know thyself, or myself

Posted on June 6, 2013 by stacy

I mentioned that I’d share some of the learnings from our/my interaction with Terry Walling. He was in town Saturday to share with a large group of leaders from all of Calvary’s worship gatherings, and he stayed through Tuesday, when he met with Calvary’s staff plus a few other local leaders. I got to spend a few hours with him one-on-one Monday afternoon.

Uh-may-zing.

I am sure that I’ve heard some of the principles that he shared at some point in my life. What seems to be life-giving and ground-breaking to me may be old news to you. But like a spelunker stumbling across a flashlight, I found Terry’s thoughts and teaching to be just what I needed in the moment.

The big takeaway from Saturday revolves around the 4 roles that a leader can carry. He listed them as Pioneer, Developer, Maximizer, and Re-Pioneer. Terry stated that some leaders have a mix of 2 adjoining roles, but seldom carry 3 of the roles. This info wasn’t new, but the application hit me differently than ever before.

For most of my life I’ve thought of myself as a Developer. But as I look back on more than 20 years of ministry, most of the successes have been in the Pioneer/Re-Pioneer realm. That’s a biggie for me. I’ve been pretty good at getting something started or re-tooling something that’s struggled. And I’ve struggled in a lot of places to take things to “that next level.” It’s not that I don’t see what changes or tweaks or improvements need to be made; I simply have difficulty getting where I want to go.

Turns out I need to find Developers/Maximizers to hand things off to when I get to the end of my capacity. I’ve been blessed to have some fantabulous Developers in my life over the years. Chief among those people is my lovely wife Kim. She has been the “behind-the-scenes” architect for most of the teams that have functioned well, the family that has grown exponentially, and the ministries that have had positive influence on people for 20+ years.

I’ve got more to share (Monday was a great day for me), but this is getting lengthy, so I’ll close. I may re-visit this another day soon, but here’s my parting thought:

I need to look at life like a race: not a sprint, not a marathon, but a relay. I’m a pretty good starter. I need to be on a team with others who will take things to the next level.

If you’re looking for some great leadership development coaching or resources, check out Terry’s site. He is making a difference in my life, that’s for sure.

pickin up what I’m layin down

Posted on June 6, 2013 by stacy

Today was a scrambly day. It’s the end of the school year, and a few days away from the start of summer, which coincides with a little vacation for Team Sublett. Yep, the big white van is headed to the beach, courtesy of a fabulous family who has decided to bless us by letting us invade their domicile while they are away. So in addition to last minute study sessions and projects (seriously?) an additional day of work for Kim and a full day of people and meetings and lifegroup and orthodontist…Kim decided that she’d take Josie and Annabelle for haircuts. Because we had extra time in the day…

The girls had been talking about getting their hair cut for a while. Annabelle heard about Locks of Love and was certain that she wanted to donate her hair. Josie was a little less sure, but when they got to the salon she decided that she’d be happy with shorter hair, especially if her hair could do something good for someone else.

I love the fact that the girls are embracing a lifestyle that leads them to look for ways to serve and bless others. I think that as parents we always wonder if what we’re trying to instill in our kids is actually taking root. I pray that the good stuff sticks…

Isaac wanted you to know that he got a haircut too, and that his locks were lovingly donated to the woodland creatures and needy birds who live in the bushes just off our driveway.

moving from fear to fun

Posted on June 5, 2013 by stacy

After a solid day of church staff retreat/meeting with Terry Walling (which was phenomenal, btw, and will be blogged later this week) I scootered home, grabbed some of the random (mine, but random) kids hanging around the house, and made a beeline for the ponds at Harvest Fields. We spent several hours paddling kayaks and playing in the pond.

We’re a family of waterbugs, and my kids have been in and around water all their lives, or at least the parts of their lives that have involved me! But in each of them today (Josie, Isaac, and Sadie) there was a moment of fear, a testing of their faith in me, and a personal challenge to their ability to choose courage.

When I put a person in a kayak (whitewater boats complete with neoprene skirt) the first thing I do is teach them how to wet exit. I want to make sure that they know how to get out of the kayak when it flips upside down (notice I said when, not if!) So we spend the time it takes to learn how to be safe. I don’t try to make it sound dangerous, though any time you find yourself without access to air you’re not moving in the right direction. I stand in the water, my hand on the kayak, often holding the hands of the student as we walk through the safety techniques that I’m trying to instill.

I could see it in their eyes: I’m scared. What happens if I can’t get out? There are some pieces of this experience that are almost universal. Everyone underestimates how long they can hold their breath (think about the Squirrel Hill Tunnel) and how long they’ve actually been underwater. I believe that it’s the fear of the unknown, the altered state of being deprived of air, trapped in a plastic tube, held in place by a neoprene agent of torture, under water, loss of sight, loss of contact with another person…it all adds up to fear.

I’ve seen grown men, leaders in their field, fearless and forceful come completely unglued, done for the day–all because of the upside down kayak. I’ve seen tears and fears (though I never saw Tears for Fears, that’d have been cool) at that point so many times.

We were close today. But each one of the waterbugs pushed through the fear, embraced their limitations, pushed their comfort zone a little further than they knew they could, and came up spitting and smiling! Pictures would be nice, but I was in the pond, and my phone doesn’t swim.

Once we knew that they’d be safe they were free to paddle and play in the water.

I think there’s a lesson in there for me. Maybe for you, too.

do you needtobreathe?

Posted on May 30, 2013 by stacy

At some point last year one of the young ladies (hey Kel) in my lifegroup started talking about an upcoming roadtrip to see her favorite group. Now, as a music aficionado, I was fairly certain that I knew every group. Yes, I have a pretty high opinion of my musical knowledge. But I’d never run into this band.

So I started listening.

And I liked what I heard.

So when Greg (the booker of artists at the State Theatre) asked if we’d be interested in bringing NTB to the State, and if we thought we could sell some tickets, and if we thought people would come, I asked the FB world. The response was pretty immediate and not-too-surprisingly positive.

So we’re partnering with the State to bring NeedToBreathe to the State one night in late September or early October. I’ll keep you posted with details as they emerge. But in the meantime, how cool is this? And I am serious about looking for a banjo plucker. I have heard rumblings and rumors of banjo-folks out there…

You can get yourself a whole lot of NTB right here.

Memorial Day dibs

Posted on May 28, 2013 by stacy

As you know, Boalsburg, PA is the birthplace of Memorial Day. Several other towns make the same claim, but since they’re not blogging, I’m calling dibs for Boalsburg. We made the trek down to the ‘burg for the celebratory festivities this year.

Sadie wrote an essay that was selected to be read on the front porch of the world-famous Boalsburg Heritage Museum. So we loaded up the truck and headed in to town. After her wonderful delivery we traipsed through the displays of handmade crafts and jewelry and knick-knacks. We managed to avoid any knick-knackery, found ourselves in possession of not one but two bags of heaven (kettle corn is Kim’s Achilles Heel). The first stand we passed was the one with the bows & arrows made out of PVC, and I promised Isaac we’d buy one on the way out. Much to his disappointment, all the bows & arrows were long gone by the time we made our way back. There’s a life lesson in there somewhere, for somebody. Maybe it’s for me…

All in all, we had a blast walking around as a family. We got to see loads of people we know and love, and Sadie got a sweet gift certificate to a local store that she promptly converted into jelly beans.

I married 2 more women this weekend

Posted on May 27, 2013 by stacy

Whew! What a fun and full weekend…
Friday night I had wedding rehearsal #1, followed by an evening of prayer and worship with some guys around a campfire at a cabin in the woods. The rehearsal was sweet, and the time of P&W was absolutely powerful!

Saturday was wedding #1 (Esli Feliz & Katie Myers), followed by wedding rehearsal #2, topped off by the final production of our high school thespian troupe. The wedding was held by one of the ponds at Harvest Fields, and although it was a little breezy, it was a beautiful ceremony, with lots of old familiar faces in attendance. The Thespians rolled out their Cabaret, a variety show directed by the senior class. Levi and Lilly had a few scenes each, but Levi was a the show-stopper, playing the role of Thisbe from Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream. He and his buddy Zak brought tears to our eyes. Zak is such a ham, and Levi (of course) wore a dress and played the part of the ill-fated Thisbe hilariously.

Sunday morning found me preaching fo the 8am and 9:30 worship services at Calvary’s building on University Dr. It was fun, and I enjoyed worshiping with those fine folks. I have some really good friends who attend those worship gatherings, and it’s good to catch up with them. If you want to listen to the sermon or watch the video, click here.

Wedding #2 (Phil Martin & Jill Bontrager) happened Sunday afternoon, and it was a doozy. This was the first wedding that I’ve had the privilege of performing for a student who came all the way through our student ministry. Kim was Jill’s small group leader from 7th grade until she graduated from high school. I was a lot more emotional than I thought I would be; when Jill turned the corner to walk down the aisle I almost lost it! We had such a good time at the wedding, seeing all the former youth group students as well as the folks from PSU we’ve come to love over the past few years.

Wow, that’s a lot…and I haven’t even told you about Memorial Day. I’ll save that for tomorrow.

i need a banjo plucker

Posted on May 23, 2013 by stacy

A simple glance through my posts would tell you that music plays a pretty big role in my life. We’re a musical family, from top to bottom. My mom is one of the best piano players I know. She can hear a song on the radio, walk over to the piano, modulate up or down, and play it like she wrote it. Kim’s dad (and grand-pap) has been part of a Southern Gospel quartet forever; I was in the group for a few years myself. Kim will probably clobber me for telling you, but she plays a mean saxophone!

This spring has been remarkable on so many musical levels. From the selections that the school choirs are doing to last night’s Godspell, from leading worship for midtown at the State Theatre to some family jam/worship, from the beginnings of some songs to the hope of some epic worship nights with folks this summer…I am pumped for this summer!

I’m thinking that I want to try some different things this summer. I’ve got a buddy (Caleb) who has the connections to pull together some version of a Tower of Power. I’ve been wanting to set the Bluegrass Band loose for a long time. So I need a banjo plucker! There’s got to be a few pickers and grinners around midtown, right? Somebody help a brotha out…

And for your listening pleasure, I submit the following:

how come nobody told me

Posted on May 22, 2013 by stacy

The only thing that I really knew about Godspell was that Ben Stiller quoted from “Day By Day” in one of his goofy movies. Sadie had a role in Singing Onstage‘s production of Godspell Junior (modified for younger actors), which ran tonight at the fabulous State Theatre. So to get ready I did a little homework.

Turns out the whole shebang is based on the the life of Jesus from the gospel of Matthew, using parables as the pieces to move the show forward. There have been lots of adaptations, and tonight’s show was set in a classroom. The kids did a great job telling the story of Jesus, and Parker Kingshipp was fabulous in the role of Jesus. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a 5th grader look so natural and comfortable on stage. I was proud of all the kids, but especially so of our little Sadie, who is turning into a pretty good little singing actress herself!

As I listened to yet another evening of the gospel being presented through the arts (Lilly’s 9th grade concert was last night) I wondered how many of these students are being taught that this isn’t just music, art, and entertainment. I wanted to stand up at the end and tell all the proud parents that this is the real story–that Jesus did these things, taught these things, and literally lived and died, just like the kids sang, just like the choirs have sung, just like the masters have written. It might not have gone over really well, but that thought lingers…

survey says…

Posted on May 21, 2013 by stacy

A few weeks back Calvary dedicated some Sunday morning time to our yearly survey, asking questions about spiritual practice and health, spiritual disciplines and growth. We’re trying to track trends, to see if we’re growing as a church. Most of the time when churches want to see how they’re doing they (we?) count N’s: noses, nickels, and newbies. We’re looking at a lot of different pieces of info, checking it against last year’s answers, and plotting it out from gathering to gathering.

The data has been sliced and diced, sorted and collated, folded and spindled…Local data guru Jim Fong (Calvary attender and sports-card aficionado!) walked us through his team’s initial findings and helped us get a handle on some of the information that the survey delivers. Then our staff spent hours praying and thinking and talking and examining and asking what it all means.

To be honest, this isn’t my favorite way to spend a day. Too many numbers and details and theories about who answered this questions this way or that way…I had to keep pulling my mind back to focus on the task at hand, because it’s very important. While I’d rather be playing music or playing in a creek, I know how to put on my big boy pants and take care of business when I need to!

We wrapped up the day by starting to set some goals for us as a staff and as a church, followed by a pretty intense time of prayer around the table.

I may not dig the numbers and minutia of digging through the survey results, but if this produces a more clear picture of where we are as a body of believers and what God is doing in us, then I’m all in.

running in all directions

Posted on May 20, 2013 by stacy

It was a crazy busy weekend fro Team Sublett. Kim took off with Charlie Thursday night for the yearly “Bedford Yard Sale.” We try to get rid of all our good/useable/unwanted clutter once a year, selling it to the good people of Bedford at minimal prices. I don’t know the grand total, but Kim netted enough to cover a meal for the fam at Big Bowl Noodle House, so that’s something!

Josie turned 16 Saturday, and we celebrated by sending her to Wisconsin. Yep. That’s not how I would have drawn it up, but she plays rugby for the high school, and they got invited to the HS national tourney in WI. It was a good trip, even though they got smoked in their matches. Josie has had a blast with the girls, and they’ve been great to her. It’s been nice to see her make some friends.

Isaac and Sadie went to the middle school dance Saturday. I’m pretty sure that it was a dance for 7th graders. Sadie got to go because she’s on the student council, so she decorated and got to serve. The pictures make it look like They coordinated their outfits. They would have you know that it’s merely circumstantial. Check out the boy in the bowtie!

I preached at midtown Sunday. Sunday night we all traipsed back out to church for our monthly corporate prayer gathering, where all the Calvary folks come together to flood the valley with prayer. We call it Flood the Valley, cause we’re creative like that! We were praying especially for the high school students, and some of them helped lead worship. I started bawling just about the time we hit the door. Seriously. I didn’t stop crying until we were on the way home. I’m not sure what was up with that…

Here are some pics for your enjoyment…