Jon Stolpe
Author Archives: Jon Stolpe

Psalms 139

This evening for some reason, I was reminded of this passage from Psalms 139. It is encouraging to know that God is always there for me. God knows me better than I know myself. Not only that, but God is the one true constant in my life. God is my rock. I can always depend on God. I need that reminder.

1 You have searched me, LORD,
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
4 Before a word is on my tongue
you, LORD, know it completely.
5 You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me
6 Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
7 Where can I go from your Spirit?
Where can I flee from your presence?
8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there;
if I make my bed in the depths, you are there.
9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn,
if I settle on the far side of the sea,
10 even there your hand will guide me,
your right hand will hold me fast.
11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me
and the light become night around me,”
12 even the darkness will not be dark to you;
the night will shine like the day,
for darkness is as light to you.
13 For you created my inmost being;
you knit me together in my mother’s womb.
14 I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made;
your works are wonderful,
I know that full well.
15 My frame was not hidden from you
when I was made in the secret place.
When I was woven together in the depths of the earth,
16 your eyes saw my unformed body.
All the days ordained for me
were written in your book
before one of them came to be.
17 How precious to me are your thoughts, [a] God!
How vast is the sum of them!
18 Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
19 If only you, God, would slay the wicked!
Away from me, you who are bloodthirsty!
20 They speak of you with evil intent;
your adversaries misuse your name.
21 Do I not hate those who hate you, LORD,
and abhor those who are in rebellion against you?
22 I have nothing but hatred for them;
I count them my enemies.
23 Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.

And In This Corner…

Over the past couple of months, I have really been wrestling through what it means to be a leader – particularly as it relates to leading in a church related ministry. This has not at all been an easy journey for me. In fact, it has been down right painful much of the time. I have lost sleep. I have lost hope at times. I have lost confidence. I have lost trust. I’m not done wrestling yet – I’m sure of that, but I am learning some great things. Today, I was struck by a blog post by Chris Johnson that talks about the difference between good leadership and bad leadership. Here’s an excerpt from the post:

Good leadership vs. Bad Leadership:

1. Passionate about one’s job vs. It is just a job
2. Values one’s team vs. Has employees
3. Knows one’s team vs. Should not be personal at work
4. Takes time to develop their strengths vs. Focuses on their weakness
5. Gives people a chance to fail vs. Controls every decision
6. Takes time to reward good work vs. It is their job
7. Leads team to believe they are the heart and sole of the organization vs. Only the boss matters
8. Spends time learning how to be a better leader vs. Got it all figured out
9. Creates a fun working environment vs. All work no play
10. Secure vs. Insecure
11. Admits mistakes vs. Blames the employees or organization
12. Confrontational vs. Ignore problems hoping they will go away

Like I said, I thought this post was very appropriate to my current condition. I truly want to be a good leader – not in the eyes of man – but in the eyes of God. I want to make a difference. I want to feel like my efforts and actions are worthwhile.

I should also mention that one of the things that has encouraged me lately is the Word. Specifically, I have been returning to I and II Timothy. So far, I’ve been reminded that above all else – Christ has got to be my focus.

More to follow…

This Is How I’ve Felt Recently

I know that you believe that you understood what you think I said, but I am not sure you realize that what you heard is not what I meant.
 – Robert McCloskey

Slow Down

Good morning! I just got off the treadmill at home. Nothing like running fast and getting no where. Do you ever feel like this? Last week was one of those week’s that was just non-stop for me. Monday night, we set up tables and chairs for the Providence Christian Preschool Thanksgiving Feast. Tuesday night, I was in Valley Forge for a PSPE dinner. Wednesday night, Isaac and I were at this Cub Scouts den meeting. Thursday night, I had a coaches’ meeting for the groups ministry at CCV. Friday night, Isaac had basketball practice. Saturday night, Hannah played in a Strings Fest concert. And this doesn’t even mention work or any of the other details.

As you can see I was busy last week. This kind of reminds me of something I picked up from Vince Antonucci‘s book – I Became a Christian and All I Got Was This Lousy T-Shirt. In his chapter titled “Speed,” Vince admits to the same problem that I have. In general, we both like doing things at 150 miles an hour. Do one thing. On to the next. Sometimes two or more things at once. Fast. Faster. Faster!

Vince’s thought on this problem is interesting. If you read the gospels, can you ever remember a time that Jesus was in a hurry? No seriously, think about that for a moment. Look it up if you wish. I don’t think you’ll find it. Jesus had three years of productive ministry, and it doesn’t seem like he was ever in a rush. His speed was more like 3 miles an hour. Think about that for a moment. The speed of love, the speed of Jesus, is just 3 miles an hour! Sounds like I need to slow down. Now that’s the challenge.

Actually, I’m looking forward to slowing down a bit later this week as we celebrate Thanksgiving.

Until the next post, slow down – you’re moving too fast…

High Points

Last time, I mentioned how much I like holes. Well, if there’s one thing that I like way better than holes, it’s being up high. I like flying, I like being at the top of tall buildings (Sears Tower, Empire State Building, World Trade Center, Eiffel Tower, the Space Needle), and I like being up on high mountains. Over 13 years ago, I had the opportunity to take a cable car to the top of Mont Blanc in the French Alps which I believe is the highest point in all of Europe. From this point, you could see France, Italy, and Switzerland. In the middle of July wearing shorts and a windbreaker, I have never seen anything more majestic. Seriously, we were above the clouds, and we could see other snow capped mountain peaks poking through. The sky was brilliant.

Mountain top experiences have also happened for me in the general experiences of life. Recently, going to Willow Creek’s Group Life Conference was a mountain top experience. Going on vacation with my wife to Hawaii and France were both mountain top experiences for me as well. Getting away for a small groups retreat (or any other retreat for that matter) is exhilarating. Running and finishing a marathon or other race is another mountain top event which I’ve experienced.

The only bad part about being up high like this is the fact that at some point you have to come back down. We can’t always live our lives up on the mountain.

For me, we need to use the “mountain top experiences” and “valley low experiences” to positively influence the way we respond to the mundane experiences of every day life.

Until the next post…

Hole

When I look back in time, I think that I’ve always had an obsession with holes. Huh? No, you heard me correctly, I think I’ve liked holes for a long time. I like digging them. I like climbing into them. When I was a kid, I can remember going to the beach with my family and digging a whole that was four or five feet deep. When I was finished digging the hole, I climbed in and enjoyed the new perspective on the beach.

When I was in junior high, my brother and two of my friends dug a hole in their front yard. I’m not kidding you when I tell you that it was about 7 feet deep, 7 feet wide, and 7 feet long. We spent all day digging this hole. It was fun to work together and dream about how we would deck out our new fort.

Recently, I’ve been listening to a song that my little brother wrote and performed years ago called “Taking You Back”. The chorus of the song goes something like this:

“I’m taking you back,
’cause I don’t want to see you
dig a hole that gets deeper
that you cannot escape from…”

Sometimes, holes can be a bad thing. Obviously, sink holes are bad. Holes in the floor or walls are bad. How about holes or places we put ourselves into that are difficult to get out of on our own? Perhaps, it’s insurmountable debt. Maybe, it’s a bad behavior that has become a habit or pattern. Or maybe it’s a relationship that just seems to be beyond repair – at least when put to our own efforts. These are the holes that I hate.

I hate these holes for the obvious feeling of despair that seems to happen. I also hate them because if I really think about it, I realize that I can’t get out of them by myself, I have to ask for help.

Many times we can escape these “holes” with the help of a close friend. Do you have close friends in your life who won’t let you “dig a hole that gets deeper?” Thank God for friends like these. Sometimes though, I think the only way we’re really going to make it out of these “holes” is to rely on God whose love for us is deeper and wider than any hole that we could find ourselves in. Who’s got your back today? Who’s there to get you out of your hole?”

Until the next post…

Group Life Conference Follow-Up Post #5

Probably my biggest take away from the whole conference came on the last day from Session 4 and Session 5:

We have hope in Christ! We need to take that hope into our communities!

When the rest of the world seems to be crumbling – When our 401K is becoming just an OK – When life seems to get more and more challenging…

We still have hope!!!

Enough said!

Until the next post…
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