I was a teenager in the seventies, and like most adolescents from any decade, I was clueless. I didn’t think about existential matters. What I believed about life, why I was alive, or where in the world I was going didn’t get much of my mental bandwidth. I just wanted to fit in. I wanted to be liked by the people I thought were important. When you’re a teenager, in order to fit in you put on clothes that look like the people you admire. I had a friend named Ricky—no doubt the coolest guy on campus. Ricky wore platform shoes with six–inch heels and elephant leg pants. Elephant pants are best defined as bell–bottoms on steroids. One Friday after school Ricky took me shopping and I bought a red pair of platform shoes with white stitching, bright red elephant pants, a white turtleneck, and a multi–colored polyester shirt with puffy sleeves and a wide collar. When Ricky and I showed up at the football game all of his friends couldn’t stop talking about how groovy the two of us looked. It took a while, but shortly after high school I discovered life is more than the clothes we wear. Perhaps more importantly, I discovered relationships, built on fictional personas put on to impress others, is not the stuff true character and genuine friendships are made of. More than anyone else, it was my friendship with Jesus that taught me the value of being true to my self. When Jesus invites people to be his friend he usually says something like this: If you want to learn about life from me, deny yourself, take up a cause that adds beauty to life and follow me. For me his invitation was a little more blunt: Larry, put away all the fake and cheesy ways you’re trying to impress people and be real. Be the person I made you to be and love people whether they like you back or not. Being friends with Jesus helped me discover the real me and I actually like the person I found. I packed up all the “groovy” clothes and dropped them off at the Good Will store. For kicks, I kept my red shoes and put them in a box in the back of my closet. I started wearing Levi Jeans and Chuck Taylor tennis shoes. Forty years later my wardrobe looks the same. When I buy new shoes the only choice I have is whether to buy a black pair of Chucks or a gray pair. I usually go with gray, but the other day I bought a red pair. I wanted to add a little whimsy to my life. Wearing red tennis shoes reminds me to “Think Red” in the words I write and the ways I walk. For me, “Thinking Red” means to honor the words of Jesus, the ones printed in red. This year I plan to write and reflect on the words of Jesus every week. But I want to do more than reflect on the red letters; I want to walk them out with my friends. If you want to Think Red together you don’t have to wear red tennis shoes, simply "like" this page and share your comments. Together, we will reflect on the words and ways of Jesus and see if we can put them into action.
If you’re wondering about the red shoes in the back of my closet . . . when my son was five years old he liked to play dress up. One day, after twenty minuets of rummaging through my closet, Ryan came out wearing a paisley print necktie, a bathrobe, and my 1970’s platform shoes. He looked at the shoes and then he looked up at me and asked, “Dad, were you a clown?” I bent down on one knee, put his cheeks between my hands, and told him the truth, “Son, as strange as this may sound, before I married your mom your dad was a real clown.”
28 Comments
Jane Knapp
1/4/2021 11:14:22 am
Eager to read more!
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Larry
1/4/2021 12:02:38 pm
Thanks Jane.
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Bill Potts
1/4/2021 11:42:34 am
I have a pair of platform shoes I keep in the closet too.
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Larry
1/4/2021 12:07:22 pm
Do you ever think about dusting them off and wearing them in public? I dare you!
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Alisa Terrell
1/4/2021 12:04:22 pm
Oh wow brother Larry I was real emotional at first until you said Ryan asked you where you a clown lol I love it and I understand it
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Larry
1/5/2021 10:27:18 am
Thanks Alisa. The truth is, I love being a clown for Jesus!
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Doug Dunaway
1/4/2021 12:31:08 pm
Thinking Red, I love the way you always put life to sermon and sermon to life. Ready to move forward walking my best.
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larry
1/5/2021 10:28:47 am
Thanks Doug, I love doing life with you and rest of our neighbors.
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Debbie Holloway
1/4/2021 01:51:26 pm
So good Larry! I will continue to go to the words in red when I'm studying the Bible. What could be better than reading the words of Jesus!
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Larry
1/5/2021 10:30:58 am
Thanks Debbie, now more than ever, I believe the red letters are the lens we must look through to understand the rest of the words in the Bible.
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Gene A Ford
1/4/2021 02:55:49 pm
Pastor Larry,
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Larry
1/5/2021 10:33:51 am
Gene, what was the second thing you thought?
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Mary Jolly
1/4/2021 06:15:22 pm
Larry I love this. I cant wait to read more and walk with you on this journey over the next year.
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larry
1/5/2021 10:36:52 am
Thanks Mary, It has been a great walk with our neighbors in Portland over the past 20 years. I believe the year before us will add even more flavor and color to the neighborhood. Thanks for being such a great neighbor.
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Katie Newland
1/4/2021 07:50:44 pm
First off, love the red converse. Second, I love that Ryan thought you were a clown. Looking forward to a new year with my church family.
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Larry
1/5/2021 10:41:09 am
Sometimes our church family reminds me of a three ring circus. We're at our best when we bring out the clown in one another.
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1/4/2021 08:55:53 pm
That was great, Larry. Great storytelling and the platform shoes. 🤣
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Larry
1/5/2021 10:46:01 am
Thanks Wendy. Does Jean have a pair of those shoes hidden in his closet? Also, thanks for helping me find the courage and the path to get my thoughts out on social media. Your support through "Social Abundance" made all the difference.
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J. Littleton
1/5/2021 04:21:43 am
I think the blog is cake for my soul, but the comments will be the icing. You speak of authenticity asked by Jesus and how friends will love you or not. Ha, just gaze at the spectrum of friends Jesus has brought you, just in these comments. De Colores, and far out, man.
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Larry
1/5/2021 10:49:28 am
Thanks Jeremiah. De Colores sings the rooster, the cluck hen and the babe chicks . . . one of which Gene gave to Ryan two weeks ago.
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Diana Calvert
1/5/2021 05:03:09 am
So thankful for you.
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Larry
1/5/2021 10:50:23 am
Thanks Diana. I hope you and Rick had a festive New Year.
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Bonnie Tuggle
1/5/2021 08:31:07 am
I love how you think and communicate ! I will think about red differently !
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Larry
1/5/2021 10:53:31 am
Thanks Bonnie. Please pass on a hearty hello from me to your family.
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Tara Mattingly
1/5/2021 09:00:13 am
Cant wait to follow a page that follows Jesus!! I'm excited for you & this new journey. It's awesome that our community gets to go with you on this adventure as you share your life with us!! Thank you for allow Jesus to work through you.
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Larry
1/5/2021 10:56:03 am
Thanks Tara. You do know I see you as one of the "ring leaders" in our Three Ring Circus that we call: Church of the Promise, Table Cafe, and Promise Housing Plus?
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John thompson
1/7/2021 10:47:24 am
Books can be dangerous and the best ones should be labeled. This could change your life sounds great and knowing you and your lifestyle, yours will make the grade.
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Larry
2/5/2021 07:11:32 am
John, thanks for the encouragement and the advice about the light at the end of the tunnel.
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AuthorLarry Stoess is an author, public speaker, and urban church planter. He loves telling stories about how dreaming with God will empower people to make old and broken things new again. Larry and a band of friends founded the Church of the Promise in Louisville's Portland neighborhood; The Table, a pay-what-you-can community café; and Promise Housing Plus, a non-profit construction company. He has written about their experience of dreaming with God in his new book: Think Red. Archives
August 2023
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