Ice Breaker – Resolutions
Okay, here it is! The last ice breaker question of 2011! I started these ice breaker questions a couple of months ago, and I’ve been amazed at the popularity and response. The Ice Breaker question a few weeks ago about Christmas movies is one of the top posts all-time on The Stretched Blog. For those of you who are new or who forgot, ice breaker questions are used to help people get to know each other – to “break the ice” so to speak. I love hearing what other people have to say and how they think. So for today, I’m excited to throw out another simple New Year’s themed ice breaker question. I’ll answer it first, then it’s your turn. Answer the question by leaving a comment for us all to enjoy. Thanks!
Question: Do you make New Year’s resolutions? If so, what’s one of your New Year’s resolutions? If not, why?
My Answer: Here you go….
If you’ve been reading for a while, you may have noticed or you may have heard me share that I’m a goal oriented person. I love to set goals and to see where they take me. So…it shouldn’t be a surprise that I like the opportunity to set new goals for the year ahead. I usually set personal fitness goals, spiritual growth goals, leadership goals, church goals, marriage goals, family goals, financial goals, and personal growth goals. I’ll share a goal from my personal growth area. I’d like to read at least one book per month in 2012. For the avid readers out there, this doesn’t sound very challenging. But I’m not the average avid reader, I’m pretty slow and deliberate with my reading. So reading one book per month will be a decent challenge. I am currently reading The Circle Maker by Mark Batterson, and I think I may finish this before the new year, so this doesn’t count. I’m looking to focus my reading in a few areas: small groups, leadership, and spiritual growth. I couple books that I’m looking forward to reading this year are: Community Is Messy (a soon to be released book by Heather Zempel), Community: Taking Your Small Group Off Of Life Support by Brad House, and EntreLeadership by Dave Ramsey.
So there you have it, my answer to the question. Now it’s your turn….I can’t wait to hear what you’ve got to say!
Book Review: Rumors of God by Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson
Several months ago, I received a free copy of Rumors of God from Brandon Gilliland (Thanks, Brandon!) as a prize for reading and commenting on his blog. I love this time of the year as it gives me a chance to catch up on some reading. I finally finished reading this book this week.
Rumors of God was written by two pastors from Australia – Darren Whitehead and Jon Tyson (he even spells his name correctly). It seems that this book was written as a challenge to American churches and American Christians to live like God is real – to live like the rumors of God aren’t just rumors, God is real!.
“But what about us (America)? Are we simply content to watch the American church limp into eternity? Are you ready to drift through the rest of your life, lulled and softened by our comfort and ease? We believe that deep in your soul you long to see the fame and deeds of God renewed and known in our time. We believe that you were created for a radical pursuit of Jesus and his kingdom.”
The book does an excellent job reminding readers that faith is meant to be experienced. For many Americans, our faith is generally inactive, private, and stuck in our heads. In Rumors to God, Whitehead and Tyson share stories and stories from scripture that inspire readers to make their faith active, out-loud, and alive.
I really appreciated how the authors start at the personal side of faith by challenging readers on the topics of love, grace, generosity, and abundant life. And I love how they end with challenges related to community, justice, and hope. The book definitely provided encouragement and inspiration. I would recommend it.
Have you read Rumor of God? What did you think?
What steps are you taking to experience your faith?
What are you reading right now?
Top Posts of 2011 Number 1 – Top 10 Things To Do At Grove City College
We are down to the top Stretched post from 2011. Sharing these top posts provides an excellent opportunity for me to take a small break during the holidays, and it also provides an incredible opportunity for you to catch up on things you may have missed over the past year. I hope you’ll hop on over to the original post, so you can read the entire post and add your comments to the existing comments string. Thank you for letting me take this break and for letting me take this opportunity to share these posts. Your support for the Stretched Blog this year has been incredible!
And so, drum roll please,…the most popular Stretched post from 2011 was a fun look at my college experience shared right before Homecoming. The post is titled Top 10 Things To Do At Grove City College. Here’s an excerpt to get you going:
Top 10 Things To Do At Grove City College
Leanne and I are getting ready to head out to Grove City College for homecoming and Leanne’s 15th reunion. I’m excited to go back to the place we first met. My four years at GCC were extremely memorable. Since I’m thinking about it, here’s my Top 10 Things To Do At Grove City College:
1. Go to chapel (16 times a semester). As much as that may sound dull, we were blessed with some great speakers at GCC. I particularly remember John Guest, Tony Campolo, and R.C. Sproul.
2. Look to your left and look to your right. As Nancy Paxton would tell all freshman, your future mate may be in sight. As it turns out, I met Leanne at the end of my junior year. The rest is history, so they say.
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To read the rest of this post, head on over to the original Top 10 Things To Do At Grove City College post.
Share one positive memory about your college or high school experience!
Top Posts of 2011 Number 2 – Ten Things Every Small Group Leader Should Know
We are down to the top two Stretched posts from 2011. Sharing these top posts provides an excellent opportunity for me to take a small break during the holidays, and it also provides an incredible opportunity for you to catch up on things you may have missed over the past year. I hope you’ll hop on over to the original post, so you can read the entire post and add your comments to the existing comments string.
The 2nd most popular Stretched post from 2011 was post written to help small group leaders. The post is titled Ten Things Every Small Group Leader Should Know. Here’s an excerpt to get you going:
Ten Things Every Small Group Leader Should Know
Yesterday, I had the honor and privilege of sharing my thoughts to a group of small group leaders at our church. I shared 5 of my ideas in an earlier post, but I thought you might enjoy hearing my complete list. So here are my notes:
I’m excited about this opportunity to share. If you don’t know me or if you haven’t figured it out, I’m extremely passionate about small groups. I truly believe they can provide a path for connection to others and to God. I also believe that small groups play an important role in accountability and discipleship. In no way is this list the Bible of small group leaders. It’s just my thoughts based on my involvement with small groups in various capacities for nearly 20 years. I’ve participated in groups. I’ve led groups. I’ve led group leaders. And I even had the privilege of leading a team of coaches. (I was also brought up in a home where small groups were important and modeled by my parents.) As I share my ideas, I’d encourage you to take a few notes. So here goes:
1. Small group leaders are important. They play a big part in helping people find community, find God, and find growth. If you are a small group leader, you need to know that what you do matters.
2. Small group leaders set the tone. Whether or not you consider yourself a Biblical scholar, your group members look to you as an example. For this reason, it’s important that small group leaders continue to model growth. They should be in the Word. They should develop disciplines that model growth. Small group leaders aren’t perfect, but they must find others who will hold them accountable to setting the tone.
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To read the rest of this post, head on over to the original Ten Things Every Small Group Leader Should Know post.
Are you in a small group? Tell us about it!
Top Posts of 2011 Number 3 – Reflect More, Risk More, Leave A Legacy – Start Blogging (A Guest Post by Jason Fountain)
As I mentioned last week, my plan is to provide links to the top Stretched posts from 2011 over the next couple of weeks. This provides an excellent opportunity for me to take a small break during the holidays, and it also provides an incredible opportunity for you to catch up on things you may have missed over the past year. I hope you’ll hop on over to the original post, so you can read the entire post and add your comments to the existing comments string.
The 3rd most popular Stretched post from 2011 was a guest post by my friend Jason Fountain. The post is titled Reflect More, Risk More, Leave A Legacy – Start Blogging. Here’s an excerpt to get you going:
Reflect More, Risk More, Leave A Legacy – Start Blogging
John Maxwell relates a story shared by sociologist Anthony Campolo. Campolo tells about a group of 50 people over the age of 90 years old who were asked one question: If you could live your life over again, what would you do differently?
The question was open-ended and the people’s answers were varied. However, three ideas consistently emerged.
1. If I had it to do over again, I would reflect more.
2. If I had it to do over again, I would risk more.
3. If I had it to do over again, I would do more things that would live on after I am dead.
I want to share with you an idea that can help you begin to accomplish all three of these goals TODAY.
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To read the rest of this post, head on over to the original Reflect More, Risk More, Leave A Legacy – Start Blogging post.
What would you change about 2011?
What is one thing that you’re looking forward to in 2012?
Christmas Eve 2011 Week In Review…
What a great week here at the Stretched Blog. The blog traffic is up for the week, and we’re already running a higher page view total than last month. If we can keep it up this week (which could be tough over the holidays), the Stretched Blog may see its highest page views per month total ever!
Monday’s post was titled My Treasure & My Heart was an opportunity to share some of my wrestling over time and priorities. I really appreciate the empathy and encouragement expressed in the comments for this post. Tuesday brought a visit from Jonathan Pearson. Jonathan did an excellent job sharing the stretching of a young leader. Wednesday, I started to share the top 5 posts for the year. The number 5 post for the year was a great guest post by my wonderful wife. She shared about Detours that she has experienced over the past year or two. On Thursday, I shared the 4th most popular Stretched post of 2011 – Locks of Love – about my daughter’s generous donation. And finally and Friday, I shared another fun Ice Breaker about our favorite toys.
I am so thankful for your continued contribution to the blog through comments. Your comments are what makes this Stretched Community! Please remember to take the time to Subscribe to the blog, so you can have Stretched delivered daily to your e-mail inbox. Also, don’t forget to stop by the Jon Stolpe Stretched Facebook fan page. Become a fan to keep up with some additional Stretched stuff. I have started to share more blog highlights from other blogs that I read regularly. I think you’ll find some great stuff here. Thanks!
A few of my favorite posts from the rest of the blogging community this week:
- Questions To Ask For Reviewing 2011 by Brad Lomenick on BradLomenick.com
- I Dare You To Do This With Me by Jon Acuff on JonAcuff.com
- The Only Way To Become A Real Writer by Jeff Goins on GoinsWriter.com
I’m really excited about this upcoming week as I’ll be sharing the top 3 posts for 2011, and I’ll be preparing for the new year! Please stop back so you can see what’s going on here!
How about you? How was your week? If you’re a blogger what happened over your way this week? Did you read any great blog posts this week? Share with the rest of us!
Ice Breaker – Favorite Toy
It’s that time of the week again…one more ice breaker question before Christmas! I’m going to stay with a Christmas related question again for one more week. For those of you who are new or who forgot, ice breaker questions are used to help people get to know each other – to “break the ice” so to speak. I love hearing what other people have to say and how they think. So for today, I’m excited to throw out another simple ice breaker question. I’ll answer it first, then it’s your turn. Answer the question by leaving a comment for us all to enjoy. Thanks!
Question: What was one of your favorite toys as a child?
My Answer: Here you go….
I can think of several of my favorite toys growing up like Matchbox and Hot Wheels cars, Legos, Lincoln Logs, and Tinker Toys. To be honest, I still love playing with these things. But there’s one toy I wish I still had – The Green Machine. For those of you who didn’t grow up in the late 70s and early 80s, The Green Machine was the Michael Jordan of Big Wheels. The Green Machine had two handles that you used to steer the back two wheels, and it was longer and lower to the ground than the typical Big Wheel. I still remember riding my Green Machine down the street and picking up as much speed as possible. When I reached top speed. I would push one of the handles forward and pull the other handle back. This would throw The Green Machine into an incredible spin as the plastic wheels slid across the pavement. My understanding is that they actually make an adult size version of this classic. Maybe next Christmas…!
So there you have it, my answer to the question. Now it’s your turn….I can’t wait to hear what you’ve got to say!
Top Posts of 2011 Number 4 – Locks of Love
As I shared yesterday, my plan is to provide links to the top Stretched posts from 2011 over the next couple of weeks. This provides an excellent opportunity for me to take a small break during the holidays, and it also provides an incredible opportunity for you to catch up on things you may have missed over the past year. I hope you’ll hop on over to the original post, so you can read the entire post and add your comments to the existing comments string.
The 4th most popular Stretched post from 2011 was a post about my daughter and her sacrificial gift. The post is titled Locks of Love. Here’s an excerpt to get you going:
The generous heart of my daughter never ceases to amaze me. As you can see by the pictures, Hannah decided several months ago to grow her hair out, so she could donate to Locks of Love. Locks of Love provides wigs for children who are facing hair loss for various reasons. Hair is a big deal for girls, women, and kids. So when Hannah decided to have her hair cut so someone else could enjoy a head of hair, it was quite a sacrifice – at least in my mind.
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To read the rest of this post and to see more pictures of Hannah’s transformation, head on over to the original Locks of Love post.
When and where was the last time you got your haircut?
What was one of your favorite posts this year?
Top Posts of 2011 Number 5 – Detours – A Guest Post by Leanne Stolpe
Over the next couple of weeks, I’m going to provide links to the top Stretched posts from 2011. This provides an excellent opportunity for me to take a small break during the holidays, and it also provides an incredible opportunity for you to catch up on things you may have missed over the past year. I hope you’ll hop on over to the original post, so you can read the entire post and add your comments to the existing comments string.
The 5th most popular Stretched post from 2011 was a guest post written by my wife, Leanne. Here’s an excerpt to get you going:
This week I took a day off and went to the beach. This is something I used to do a couple of times a year but recently haven’t done for quite some time. So, it was a big deal to me. I filled up my tank with gas. I packed a picnic lunch, and figured out my directions. I put my tunes in the cd player and started on my trip. I didn’t even get on the turnpike when there was a detour – right at the start of my trip!
It reminded me of how this past year seemed like a detour in many ways.
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To read the rest of this great post, head on over to the original Detours post. I promise it’s worth the visit.
When was the last time you took a detour?
What was one of your top posts this year?
Potential, Position, and Pain (A Guest Post by Jonathan Pearson)
Today, I have the privilege of presenting guest blogger, Jonathan Pearson.
Jonathan Pearson
Jonathan Pearson is the Communications Pastor at Cornerstone Church, Assistant Director of The Sticks, and co-creator of MillennialLeader.com. Jonathan writes, tweets, & speaks to inspire people to work together to reshape the world. Jonathan can be found online at JonathanPearson.net and on twitter as @JonathanPearson. Jonathan is married to Melissa and the two live in Orangeburg, S.C.
(I’m always looking for opportunities to share others stretching stories. Please leave me a comment if you’re interesting in guest posting at Jon Stolpe Stretched!)
We all have those things that we’re uncomfortable with…
Those things that we find ourselves insecure about.
Those things we dread because we know we’re not good in a particular situation.
Those things that when forced to, we do OK in, but we don’t want to be forced to.
And then we have those things that we’re uncomfortable with but know are a necessary inconvenience.
Those things that we know, if we do them, we’ll lead us beyond where we are.
Those things that, once we get through them, take us to another level.
Those things that stretch us.
For me, it’s being young and leading people older than me.
Everyday of my life, it stretches me to think different, remain humble, and love those I lead.
Everyday, it forces me to get uncomfortable, to seek God, and to do the very best I can.
Some days, I screw it up.
Some days, I knock it out of the park.
But if I was never in over my head,
if I was never forced to get uncomfortable,
I’d never grow.
My potential would never be reached.
It’s in those times of tough, hard nosed, in over your head times of leadership that we’re prepared for our destiny… that we’re prepared for the God sized calling in our lives.
Don’t regret or detest what stretches you.
What’s stretching you these days?