Maturity

Let’s Work Together

/ Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

I was watching a documentary on TV awhile back. Yeah, it’s just part of my exciting life! I think it was at a star fair, maybe Wisconsin. There were these huge Belgian draft horses like the Budweiser Clydesdales in a contest to see how much weight they could pull. They started the single horses out at 1500 pounds, pulling a weighted sled. They’d add to the weight after every round and if a horse couldn’t pull the sled, they were out. It amazing how much weight these horses can pull. The winning horse pulled 8,000 pounds! Then it was time  for the ‘team pulling’ with two horses hitched up and yoked together. And, what happened was absolutely mind boggling.

You’d think that two of these draft horses would be able to pull about twice what one horse could pull but it turned out that they didn’t pull twice as much…..but exactly three times more than one horse! I found that to be pretty amazing, to say the least. After a little reading on the subject I learned that it’s fairly normal for two horses to pull three times the weight that one can pull. And, what caught my attention even more is that the phenomenon of synergy (the interaction or cooperation of two or more organizations, substances, or other agents to produce a combined effect greater than the sum of their separate effects) works with people….and organizations, as well.

The principle,……and the power, of synergy works with a husband and wife, a pair of business partners, leaders and their organizations, a shepherd and his ‘flock’…and the list goes on and on. The more people that are added to the equation, it appears the more incredible the results are apt to be. When it comes right down to it, it’s a whole lot more than just working together. It’s coming to agreement on a common goal and then ‘yoking’ up together, addressing the inevitable obstacles that will surely come, refusing to be divided over petty issues, keeping the focus on when the ‘chips’ are down, riding out the lean years…and the determination to keep going.

If you’ll work together, you’ll be like those draft horses…..your output will surprise you….and everyone around you!

Here’s a great song by ‘Canned Heat’, a 60’s band that performed at Woodstock, that captures the essence of synergy….and the power of working together.

*(Click on highlighted link) “Let’s Work Together”

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Shift Happens!

/ Andy R Taylor / 1 Comment

 Well, I bet that got your attention….for all the wrong reasons, too, no doubt! Lol. I’m not talking about the bumper sticker that you’re so familiar with, although there is some common ground between that and what I’m writing about today.

I was having a conversation with a young guy about a week ago. He’s a very sharp young guy…and one that I’d consider a ‘son’ in the Lord. He has tons of potential, and for his age displays a lot of character and maturity. I often think about how far ahead of the ‘curve’ he and a bunch of other young ones, are….compared to where I was, spiritually, in my mid to late ’20’s. It’s truly a blessing to see…and to know that I at least have had a little bit of influence with them is extremely rewarding.

He’s at a ‘juncture’ in his life; not a bad place at all but a place where he really doesn’t know exactly what to do. It’s the Lord that has brought him to this place….and it’ll be the Lord that’ll direct him from here. I do appreciate these young guys ‘leaning’ on me at times like this but I’m determined to never take the place of the Lord in their lives. And, while, many times I know exactly what decision they should make….I nearly always think it’s best to let them…and the Lord flesh it out. It seems to work and I really think the Lord likes that scenario a bunch better. But the most important thing that happens is the person learns to put his dependency on the Lord…..and not on me. That’s very, very healthy!

Times like these form and shape young believers (old ones too!) into their true identity. That’s where the title of this blog comes into play. When we’re faced with an issue, a problem or a dilemma and we arrive at the point of decision….there’s a ‘shift’ that takes place. The new understanding brings us into a ‘new’ place, a new point of perspective; we automatically begin to see things different. And in more ways than one….everything changes!

So, roll with it! And, keep in mind that anyone who’s serious about following the Lord is going to face a lot of times like that. It’s just a normal part of ‘the journey’. So the next time you see the ‘other bumper sticker’, let it be a reminder that ‘Shift Really Does Happen’!!

If you’re interested in one of my very favorite topics, “Hearing the Lord”, you really should read these:

“What’s The Lord Telling You?” Part 1

“What’s The Lord Telling You?” Part 2

If God Has Your Heart, He Can Get Your Feet Where They Belong!

You’re Better at Hearing the Lord Than You Think You Are!

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10 Tips That’ll Help You Become a “Learner”

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

I’m a learner; I like learning…and if you’re like me you can easily see that the possibilities for a learner are unlimited. We live in the information age where anything you want to know is simply a ‘click’ away. My Mom and Dad set me on the course of being a learner early on. One of the most profound things I’ve ever learned is a little something Dad told us when we were kids, and then reinforced it throughout mine and my brother’s  lives. Here’s what he said, “When you think you know it all, you’re as smart as you’re gonna get.”. That proves to be true if you’re a jet pilot or a lawyer; a plumber or a senator. But, the profound thing about it is that if you buy into it….it puts you on the path of being a lifetime learner. There’s a few practical things that I think’ll help if you want to choose to be a learner. *Keep in mind, it’s an inconclusive list…..since I’m still learning!

  1. Make a conscious choice to be a learner.
  2. If you’re going to be a learner, you must allow the truth(s) that you know to be challenged
  3. You must be able to consider ‘new’ information
  4. Learn to not reject opinions that differ from your own
  5. Listen!
  6. View every day as a day to learn
  7. View every event you encounter to be a learning experience
  8. Consider that every person in your life is there for you to learn from
  9. Some of the hardest things we endure in life hold the greatest lessons for us
  10. Be quick to ‘give away’ the things you learn

Caution: The tendency as we grow older is to taper off in our learning.

Learning is an Adventure! Embrace it!

As long as  you’re learning, you’re growing!

Try these too:

“It’s Not Your Job to Fix Them!”

Virtual Reality

Listen More …….. Learn More!

Listen Up!!

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Are You ‘Led’, or Are You ‘Driven’?

/ Andy R Taylor / 1 Comment

That’s a good question; and it’s an important question as it relates to how we’re living out our lives. Now, I’m not saying one or the other is correct for you. That’s totally up to you to decide….but I think we need to answer that question somewhere along the road of life. And, if you ask me, the sooner we’re able to answer it, the better. I’ve been both. And, truthfully now at nearly 63 and doing the math, I’ve spent about half my life in a ‘driven’ state….and the other half being ‘led’.

I’ve observed over the years different ones (some who I was very close to) who are extremely driven. They seem to always achieve more than those who are not so much that way. No real surprise there. But, when you look closer, it becomes apparent that many of those who are extremely driven can never get enough. And, whether the drive is for money, fame, fortune or even power….they never seem satisfied. They can’t relax, they can’t rest…they just can’t get enough, they have to have more. And, not that I’ve achieved any significant degree of success in those mentioned things….I can admit to,….and can relate to, being driven at times to have them.

But all that was early on in my life. It began to change at about age 30 for me, and only after I started learning to follow the Lord. I think it’s possible to try to reconcile the two. In fact it might even be a natural thing, at least at first,…..but it won’t work for long. It won’t work, primarily, because we’re created by the Lord, Himself to be ‘led’! He’s the One Who has the secrets to our lives; He’s the One Who has the ‘keys’ for our true contentment; He’s the One Who knows who we’re supposed to be…..and what we’re supposed to do with our lives.

Are you led…..or are you driven? My experience is, you’re one or the other; there’s no middle of the road. One way’ll leave you ‘never satisfied’…..the other will fully satisfy!

Check these out:

God Moves Through ‘Influence’ ……. Not ‘Control’!

God Is My Co-Pilot! ……and therein lies the problem!

 

 

It’s Either a Blessing or a Curse!

/ Andy R Taylor / 14 Comments

I know exactly which of the two it is….but, seriously, there are times that I wonder. As a kid there were a couple of my classmates that were killed in accidents, another one or two that died from vicious diseases. Joe Wingo, a ranch kid, was flying his kite when it got tangled up in some electric wires. He climbed up on a tank with a metal rod to try to untangle it when he was electrocuted. Joe Glenn Crane, just about the sweetest kid you’ve ever seen, was healthy as could be in the first grade….but by the third grade he’d contracted Muscular Dystrophy and was confined to a wheelchair. Both died before they were in junior high.

I was broken hearted both times; didn’t understand. Their funeral services were devastating for me. So, early on in my life, I subconsciously developed an attitude that would cause me to avoid funerals at any cost, no matter whose they were. It worked for me for a long time, or at least I thought so. It wasn’t long after I began doing ministry that I was asked to do my first funeral. I immediately thought, “No Way”! But the deceased person was the Granddad of a close personal friend so I felt like I couldn’t say no. I was serious in prayer with the Lord because I knew that I couldn’t do it without His help. I made it through the service just fine but didn’t really care if I ever did another one or not.

Well that was about 28 years ago and since that very first funeral I’ve done in the neighborhood of 360 more. Here’s my struggle; I can’t separate myself from the feelings that the family members of the deceased have. You’d think that after that many funeral services it’d get to be pretty routine. Not so for me. In fact it might be a funeral for someone that I don’t even know. I’ll get emotional just about every single time. When little grandkids come by the casket after the service is over and they’re breaking down with tears…..it’s about all I can do to contain myself. In some strange way it’s as if I’m feeling exactly what they feel. In fact about ten ears ago I did a service for a daddy and his little boy whose vehicle was t-boned by semi truck. It was hard and I remember driving from the church to the cemetery (about 15 miles) and telling the Lord, “I don’t want to do this anymore”. It was if the Lord spoke immediately my spirit, “Andy, you don’t have to do it anymore….but if you do I’ll give you a greater anointing to do it.” Well, here I am today…..still doin’ ’em!

I think Jesus was like this. It appears that He so identified with the feelings and the emotional state of people that he literally felt what they were feeling. There hasn’t been a funeral yet that has felt ‘routine’. Every single one is somebody’s grandmother, somebody’s dad, or somebody’s little girl. My next one….a little 16 year old boy, only child, a good kid that suffocated in a grain trailer. I’m already feeling what the family is feeling. I think I’ll be able to comfort and console them because of it.

It’s not a curse…..I know it’s a blessing. It just doesn’t feel like it a lot of the time!

Here’s a similar blog:

“Known”

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It’s All Good!

/ Andy R Taylor / 1 Comment

Here’s a catchy little Robert Zimmerman (more commonly known as Bob Dylan who turned 80 recently) tune that you might like titled, “It’s All Good”. (click here to listen) Not everyone likes Dylan (understandable, ….and you’re forgiven).…and hardly anyone likes him like I do but either way he’ll go down in music history as being the greatest poet/songwriter of our generation.

It’s all good! I like that phrase. I’ve already used it a time or two today. It’s ultra positive and anytime it’s spoken it gives everyone involved an upbeat feeling. It may not always be entirely a 100% accurate, which I think is still OK,  but it’s a perspective thing. It’s about making a positive declaration even when everything might not be exactly like you had hoped it would be. And, I think if we’re declaring that “It’s all good”, we might actually feel better about the things we’re having to deal with.

There’s just something about making a positive confession that’s good for the soul. It stirs optimism in our spirit, but that’s not all. It’s really an authentic statement of faith of the highest order. If you back up a little bit and look at the big picture you’ll grasp the reality that the Lord really does have control over all these, seemingly, chaotic things happening in the world today……including our own little petty dilemmas that we struggle with day in and day out. But we’ll only see those problems of ours’ as ‘petty’ and insignificant if we can look at them with an eternal perspective. When we do that….then we can start to believe our way out of our discouragement, knowing that there are better days ahead.

Looking back over 65+ years of ups and downs, victories and failures scattered along the road of life…..and considering where I COULD be. I’d have to say, “It’s All Good”!!

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Resistance Training

/ Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

I’m far from a fitness guru….but I have been going to the gym several times a week for the past 10-12 years. It’s hard to tell by looking at me, though! In fact, in a conversation with a friend a couple years back I mentioned that I regularly go to the gym. He looked at me kinda funny, laughed a little smirky laugh and said, “Really, ….you go to the gym”?!! … It kinda hurt my feelings.

But, seriously, going to the gym is something I do enjoy. I read a lot of fitness articles, get a half dozen health and fitness emails and blogs a week. I’ve always been ‘health minded’, so to speak, and I still enjoy learning about health and fitness issues. There’s a lot of information, and a lot of opinions out there. Occasionally there is conflicting information but for the most part it’s pretty consistent.

A good, balanced workout plan should have some cardio exercise such as running, walking or biking. But along with the cardio, one of the things that all the fitness experts agree on, for all ages, is the need to include ‘resistance training’ into our workout regimen. “Resistance training can come in various forms, the most common being the use of free weights (barbells, dumbbells), universal weight machines, rubber exercise bands or even our own body weight. There are significant benefits of resistance training including bone, muscle and ligament strength, improved joint function, increased metabolism and improved cardiac function. If we’re serious at all about our own physical fitness it makes sense to include some resistance training.

I’m thinking that our spiritual health and well-being should also include a good dose of ‘resistance training’. If you think about it there’s hardly ever a time that we’re not enduring some kind of unpleasant situation in our life. It might be a relational challenge, financial situation, dealing with a problem child or family member or it might even be a physical ailment. Anytime you’re going up against any of these things….that’s resistance. And, just as physical resistance training helps to stabilize and grow our muscles, these things we go through go a long ways in strengthening our faith and our overall spiritual life. As hard as they might be, going through them,….in the long haul they’re very good for us. We’re being conformed into the image of Jesus….at least that’s what the Book says. And the trials of our lives are critical in that process.

So, if you’re going to the gym and getting your body in shape…be sure and add some resistance training. It’ll be good for you! And while you’re going through all the challenges that life offers,….don’t forget…..resistance training is vital for your spiritual health, too!

Pass these on to your friends if you like ’em!

Check these out:

What If It’s Not to ‘Break’ You,….but to ‘Make’ You?

‘Betrayal’ – Nothing Easy About It!

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Here’s Our Chance!

/ Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

“I came here looking for something I couldn’t find anywhere else.” It seems to be the heart cry of a lot of people these days who are willing take a chance on the Lord…..or maybe even willing to take a chance on the  church. We’re living in, what seems to be, very uncertain times. But there is a growing undercurrent of people looking for some ‘real’ answers to their real problems. They don’t want the ‘religious’, churchy, ‘holier than thou’ thing….and who could blame ’em? That never actually worked for anybody,anyway! No, they’re looking for something genuine, authentic, real. They don’t know what it looks like, or feels like……but they know what it doesn’t feel like. The church in America really needs to adjust to be relevant for the times we’re in. Our message is timeless…..but the methods of reaching the world are stale…..and everyone knows it except the people in the church. For some reason they’re the last to get the news. We won’t get many chances with these ‘searchers’; we better get it right!

Many of these people are desperate, desperate enough, in fact, to gamble and see if this God they hear us talking about exists or not. They’ll try, and try hard. At least that’s what I’m seeing of late. But when we make them feel like they can’t make it or make them feel like they’re not good enough…..they’ll believe that’s how God sees them, too. They think, “Hey, you don’t know me, but you don’t like me…..and you say you care less how I feel.” If we don’t act like we care and make them feel important ….they’ll, in turn, believe that they’re not important to Him. They won’t hang around for that! ….and again, who could blame ’em? Tragic!

Deep down, they all wonder if the Lord could really love somebody like them. They have an inner sense of destiny (that’s a God-given thing!) but they haven’t found anyone who can give them the key to help unlock those secrets. They’d say, “I ain’t tryin’ to be nobody, I just want a chance to be myself.”.

Here’s our chance! Let’s get it right!

*Oh, and by the way…..“I came here looking for something I couldn’t find anywhere else. I ain’t trying to be nobody, I just want a chance to be myself.” That’s the first two lines of the #1 country song by Buck Owens and Dwight Yoakum, “Streets of Bakersfield”! click here to watch.

Share these blogs if you find them helpful! Thanks….AT

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It’s Better to “Be” The House!

/ Andy R Taylor / 3 Comments

Every so often, on a Sunday morning, one of our worship leaders will say something like, “Isn’t it good to be in the house of the Lord”. That’s what most people call the church building. And, that’s a pretty fair assessment of what it actually is. But if you take the people out of that ‘house’, it is really just another building. There’s nothing holy about a building. It’s the people that make it the ‘house of the Lord’.

Every time I hear them say that I say to myself, “Yeah, it’s good to be ‘in’ the house of the Lord…..but it’s better to ‘be’ the house of the Lord!”. If you find that to be a strange observation….here’s where I’m coming from. Paul, in one of his letters said it this way, “Don’t you know that you’re the temple of God, and that the Holy Spirit lives in you?” Paul had received a great revelation when he had his encounter with the Lord on the road to Damascus. It totally, and literally, turned his world, not upside down but, ‘right side up’! He talked about, in another of his letters, “a mystery among the Gentiles, which is, Christ in you….the hope of glory”. God doesn’t live in structures built with hands. In fact, he could live anywhere He wants to….but His choice is to live in us, individually and corporately. It’s this ‘temple’ that He wants to restore….and fill with His glory.

So, I’ll agree…..it’s good to be “in” the house of the Lord….but it’s even better to “be” the house of the Lord!

You’ll like these too:

Just For the Record, You Didn’t ‘Find’ the Lord

We’re on a ‘Need to Know’ Basis with the Lord!!

“Don’t Just Do Something, Stand There!!”

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Why I Don’t Watch Christian TV

/ Andy R Taylor / 7 Comments

Let me first say that I’m not trying to influence anyone in any way. To watch….or not to watch…that’s your own business. And if you’re getting blessed by Christian TV….watch on!! I’m just stating my own opinion. And my reasons for not watching may not be valid for you in the least. When my life first ‘made the turn’, so to speak, back in November of ’84 I did watch quite a bit of Christian TV. I even watched Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker some. I did find them to be a little peculiar but, what the heck, I did learn a few things by watching their show. Same with Paul and Jan Crouch; peculiar people but no big deal at the time. And I do believe that lots of people were blessed through their TV ministries, even though I didn’t send my $100 for the little bottle of ‘holy water’ from the Red Sea.

But the further I went the less I watched TBN, The 700 Club and shows like that. For the most part, at least for me, it started feeling un-authentic, a little too much put-on, and way too theatrical for my liking. I would catch Jack Hayford from time to time, which was always good. There were a few others who weren’t ‘regulars’ that I’d try to watch if I had the chance. But it wasn’t too long that I found myself not watching Christian TV programming at all. (Been about 20 years now) And now if I’m surfing through the DISH channels and happen to cross one of those networks it just seems that I’m now further and further away from where they are and what they’re saying…..and from what I believe and perceive the Lord is saying to me. 

But the clincher for me came a few years back when someone very close to me was contacted by one of those TV shows. It was one of the most highly acclaimed ones….and one that you’d surely know if I had the liberty to disclose it. This person’s life has been one of the most, if not THE most, dramatic conversions and transformations that I’ve seen in all my years. And after several phone interviews with my friend and then with me….they declined to do the story. Why?? Because, according to their representative, his conversion and transformation didn’t fit their grid of how it should happen. Tragic….in that this person’s life….and his story could have made the difference in hundreds, if not thousands who might’ve seen the TV show.

I left that situation discouraged and, to tell the truth,….about half ticked off. It was obvious to me that they were completely out of touch with what often happens out here in the real world. There’s no formula and there’s no set way for someone coming to the Lord. There’s millions of different scenarios and I wouldn’t argue the validity of any of them. “Any man who calls upon the name of the Lord will be saved”.

The cynical part of me would say that if my friend would’ve just said, “I was at the end of my rope, on drugs and ready to commit suicide and I turned on the TV and the  “- – – – – – Show” was on and I fell down on my knees and cried out to God.”, that they would’ve done the show as quickly as possible.

So, don’t get me wrong….I think there might be a place for Christian TV….but it needs to be authentic, it needs to ‘not’ be about money, and it needs to be relevant for what the Lord is saying and doing in our generation.

Check These Out:

Virtual Reality

Quit Telling Me What The Problem Is!!

It’s Not Too Late to Make a ‘Mark’ With Your Life!

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