a few of the top posts from 2014.  I’m re-running the top 3 posts written and posted this year on The Stretched Blog.  It may surprise you to see which three made the top of the list.  Tomorrow, I’ll provide more details on the top posts from 2014.  I hope you’ll take time to reread the excerpt from the post and head back to the original post to chime in on the comments.

My #1 post written in 2014 was posted on September 29th – “Experience The Supernatural.”  If you are paying attention, this post was posted the same day as the #3 post (shared here on Monday).  In other words, the 29th of September was an unbelievable day for The Stretched Blog.

Here’s and excerpt from the post.  Click here to read the whole post.

Experience The Supernatural

When I was a child, I watched cartoons.  One of my favorite cartoons was Super Friends.  I liked watching the superheroes from the Hall of Justice work together with their different superpowers to fight evil.  My favorite character was Superman.  He was the leader of the Justice League, and his supernatural powers were pretty cool to a young kid.

Of all Superman’s superpowers, I always wanted to fly.  I can remember running down the hallway of my parents house from my bedroom into the living room.  Several feet from the couch, I would leap into the air towards the couch.  While I’m sure this wasn’t the greatest things for the springs on the couch, it was a fantastic experience for me.  For a very brief second, it felt like I was flying.

Today, the television and movie screens are filled with stories of the supernatural.  People are attracted to the supernatural.  They find ways to experience the supernatural through these movies and television shows.

Read the rest of this post here!  And check back tomorrow for the other highlights from 2014.

If you are a blogger, share a link to one of your top blog posts from 2014 in the comments below.

What was one of your favorite Stretched posts from the past year?

Experience The Supernatural

When I was a child, I watched cartoons.  One of my favorite cartoons was Super Friends.  I liked watching the superheroes from the Hall of Justice work together with their different superpowers to fight evil.  My favorite character was Superman.  He was the leader of the Justice League, and his supernatural powers were pretty cool to a young kid.

Of all Superman’s superpowers, I always wanted to fly.  I can remember running down the hallway of my parents house from my bedroom into the living room.  Several feet from the couch, I would leap into the air towards the couch.  While I’m sure this wasn’t the greatest things for the springs on the couch, it was a fantastic experience for me.  For a very brief second, it felt like I was flying.

Today, the television and movie screens are filled with stories of the supernatural.  People are attracted to the supernatural.  They find ways to experience the supernatural through these movies and television shows.

What if I told you there was another way to experience the supernatural?

There is a supernatural aspect to truly having a mission mindset.

Serving others in our mission field is not natural without the grace of God.  And God’s grace is supernatural.  It’s what allows us to do things and to pursue relationship that would typically be beyond us.

If you truly want to experience the supernatural, follow Christ!

If you could have a supernatural superpower, what would it be?

Answers From Me Part 6 – Superhero

A couple of weeks ago, I asked The Stretch Community to ask me anything.  And they did!  I’ve answered five of the questions so far, and I thought I’d take a stab at another question today.  This one comes from Matt McWilliams.  Here’s his question:

If you could be any superhero, who would you be and why?

Also, can I borrow $1 Million?…and by “borrow” I mean “have.”

I would probably go with Superman.

When I was a kid, I thought it would be so amazing to be able to fly. I can remember running down the hallway of our house into the living room and jumping into the couch. I believed that for a brief second I was actually flying. Believe it or not, I’ve felt that feeling on the basketball court a few times (not recently). It’s a feeling that you are floating through the air. But it only lasts for a quick moment. It doesn’t last.

As a kid, I also played with the idea of being invisible. Perhaps, this superpower would be more amazing than flying. You could walk into a room without anyone noticing. I could sneak into the kitchen and get a bowl of ice cream, and I could eat it undetected – as long as nobody was in the kitchen when I came in to see the freezer open and close.

More recently, I’ve thought that it would be helpful if somehow I could be in multiple places at the same time. Especially as our kids are involved in different activities, I would love to be at work, be at home, and be at the track meet or other activity all at the same time. We often joke at the office that the cloning machine is broken.

But in reality, these superpowers remain out of reach. It’s probably a good idea that we can’t do all these things. My guess it that we would have a hard time using these powers selflessly. I’m also guessing that possession of these superpowers would cause us to stray from God. We would fail to realize the amazing power of our Creator.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.  2 Corinthians 4:7

So maybe it’s a good thing that I’m not Superman.  As for your other question, Matt, I don’t have a million dollars, but I’d gladly buy you a cup of coffee when we get together.  Thanks for the question!

And that’s my answer!

Now, it’s your turn.  Answer Matt’s question:  If you could be any superhero, who would you be and why?

Superpower

When I was a kid, I thought it would be so amazing to be able to fly. I can remember running down the hallway of our house into the living room and jumping into the couch. I believed that for a brief second I was actually flying. Believe it or not, I’ve felt that feeling on the basketball court a few times (not recently). It’s a feeling that you are floating through the air. But it only lasts for a quick moment. It doesn’t last.

As a kid, I also played with the idea of being invisible. Perhaps, this superpower would be more amazing than flying. You could walk into a room without anyone noticing. I could sneak into the kitchen and get a bowl of ice cream, and I could eat it undetected – as long as nobody was in the kitchen when I came in to see the freezer open and close.

More recently, I’ve thought that it would be helpful if somehow I could be in multiple places at the same time. Especially as our kids are involved in different activities, I would love to be at work, be at home, and be at the track meet or other activity all at the same time. We often joke at the office that the cloning machine is broken.

But in reality, these superpowers remain out of reach. It’s probably a good idea that we can’t do all these things. My guess it that we would have a hard time using these powers selflessly. I’m also guessing that possession of these superpowers would cause us to stray from God. We would fail to realize the amazing power of our Creator.

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. 2 Corinthians 4:7

What superpower would you like to have? How would this be useful?  Who is your favorite superhero?