P.O. Box 6287, Grand Rapids, MI 49516-6287
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is on file at the Library of Congress, Washington, DC.
Some names and details have been changed to protect the privacy of the individuals involved.
Published in association with the literary agent Tawny Johnson of D. C. Jacobson & Associates LLC, an Author Management Company, www.dcjacobson.com.
Endorsements
God has given Aaron a really unique platform to love on people, and he is having a huge impact for the kingdom of God around the world. Outrageous is a collection of hilarious, faith-filled stories he has collected on the journey. I really believe it will inspire you to embrace the abundant life God has for you, and it will challenge you to use whatever gifts and opportunities he gives you to be his hands and feet.
Todd Mullins , senior pastor of Christ Fellowship
Outrageous: Awake to the Unexpected Adventures of Everyday Faith by Aaron Tredway is just that, an adventure of faith! So often our faith is anything but an adventure. Through the pages of this book, get ready to be awakened to the great adventure of living on mission with Jesus!
Derwin L. Gray, lead pastor of Transformation Church; author of Limitless Life
Some speakers inspire. Some writers inspire. Few can switch-hit with the same results. Aaron Tredway can and does in these amazing racestwenty-four chapters of outrageous adventures around the world. HonestI read half of these page-turning stories to my wife and we both agreed Outrageous is the perfect book for family, friends, colleagues, and clients. Whew! The stories are incredible, like Sleep in the Middle, or Son of the King, or Jeus Calling (my favorite). Aarons heart for God and every soul on the planet shines through. Outrageous touched my heart.
John Pearson , author of Mastering the Management Buckets
Outrageous is a very entertaining, exciting, and encouraging read on the phenomenal things that can and will happen when we are willing to let go of fear and doubt and boldly go where God leads us. After reading Aarons book, I am even more convinced that a Christ-centered life is the only way we can have life more abundantly. If you have doubts that God can make the impossible possible, read Outrageous: Awake to the Unexpected Adventures of Everyday Faith , because Aaron Tredways life will make you reconsider!
Jerod Cherry , three-time Super Bowl champion; cohost of The Really Big Show on ESPN Cleveland
This book ends with a simple but profound question, What do you have to lose? I had been a Christian since I was twelve but did not become a Christ-follower until I was forty. Everything, everything changed... life became fuller, not easy... became joyful even in hardship... became content but not necessarily comfortable... became peaceful even in the midst of uncertainty. My life began an Outrageous journey and that is the only way to experience real life. All the important relationships in my life have exploded to a deeper level of love and commitmentmy wife, my children, my friends. I even began to love my enemies. Why? Because I began to see the clear message and journey that Aaron so vividly describes in Outrageous . This culture promotes the prosperity of comfort, chasing after riches, and entitlement. But Jesus says whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Outrageous is a must-read because you will ask yourself the question, What do you have to lose?... and in the process you might find life, and life more than abundant!
Dr. Jeff Duke , creator and author of 3 Dimensional Coaching
Aaron Tredway, in his book Outrageous , takes us with him on a wild adventure and an exhilarating ride involving people, sports, culture, and spirituality. Aaron is one who knows how God takes ordinary people like us and allows us to experience life like we could never have imagined! Youll love Outrageous .
Dave Gibbons , founder of Xealots.org; author of Xealots: Defying the Gravity of Normality
Dedication
To Noah:
you are outrageous.
Contents
Cover
Title Page
Copyright Page
Endorsements
Dedication
Introduction: Waking Up
1. Im In
2. Son of the King
3. Letters Home
4. Stolen
5. Stovi Stars
6. Bens Bunnies
7. The Fog
8. Shag the Balls
9. Annual Meeting
10. You Dont Have to Do This
11. In a Relationship
12. Backside Philosophy
13. American Hamburgers
14. Playing behind the Dump
15. T-NBA
17. Claire
18. Jess Calling
19. Mafia Party
20. Public Shower
21. Cycle for Hope
22. Viral Opposition
23. The Riot
24. Running Statues
Conclusion: It All Begins with a Simple Prayer
Acknowledgments
About the Author
Back Ads
Back Cover
Introduction
Waking Up
I USED TO HAVE A FRIEND NAMED H ARRY . Harry was one of those guys who had all the stuff. Not like David Beckham has great hair or Taylor Swift writes cool pop songs, but Harry had what he needed. I met Harry working out in the gym; he was on a recumbent bike, I was on an elliptical. Actually, we were at the gym and I was working out. Harry was not.
The day I met Harry I had just moved from Cape Town, South Africa, to Cleveland, Ohioin January . Dont judge me. I spent the first twenty-two years of my life in California, but almost every year since has been a total free-for-all. I realize moving to Cleveland in January seems outrageous, but so was sleeping between a four-hundred-pound Zimbabwean couple in their mud hut, being mistaken for the son of a king, dancing naked around a bonfire at three a.m. with a pygmy village chief, or the time I spent living in a yurt, burning cow dung for warmth, somewhere in Outer Mongolia. Ive noticed that outrageous things often happen in my life when Im awake to their possibility and willing to act when the opportunity arises. Needless to say, an outrageous life is my ambition, and the stories I share in this book are all about the outrageous things that happen when you invite God to navigate the course of your life and open yourself to opportunities you might not have ever considered.
Harry was a little outrageous as well. The first time I saw him in the gym he was dressed from head to toe in the latest, most fashionable, high-tech workout gear you can buy. Some might think Harry had gone a bit overboard while shopping at the local sporting goods store. He had Dri-FIT everything: shirt, shorts, windbreaker, wristbandsyou name it, Harry had it. I suppose I didnt check his underpants, but we had only just met.
Harry intrigued me, and not just because of his gear. At the time of our meeting Harry was at least eighty-five years old. Trust me, thats a conservative guesshe could have easily passed for one hundred and five. A thick yellow headband complete with the iconic swoosh was plastered to his forehead, holding back the caged yet ferocious white lion that was his static-filled afro.