Jon Stolpe
Jon Stolpe
Hot Seat Question
If you’ve been reading along for a while, you’ll know that one of my favorite “small group” activities is the Hot Seat where you put someone on the spot by asking them any question(s). Here’s one of the questions from my “library” of questions along with my answer. I’d love to hear how you would answer this same question.
Question: If you could have lunch with any three “famous” people living or dead (not a relative and not Jesus) who would they be?
My Answer: First, I’d probably go with Mother Theresa. I’m kind of guessing that we wouldn’t do a whole lot of talking. I would probably be following her around trying to grab some of her wisdom as she continued her non-stop service to others.
Second (I’m kind of cheating on this one), John McCain and Barack Obama at the same time would be an interesting lunch. I would like to listen to what they are going to do to make this country and this world a better place for me, my kids, their kids, etc. I would put them on the hot seat also.
Third (or fourth depending on how you look at it), I have to imagine that eating lunch with Bono from U2 would be amazing. From what I understand, this guy is full of ideas. I’d love to hear some about his experience with his band (one of my favorites). I’d love to know what makes him tick. I’d like to see him in action as he describes his goals for the next ten years of his life.
So, there you have it. Who would you choose? I’d love to hear who and why.
Until the next post…
Tall, Tall Tower
While we were on vacation, we hiked up to what my nephew Sam refers to as the “Tall, Tall Tower.” The tower is part of Pike Lake State Forest in Wisconsin, and it was probably a 3/4 mile hike from our campsite. From the top of this tower, you could see for miles. It was quite spectacular.
The tower seemed pretty strong as it was built on several 16-20″ diameter poles; although, I’m not sure I’d want to be up there in the middle of a storm. The experience of seeing this tower reminded me that God is sometimes referred to as a “strong tower.”
The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe. Proverbs 18:10
Isn’t it comforting to know that we can run to God for our safety and security?
Until the next post…
Gavotte
This evening, I started working on this song on saxophone by Padre Martini. After practicing, I poked around the web to see if I could see what it really sounded like. This clip will give you the tune. Now, I’ll need to practice.
Until the next post, I’ll be practicing…
Sacrifice
This morning, I was reading the Bible, and I came across two passages that spoke to me about sacrifice. First, 2 Samuel 24 recounts the story when King David decided to do something that was against God’s way. As a result of David’s actions, God sent a plague or pestilence on the kingdom that killed 70,000+ people. (Can you imagine making a mistake that costs so many lives?) At any rate, as the story concludes, David is instructed to build an alter to offer up a burnt offering to God. As David tries to buy the land and oxen for the offering, the owner offers it to King David for free. Here’s David’s response, “No, but I will buy them from you for a price; I will not offer burnt offerings to the Lord my God that cost me nothing (v. 24).” At first glance, this strikes me as odd. After all, didn’t David’s mistake cost 70,000 people their lives. Surely, King David had more than enough money to make this purchase seem like nothing. Putting that aside, I was reminded that a sacrifice costs. Are we willing to sacrifice or give up something that costs?
A second passage that I was reading this morning was Mark 10. In this passage, James and John come to Jesus to make a selfish request. They wanted to sit on Jesus’ left and right when they get to heaven. In this story, Jesus asks them if they are willing to make the same sacrifices that he will make (v. 38).
If we are truly going to be fully devoted, all-out followers of Christ, it is going to cost. Are we ready?
Be Strong and Courageous
This morning, I attended a men’s breakfast where part of the video below was shown. I have been processing what was shared in the video along with what was shared at my table with other men.
I think the verse that hit me most this morning comes from I Corinthians 16:13:
13 Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.
Francis Chan encouraged the men at the breakfast to be alert and to be a man about following Christ standing tall for Him. This sure lines up with some of my recent thoughts.
Check out the video. It’s not the whole thing, but it will give you a taste.
Until the next post, be strong…
My Brother Erik
One of the great things about my vacation last week is that I got the chance to spend some time with my “little” brother Erik. Erik is 13 1/2 years younger than I am, so in many respects my relationship with him is interesting. This trip it really seemed like our relationship seemed to be transitioning more towards a brother type relationship as opposed to the more uncle-like relationship that it had for so many years growing up.
I’m extremely proud of my brother. He is an incredible musician and perhaps an even better song writer (you can check out his band’s website here). I’m proud that he has persevered through some of the struggles of his adolescence as he has entered into manhood. He truly seems to be wrestling now with what he wants to do with his life as he approaches the end of his college career.
I’m praying that Erik will first of all seek to deepen his relationship with Christ. I’m also praying that God would send a Christian woman into his life that is just right for him. Finally, I’m praying that Erik would find a career that he is passionate about and gives him opportunity to use his God given talents.
Until the next post…
RV (Part 2)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rCZY5zR6zU&hl=en]Meeting Elizabeth
One of the coolest parts of our vacation was that we finally met our new niece, Elizabeth. As you may have read in several of my previous posts, my brother and sister-in-law have been preparing, praying, hoping, saving, etc. for 2 1/2 years as they have gone through the adoption process. Well, Elizabeth seems well worth the wait. She is such a beautiful little girl who seems to fit right in with my brother’s family. We were so happy to help welcome her into our extended family.
Legacy
Part of our vacation last week included a trip to Batavia, IL to visit my Grandma Stolpe. It really was a gift to see her, and she seemed quite excited about our visit. From the picture above, you can see that Hannah and Isaac have reached Grandma’s height. This is kind of crazy for me, because my two brothers and four cousins always used Grandma as our measuring stick for our growth. We knew we were really growing up when we passed Grandma. I was the second grandchild to pass Grandma and now I’m the tallest of the seven.
Grandma (and Grandpa, who passed away last February) has also been our measuring stick for spiritual growth. Both she and my grandfather have lived their lives fully devoted to Christ. I’ve seen this in action countless times through meal time prayers, through regular Bible reading, through consistent church involvement, through dedicated service to those who are less fortunate, through opening up their home to a broken family, through consistently and fervently praying for their children, grandchildren, and 15 great grandchildren, etc.
I am so grateful to have grandparents like these.
As we left the nursing home that afternoon, I left at peace. I don’t know if I’ll see Grandma again although I can hope. Her health hasn’t been the greatest, and I know she’s not getting any younger. Despite this unknown, my peace comes from knowing that Grandma is in tune with Christ and is living that out everyday. This is the type of legacy that I want to leave for my kids, grandkids (some day), and future generations.
Until the next post…
Reflections on Yesterday…
While sitting on the lawn tractor last night for an hour and getting a little run in this morning, I’ve been reflecting about my day yesterday. There are a couple of things that hit me (probably more than that but two for right now).
First, I made my second appearance at a men’s Home Team (or small group), and I left challenged and encouraged. There were eight of us sitting around the tables, and I’m quite certain that we are all at different points in our spiritual lives and that we all have different areas in our lives where we struggle. During part of the conversation (and I don’t think I’m breaching any confidential agreements here), I shared that I believed our workplaces were mission fields. One of the guys spoke up immediately asking me how that was working for me – being a witness for Christ in my workplace. I was able to provide an answer on the spot about setting the tone through my actions. This is true; however, I’ve been pondering the question since then to see how I could be more effective. Great challenge!
Secondly, I fought out that there is another PK (pastor’s kid) in my department. We just hired this guy, so I don’t know him that well, but I was surprised by the news. His dad is pastoring at a Lutheran church up in the Lehigh Valley. I was struck by a comment that was made during this conversation by my new colleague (and I roughly quote): “I don’t like to talk about religion. There are two things you don’t talk about: religion and politics. If someone starts talking to me about this stuff, I tell them that I don’t want to talk about it.” Hmmm…. Is this my same attitude? I don’t think so; however, I did notice the volume of my voice dropping quite a bit as we had this conversation in the open cubicle environment that I work in. He also indicated that he doesn’t attend church regularly right now, but that he would probably return to it later in life once he started having a family. Why is this? I have many things cycling around in my head about this conversation. And I think it does tie together with my first reflection above.
Have you ever had experiences like these? I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Until the next post, I’ll be reflecting…