Get Stoked
Listen to The stoke
I’ve used the word “stoke” for as long as I can remember. After all, it’s part of our English colloquial lexicon. A kind of slang.
In the 1950’s “the stoke” became a popular term for surf riders. The stoke is high when you’re on the waves. It means, to be “overjoyed, ecstatic, thrilled, delighted.”
You’ll also find the word “stoke” attached to town or village names in the United Kingdom. It comes from the Old English term (which is probably rooted even further back in the Old Norse) stoc, which means a settlement or farm. So, as a noun, stoke can mean a place.
But the word “stoke” also has roots in the Germanic language, from which we get “stick.” And the German was influenced by the Latin instigare which means, “to spur on.”
Before we head out to the woods or the mountains or the U.S. National White Water Center here in Charlotte, where we mountain bike, I tell the girls, “Get stoked!”
“Instigare” means, “to spur on.”
They will flash me the “hang loose” sign or raise their “rock fists” and say, “Yeah, get stoked!”
Turns out the German and Latin “stick” and “spur on” root their meanings in the idea of “adding fuel to the fire,” or using a stick to push the coals of a fire together—to get the flames up, raging, and burning brighter.
I love that we find this “stoke” idea in the New Testament.
The writer of Hebrews urges his readers to stoke the fires of their faith. “Let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds,” he says. But it’s not just about offering fellow Christians a word of encouragement.
The stoke comes from gathering together. It’s when we gather, that we should be caught up in the act of stoking one another on toward love and good deeds.
Why should we do this?
Because who doesn’t need encouragement in their faith? Who doesn’t need a time set aside to meet with brothers and sisters of the faith and hear stories of how God is working?
Hope grows in togetherness.
Hope does not grow in isolation.
But when we gather and lift each other up, our hope is stoked, our faith-coals are pushed together, igniting new flames.
When we neglect meeting together for the sake of stoking, we run the risk of falling into bad theology, weird teaching, or spiritual despair.
If you think “church” is about driving to a building, or punching your “spiritual” time-card or dressing up and looking the part of the “all-put-together-person” then you need some stoking, my friend.
We gather to worship the living God, first and foremost—church is about him.
And as we gather, we share with one another, spurring one another on in this life of faith.
We gather to stoke the fires of our faith so that we can persevere through the muck life throws at us.
We gather to hear stories of overcoming—so that our overcoming-hope grows.
We gather to share our own stories of pain and hurt and despair and how God met us in those dark places and delivered us.
We gather so that we never give up! To persevere! To fight!
And if what I’m saying is true, then let’s stop walking past one another in the halls of that big monstrous building, that too-cool-for-school “space,” and hug each other, for crying out loud.
Bear-hug me because I need it. Bear-hug me to stoke my fires. Because you better believe I’m going to hug you. I may even greet you with a holy kiss—watch out!
I’m sure my earl-grey-tea-breath will stoke something in you.
So you see, I love this word “stoke” not just because of its 1950’s roots in the surf community. What really gets me fired up about this word “stoke” is what it means for us in our day to day lives.
What if we all woke up each morning, and, as we scroll through our mental notes of what we need to accomplish, we also add in ideas on how we can stoke someone’s spiritual fire. What if we woke up thinking, “Hmm, how can I spur another brother or sister on toward love and good deeds?”
That’s what this little podcast is about. It’s about spurring you on toward love and good deeds—to give you a shot of encouragement and refreshment.
This podcast began as short blog posts posts that I’d send out on Saturday mornings. Then, I recorded myself reading them for those of you who prefer to listen while you’re making coffee or stirring your tea or walking the dog.
And, after some prodding by many of you, I’ve turned these little recordings into the official The Saturday Stoke podcast.
So, if you love the idea of a weekly shot of encouragement in the form of a 3-5 minute morsel of stoke, then you’ve come to the right place.
It’s time to re-ignite the flames of our faith, my friends. It’s time to get the stoke back.
Stay stoked my friends!
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