Meeting A Member Of The Stretched Community

Last night was pretty special.

I had the chance to meet with Steve Y.

If you’ve been a part of The Stretched Community for the past few months, you will realize that Steve Y is one of the regulars in the comments here on the blog.

Steve started following Jon Stolpe Stretched after he read a guest post I wrote for I Love Skippack (a blog hosted and written by Michael Shaw).

We met at a local ice cream place just down the road from my house.  He immediately knew who I was when he pulled into the parking lot.  After ordering our ice cream (I ordered my traditional favorite – Cotton Candy, and Steve had Black Raspberry and Orange Creamsicle), we enjoyed conversation for over two hours.  It was pretty cool to catch up on some of the things shared on the blog and on other things as well.  We talked about sports, family, and faith.

It’s incredible to me how God can bring people into our lives.  Friendship like this is a great thing.  I don’t know where this friendship will go, but I’m thankful for the chance to meet Steve.  And I’m looking forward to our next get together so our families can meet and we can enjoy more ice cream.

Thanks, Steve!

When was the last time you met someone new?  If you’re a blogger, how have you connected in real life with people from your blogging community?  I’d love to hear your stories.

Face Your Fears – Experience Life, Adventure, and God-Intended Thrills

What do you fear?

Is it the dark?  Is it heights?  Is it failure?  Is it falling?

What is it that makes you shake in your boots (or shoes or sandals)?

My hunch is that we all struggle with fear.

While we were on vacation, we had the opportunity to visit a water park in the Wisconsin Dells.  As soon as we arrived, the kids and I headed for the Tornado.  The Tornado is a six or seven story slide that drops riders into a giant bowl where they are left to swing back and forth until the raft is flushed through a tube at the bottom and into a pool of water.

Leanne immediately proclaimed that there was no way she would be riding on the Tornado.  She stuck to the smaller water slides for a while and sat at the side of the pool reading her book.  I guess I can’t blame her, the Tornado did seem pretty large.  Fear prevented her from climbing the steps (Isaac counted 97 steps) to the top of the slide.

And then something happened, Leanne decided it was time to “punch fear in the face” (to use a Jon Acuff phrase).  She grabbed the kids and me, and we climbed the steps together lugging the rafts to the top of the slide ready to face her fear of the Tornado.  Sure enough, Leanne hesitantly sat down on the raft and prepared for the decent into the Tornado.  As the covered sliding tube began to drop from the top, Leanne let out a shrill scream which could be heard until she reached the pool below.

As we joined her at the bottom of the slide, she raised her hands in the air and proclaimed “I did it!”  We asked her if she wanted to do it again to which she quickly declined.

She never went back on the Tornado, but she did it.  Leanne faced her fear.  She took the plunge.

There are probably many times in our lives where it’s okay to have a healthy level of fear.  But there are also many times when our fears are simply holding us back from experiencing life – experiencing adventure – experiencing God-intended thrills.

Last year, I struggled with a leap of faith decision that forced me to look eye to eye with some of my own fears.  When I faced the fear, it led me to Guatemala – a trip that changed my life.  In just a week and a half, I’ll be heading back with my family.  Do I have some fears related to this trip?  Honestly, yes.  Am I excited to experience life, adventure, and God-intended thrills?  Absolutely!

What fears are holding you back from life, adventure, and God-intended thrills?  What step can you take this week to face your fears?

Book Review: The Catalyst Leader by @bradlomenick

If you are looking for a leadership book that will challenge you and inspire you, look no further.  The latest from Brad Lomenick is just what you need.

In The Catalyst Leader, Lomenick shares 8 Essentials For Becoming A Change Maker.

The book is packed with great quotes, stories of inspiration, and practical advice for leaders who want to STRETCH and grow – who want the make a difference.  Besides the quotes, stories, and advice, I love the links found in the book that provide access to all kinds of other information and inspiration.

Lomenick shares stories from his past and from his most recent experience at the leader of Catalyst – perhaps the biggest and most influential leadership conference and organization in the world today.  He explains the 8 characteristics of a catalyst leader:

• Called
• Authentic
• Passionate
• Capable
• Courageous
• Principled
• Hopeful
• Collaborative

I have marks and notes all over this book.  I am pleased to add this to my leadership library, and it’s a book I’ll come back to again and again for practical tips in how I can become a better leader in my work, at my church, and in my home.

If you are a leader, consider picking up a copy of The Catalyst Leader today.  I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.  This is definitely a resource that I recommend.

How have these Catalyst characteristics changed your leadership?  What is one thing you can do this week to become a change maker right where you are?  What leadership books do you recommend adding to my library?

Introducing The Stretched Newsletter

I’d like to introduce a NEW Stretched newsletter.

The newsletter will highlight some of the things going on at Jon Stolpe Stretched, and it will hopefully give you content that you can’t find on the blog.  More than anything, I hope that STRETCHED (the newsletter) will be a place to keep you and me stretching.

To sign up, go to the main page and enter your e-mail address in Newsletter sign-up box at the top of the right sidebar menu.

Thanks in advance for subscribing!

Ice Breaker – Prayer

Image by VerseVend (via Flickr – Creative Commons)

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.

While we were on vacation, we had an opportunity to visit with my Grandpa who lives in Minneapolis.  He flew down to Milwaukee to spend a couple of days with my brother and I and our families.  My Grandpa has a huge heart for evangelism.  When he meets someone new, he almost always asks them two questions.  His first question is the inspiration for this week’s Stretched Ice Breaker.

Question:  How can The Stretched Community pray for you?

My Answer:  I mentioned it in a post a couple of weeks ago.  Our family could use your prayers as we prepare for our trip to Guatemala.  Two weeks from tomorrow, we leave for Newark, NJ where we will depart for Guatemala.  There are several details that we need to finalize.  I need to finalize the financial end of things with GO! Ministries which I should take care of this weekend.  Isaac is finishing up his Typhoid medication this week.  We need to pack for the trip which includes packing up material for care packages that we will be giving to the ~200 widows who live in the village of Xenacoj.  On top of that, we would appreciate your prayers for safety and effectiveness as we travel and minister in Xenacoj.

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!

With this week’s question and answers, I would encourage you to pick at least one of the requests mentioned in the post or the comments and pray.

Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.  James 5:16

Visiting Church on Vacation – 5 Reasons To Visit A Different Church This Summer

We were gone for two Sundays while we were away on vacation which meant we missed church at our home church two weeks in a row.  It would have been easy to skip church all together and simply enjoy the time to relax.  But we didn’t exactly do this.

The first Sunday we were away, we visited my brother’s church, Milwaukee Mennonite Church, in Wisconsin.  The church meets at 4 PM on Sunday afternoons in the building of a local Lutheran church.  It’s a small family oriented congregation where we felt very welcome.  It was definitely a different experience than we are used to at our church, but the change was okay.  It was exciting to see how God was working in this community of believers.  The singing part of worship included a couple of songs in a capella followed  by a couple with piano accompaniment.  They do not have a paid pastor, so the preaching duty is shared by the congregation.  Following the sermon, there is a time of open reflection by those in a church.  It was a little uncomfortable at first, but it was interesting especially once I understood what was going on.  Leanne and I both commented that it felt like a small group.

The second weekend we were away, we actually went to church on Saturday night at Charter Oak Church (where we were married 17 years earlier).  This is a growing United Methodist congregation which is clearly trying to find ways to reach the community.  The singing part of worship featured several guitars, a drummer, a keyboard, and a few lead vocalists.  It was so cool to witness a couple of baptisms while we were there.  There was a watering trough on the stage filled with water on the stage or platform.  The pastor knelt beside the trough while those being baptized took turns getting into the tank to be immersed by the pastor.  I really enjoyed the sermon at this church which was themed based on the popular NBC TV show, The Voice.  The sermon started with a Francis Chan video clip that I’ve included in past blog posts.  I really appreciated the way the pastor used the YouVersion Live feature to go along with his sermon.  I was able to take notes and look up Bible passages from my iPhone.  We received a friendly reception at this church as well.

Visiting other churches can be a very healthy experience while you are on vacation.  Here are five reasons for visiting churches while on vacation:

1. Observing church differences helps us to understand where other people are coming from.  Churches are different.  While we worship the same God, there are different styles.
2. Churches have different creative ideas that could be the catalyst for change in your own church.  It can be very refreshing and encouraging to experience worship by other bodies of believers.  It provides new ideas that will stretch you.
3. Sometimes you need to take a break from your normal church.  I wouldn’t recommend this for an extended period of time.  But visiting other churches can give you a break and a recharge especially if you are heavily involved with volunteering, serving, or leading in your own church.
4. It’s healthy to bond with other believers.  There is so much that divides the church today.  There are so many different doctrines, theologies, and ideas that simply tear the greater church body apart.  Visiting other churches helps to bridge the divide that can be so divisive.  (Obviously, I think that theology is important, but we need to be cautious in how we let it divide the church.  To the outside world, we must look like a bunch of messed up hypocrites who don’t have any unity.)
5. Visiting other churches helps you appreciate your own church.  Let’s face it; we all get our level of comfort.  There’s no place like home (or our home church).  Upon our return home, our daughter couldn’t wait to get home so she could make it to youth group at our church.

I don’t know what your vacation plans are this summer.  Maybe your sticking at home or maybe you’re traveling to far away lands.  I’d encourage you to take the opportunity to visit a different church this summer.  When you do this, let me know how it went.

Do you visit other churches when you travel?  Tell us about your last experience at a different church.  Why do you think it is (or isn’t) a good idea to visit other churches from time to time?

Stretching To The Finish

During our vacation to the Midwest, we had an opportunity to visit my Grandma (I’ve written about her before – click here.)

It wasn’t a very long visit.  I think we were at the nursing home where she lives for a little more than two hours.  When we came into her room, she immediately knew who we were.  She mentioned my name and our kids names, and she had to ask for a little help with Leanne’s name (although it was clear that she knew who she was).

If you remember, Grandma is 93 years old.  Physically, she’s been struggling for many years thanks to the pain of arthritis, Parkinson’s disease, and a broken arm.  Only in the last few years has she started to fail mentally.  Grandma was always the sharpest person in the family.  She could remember details better than anyone else in the family about people, places, and things from the past.  She skipped two grades in school.  Needless to say, this has been the hardest part of the aging process for her and for the rest of the family.  She simply can’t keep all the details of life straight in her head any longer.

All in all, it was a pretty good visit with Grandma.  While the staff at the nursing home indicated that she wasn’t having the greatest day, she seemed to be doing pretty well compared to my visit with Grandma a month ago.

There is the moment during our visit that I will always remember.

Grandma and Grandpa always had a strong faith.  I remember doing a morning devotion with them and praying for missionaries and people groups from around the world.  As we were getting ready to leave, Leanne suggested that we pray.  I prayed first and somewhat expected that to be it, but Grandma picked up right where I left off.  Her prayer was powerful.  Despite her physical and mental ailments, she clearly is in great shape spiritually.

Grandma’s prayer and our visit was a great reminder that God isn’t through with us.  While Grandma would prefer to be in heaven with Grandpa and God, she continues to demonstrate a growing faith.  It’s easy to think that we’ve arrived – that we’ve grown as much as we possibly can physically, mentally, and spiritually.  Grandma reminded me that spiritual growth is a journey that continues throughout our lives.

I don’t have any idea how long I will live.  I could live until 50, until 75, or even until 100.  I want to be remembered as someone who continues to STRETCH and grow.  I want to grow physically (not in size), and I want to continue to grow mentally.  But most of all I want to STRETCH and grow spiritually.

May our journeys through life be marked by spiritual STRETCHING!  May our faith be a testament to those around us and to those who come behind us.  Thank you, Grandma, for your STRETCHING example!

Who in your life has reminded you to keep on STRETCHING?  Who in your life has faith that moves mountains?

Book Review: At The Crossing Of Justice And Mercy by Dan Erickson

I read so many non-fiction books.  Sometimes, it can be refreshing to pickup fiction and to get pulled into the story.  That’s exactly what happened to me when I read the latest from Dan Erickson.

I’ve mentioned Dan’s book here on the blog in a couple of recent posts.  While I was on vacation, I had the chance to finish his second book, At the Crossing of Justice and Mercy.

At The Crossing continues the story of Andy Burden as he discovers that the leader of a cult he had grown up in was still alive.  Andy’s past abuse that came at the hands of cult leader, Peter Smith, led him to a struggle with forgiveness (for more about this, you should check out Dan’s first book, A Train Called Forgiveness – see my review here).  After some time, he is able to move on with his life.  In the current setting of the story, Andy has become a single father and a college professor.  But there’s something about his past that he just cannot completely reconcile.

I don’t want to give away the whole story, but I will tell you that it left me awake and thinking for quite a while – thinking about justice and mercy.  The end of the story is action packed and thought-provoking.  In addition, At The Crossing left me ready and excited to read the final book of this trilogy.  I can’t wait!

If you’re looking for a story that will pull you in and make you think, I’d recommend you pick up a copy of At The Crossing Of Justice And Mercy.  It will leave you thinking about justice and mercy – two great topics to ponder!

What was the last piece of fiction that you read?  What fictional story would you recommend to The Stretched Community?

I’m Back…

I just arrived back from a week and a half of vacation.  Our family journeyed to the Midwest to visit with extended family.  It was a great trip in general, and it was especially refreshing to unplug (for the most part).  I’ll share more details in upcoming posts.  Before I get back into blogging, I want to send out a special thank you to those who guest posted for me while I was on vacation.  If you missed it, here are the four guest posts:

• Monday, July 8, 2013 – The Truth About Unconditional Love (Catherine Lee Daugherty)
• Tuesday, July 9, 2013 – The Impact You May Never Know (Matt McWilliams)
• Wednesday, July 10, 2013 – How To Respond When You Are Stretched To The Limit (Zak Schmoll)
• Thursday, July 11, 2013 – Call Me Gumby (Carol Peterson)

In three weeks, I’ll be heading out of the country for a missions trip to Guatemala.  I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to blog while I’m away, so I’m looking for more guest bloggers who would be interesting in sharing their STRETCHED stories and ideas here on the Stretched Blog.  The dates I’ll be away are August 3rd thru the 11th.  If you can help out, please drop me a line.

Stay tuned for a new post tomorrow.  Also, I wanted to mention that I’ve been considering the possibility of posting on my old blog (jonstolpe.wordpress.com)  to test out some new blogging ideas and material.  Some of the material may be a little “rougher” than my normal posts, and I can’t guarantee that it will be consistent in themes or in timing.  You are welcome to check it out.

Is your family taking any vacations this summer?  If so, where are you going?  Is there anything or anyone special you plan to see?  If you’re a blogger, how are you handling your blog and other social media outlets while you are away?

Ice Breaker – Buyer’s Remorse

Image by VerseVend (via Flickr – Creative Commons)

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.

Here’s the question for this week!

Question:  Tell us about a purchase that you made sometime in your life that you regret.

My Answer:  I actually have one bad lease that led to a bad purchase.  I regret both of these decisions.  My first car was a 1974 Chevy Nova.  When I started working after college, it soon became obvious that I needed a more dependable car to take me from South Jersey to North Jersey and New York City.  (I also needed a dependable vehicle to take me to western Pennsylvania to visit my girlfriend – Leanne.)

In the rush to make a decision and with the desire to have an SUV, I leased a 1994 Ford Explorer Limited Edition.  What was I thinking?  I liked the vehicle, but the payments were truly out of my league, and I put so many miles on the vehicle that led to a lot of anxiety about end of lease payment.  Before the lease was over, I had the opportunity to go back to the dealer and plead my case.

Of course, they offered to “help” me out by putting me into a more affordable car.  They took me to a 1996 mint green Ford Taurus.  The color alone was enough to make anyone puke, but the mileage was right (only 4,800 miles), and it was the “easiest” way for me to get out of the ridiculous lease and payments of the Explorer.  A few months after purchasing the Taurus, I was involved in a pretty serious accident.  I thought for sure they would total the vehicle, but they didn’t.  And I was left with a car that never quite worked the same ever again.

And I regret the lease (or fleece as Dave Ramsey calls it) and the purchase.

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!