A Father’s Day Reflection

June 22, 2015June 22, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

Father’s Day, it’s nice to be honored for being a Dad! As I thought about what I’d teach on Father’s Day (which was yesterday), it became apparent to me that as dads go….I’ve had it pretty good. And while we didn’t grow up going to church, Cliff Taylor really had it together in how to be a great dad. So, in preparing my message for yesterday I wanted to approach it with three emphases. 1) A day to honor The Father. 2) Encourage dads to become ‘spiritual’ fathers. 3) Practical tips for being a great dad. As I remembered the extremely positive things Cliff Taylor (and Charlene Taylor too!!) did in raising my brother, Monty and me….it seemed that these traits would be pertinent for spiritual fathers as well…..and traits that God, our Father, possesses as well.

1) He took us; My dad took us with him anytime it was possible. *We learned a lot just be ‘being with’ him

2) He helped us do things; He made the things that were important to us….important to him…even when he couldn’t really afford it!

3) He taught us; We grew up on a ranch. We learned all kinds of things. We could do things at 10 or 11 that most men couldn’t

4) He was an example; Cliff Taylor was a great example of a man. The most important thing was in how he treated people.

5) He corrected us; He believed in correction! We’re better men, by far, because of it.

6) He believed in us; Somehow he imparted to us that ‘we could do it’

7) He was there; Well, he was literally ‘there’, but he was and still is ( at 86 yrs old) here when we need someone

8) He loved my mom; One of the best things a dad can do for his kids. Good job, Dad!

9) He protected us; There was never a time that we felt in danger when dad was around. Nobody messed with us.

10) He loved us; There was never a question. He said it…..and he showed it!

*God, the Father, is like that too!

Apply these principles with your natural children, and apply them with your ‘spiritual’ children and you’ll be way ahead of the game!

Oh, and incidentally, my Father’s Day was totally off the charts! My youngest son, Clay and his pretty wife, Chelsea announced to us that they’re going to have a baby in January!! What a Father’s Day!!

Lives Matter!

May 27, 2015July 9, 2016 / Andy R Taylor / 1 Comment

Lots of conflict on the news lately. It seems that racial tension is nearly as high as it was in the ’60’s. I remember that. I actually thought we had made some major strides in overcoming that in the last few decades but it doesn’t take too many like Al Sharpton egging it on to get everyone stirred up again. In my opinion he’s used up way more than his fifteen minutes of fame!

The cry from communities like we’ve seen in Baltimore and Ferguson, MO is that “Black Lives Matter”. I could not agree more! It’s kind of a ‘no brainer’, huh? I saw a sign in a yard in a nearby town that says that “Police Lives Matter”. Agree again! The truth is, and only an idiot would argue otherwise, that all lives matter! I’m discouraged that in the greatest nation on the planet we’re even having this discussion. I don’t doubt that in many areas there are some strong prejudices and biases against minorities. I’m a country boy and I haven’t had to deal with that much, so I don’t consider myself an expert in the least. I just know it doesn’t work….it doesn’t work for anyone! It’s the classic ‘lose-lose’ situation!

I think we’ve gotta stop making it a ‘white’ issue, or a ‘black’ issue and make it a human being issue! “Do unto others as you’d have them do unto you” still works! I agree that it’s a deeper and more complex discussion and that there’s at least dozen or more points to be considered. But let’s not make it any more complicated than it already is.

If there’s anything positive going to happen, you and I should at least do our part. A good start is deciding that “Lives Matter”….. all of them! And anytime we see racial prejudices in our little world, we should step in, if possible, and be the voice of reason, righteousness and reconciliation. We should take the position of ‘peacemakers’ and see what happens. I know the Lord’ll bless the effort.

I doubt that many of my regular blog readers are racist…..hopefully none! So, in that sense….I’m preaching to the choir. But if you were to “Share” this post it might just hit someone that could make a huge difference. In the meantime, let’s all decide that “Lives Matter”!!

VIP #4 – Paul Luchsinger

May 26, 2015January 23, 2022 / Andy R Taylor / 3 Comments

My rodeo career was just finishing up and Paul’s was just getting in full swing. We’d crossed paths a couple of times but we didn’t really know one another. Fast forward a few years and we had moved from Texas to Oklahoma and started the church in Sayre in ’89. I started hearing about Paul and, his then wife, Susie’s (Reba McEntire’s sister) ministry, which was pretty significant to say the least. We, again, crossed paths a time or two but I never got to spend much time with them.

In about 2008 I bumped into Paul in Wheeler, Texas. We had just finished a leadership training event in a church there and went out to eat. He was in the restaurant with a friend. We talked briefly and went on our way. He said later that the Lord told him that night that he needed to move to Sayre. He came over for a visit or two but it was a full two years before he moved here permanently. After being here a short time, he confessed that he should’ve been here all along.

Paul was not good. Diagnosed with terminal liver cancer and in the process of getting a divorce. His relationship with his kids (all grown) was strained, at best. He was angry, bitter and pretty hard to get along with. He had so many regrets about his life and just couldn’t find any peace to move on. He sorely regretted doing ministry from a condemning standpoint (his own testimony). And just when he’d be at his worst, someone would inevitably show up or call and tell him that 20 years ago, something he said to them totally changed their life. We included him in every single thing we did here. This story’s not about us, but there are some people around here that just won’t let you stay in a defeated mode. We propped him up, we encouraged him, we chastised him when it was unavoidable, we straight-up told him to quit beating himself up,…..but most of all we just loved him, ……and he started to change.

It was a process…but he caught the significance of having a real relationship with the Father, which in turn began to affect every other relationship that he had. He caught the tsunami of God’s grace and he was never the same after that. He started backtracking and repairing broken relationships, none of the least of which was with his children, E.P., Lucchese and Samuel. He was determined to love them and to be there for them in a way, which he said, he’d never really done before. He got that accomplished!

I often compare Paul Luchsinger with the Apostle Paul of bible fame. Both were full of dead religion until their ‘encounter’ with the God of grace. And after that….neither one was ever to be the same! His bitterness was totally gone and he was a blessing to every single person he came into contact with. There’s no telling how many people he helped as he pointed them to the Father. Even when his health was deteriorating he never complained….he always made it about everyone else. He ‘fought the good fight’ like nobody I’ve ever seen before….and may never see again.

I was in North Carolina when Paul graduated to heaven. Not embarrassed to admit that I shed quite a few tears when I received the news. I’m a little sad for us….but not sad for Paul at all. Paul Luchsinger got well in Sayre, Oklahoma! He finished STRONG! I’m sure that he’s not just a VIP in my books, but undoubtedly a VIP in the Father’s eyes!

**Paul Luchsinger was promoted to heaven on May 12, 2015

“Loosen the Bible Belt a Little!”

May 19, 2015May 19, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

I grew up in the Bible Belt.…but I didn’t grow up in church. I was very surprised when at age 30 after my life had ‘made the turn’, how much influence that just living in the BB had on me. I realized that I had preconceived ideas about the church and its practices, without ever attending. (by the time I was 30 I had probably only been in a church 15 times, including funerals)

You’d naturally think that if you’re a believer and you live in the Bible Belt, that would be a good thing, right? Well, I guess there could be some advantages to living there but, Bible Belt mentality can really stand in the way of kingdom progress. As a leader I’ve found that anytime you go against the grain of that religious mindset and practice you’re a target of some sharp, mean-spirited criticism. Same way with Jesus; religious tradition was so strong in His day that it made His mandate from the Father extremely difficult.

I’m not against religious tradition….unless that tradition is standing in the way of what God wants to do….then I’m very against it. In Jesus’ day religious tradition was not just a ‘bad’ thing…..it was the most evil thing. It wasn’t the sinners that fought against the things that Jesus said and did….it was the religious crowd!

I don’t particularly enjoy the criticism of going against the religious grain, but it’s worth it to me to endure it so that there can at least be a chance of an authentic expression of Christianity.

It’s an uphill climb….but the Lord is on our side

We Oughta Get Our Ducks in a Row!! Part 3 – Parenting Our Children

May 5, 2015May 5, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 2 Comments

Getting our ducks in a row involves setting our priorities in proper order. #1 on that list is to give our spiritual life the attention that it needs. #2 is making your relationship with our spouse as important as it’s really supposed to be. It just makes sense that #3 would be to work on our responsibility as parents.

Being a parent is one of the greatest blessings that we can experience in our lifetime. Children are a ‘gift’ of the Lord. I’ve often said, and I totally believe it’s true that the love we have for our children is exactly like the love the Father has for us. We don’t love our children because we’re supposed to; we don’t love them because it’s the ‘noble’ thing to do; we don’t love them because it’s right; No, while all those things may be somewhat true…..we love our children just exactly like the Father loves us…..because He can’t help it!!

This is not a conclusive treatise and I’m far from an expert on parenting but I have learned a few things in my 38 years of being a dad. Some of those things I’ve learned the hard way….by doing them wrong first. Maybe I can pass along a few tips so you won’t have to learn them that way.

Everything we’ve done down through the years, we’ve done as a family…..I mean the ‘whole crew’! That’s one of the things that I think we really got right! We hardly ever missed any activities that our kids were involved in. That’s quite a challenge when you have as many kids as we had! There were a lot of days I’d come home from work to find a note from Julie that she had gone to one of the kid’s soccer games. I’d head out and make a baseball game of one of the the others. Those things, I think, are really important!

We all have to work for a living but our jobs are never more important than our children. It’s a challenge but we need to learn to adjust our lives so we’re able to spend quality time with our kids. We’ve done a good job in showing and telling our kids that they’re loved. We’ve disciplined them. We’ve tried to release them so they could each be the person the Lord wants them to be. All those things say loud and clear, “I love you”!

It Ain’t Grace’s Fault!

April 21, 2015April 21, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 1 Comment

I’ve heard several definitions of grace; ‘God’s ‘unmerited’ favor’, seems to be the one most often heard. I guess I agree with that except for the fact that it just seems to come up short. When you’ve actually experienced the Father’s grace it’s hard to find enough words in our vocabulary to adequately define it. All I know is, grace is GOOD! It’s a huge part of the nature of God….and if He has His way it’ll be a huge part of our nature as well!

Grace has recently become an extremely controversial subject.…and I can’t, for the life of me, figure out why! The accusations fly toward those who talk grace from those who say that us ‘grace people’ are saying that you can just go out and sin all you want. Never said that; never even thought it! Accusations fly from those who want to stay connected to the ‘law’, indicating that we need to do something to complete the work that Jesus Himself said was “finished’!

Most believers want to keep us ‘tethered’ to the Law but those who teach/preach a ‘mixture’ of law and grace….aren’t preaching grace at all! The ‘religious’ people in Jesus’ day couldn’t receive grace; “too good to be true” they contended. And it’s the same argument today. An accurate understanding of grace always leads to less sin, it never leads to more sin! The subject of grace is having a ‘polarizing’ effect in the church today. And it’s very critical as to which side you find yourself on?

You can blame it on the person who uses grace as an opportunity to sin; you can blame it on a ‘skewed’ understanding of what grace really is; you can even blame it on the selfish person who just wants to ‘use’ the Lord to further his own cause, you can argue that it’s too good to be true. But whatever you do, don’t blame grace! It ain’t grace’s fault!

Who Owns Who??

April 7, 2015April 7, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 6 Comments

I got saved in ’74. I was at a Countywide Crusade in Wheeler, Texas sitting on the back row. When it came invitation time I knew I was supposed to go forward and give my life to the Lord….so I did. There was definitely something different. Julie had a little paperback “Living Bible” and I started reading it. I started on page 1, and got over in the book of Leviticus and got all bogged down in all those “begats” and put it down and didn’t pick it up much for the next ten years. I didn’t have any Christian friends and I drifted way off from the Lord. Nobody’s fault….it just happened.

For the next ten years when I’d get in a jam in my life, I’d run to the Lord. When that set of unpleasant circumstances was over I was back to my own way again. I did that over and over for ten years. Looking back I call that a ‘disposable relationship’ with the Lord. I think a lot of people have that kind of on-again, off-again relationship with Him. In that sense He was just a possession of mine that I’d use when I needed Him and then return to my own way, never having any real, ongoing relationship with Him.

A lot of people are like I was…..just ‘using’ the Lord for our own benefit. But later on in ’84 when my life made an abrupt turn I started having an, altogether, different perspective. I began to understand that I was His possession! “We were bought at a price, we should glorify God in our body, which is His”. We’re not just His possession…..we’re His most prized possession! From Mt. Everest to the Sahara Desert, to the redwoods in California and the Amazon River….all those things that He created and that the world recognizes as the handiwork of God…..they all dim in monumental insignificance in the light of how much He loves you and I!

Going forward….let’s come to the realization that we belong to Him….we’re His possession. It’ll change our entire perspective on our lives!

“Known”

March 26, 2015April 13, 2020 / Andy R Taylor / 6 Comments

One of the things that frequently comes my way as a pastor is the performing of funerals. It’s kinda amazing what the Lord has done; when I was a young man I’d avoid going to them at all because of the feeling that it left me with. But soon after I was in the ministry I got my first request to do one. I immediately thought, “There’s no way!” Even though I said yes, I wasn’t sure I could do it. But I found that the Lord had given me grace to do it and I made it through the first one. Since that time I’ve done right at 350 more funerals. It’s always an honor to be asked to do a service but it carries with it a good size load of stress. But I figure, compared to the grieving family….I’ve got the easy part.

I recently got a call from the funeral home to do a service. I didn’t recognize the name of the woman but I said yes, anyway. I was sure that I’d know someone in the family but after reading the obituary I, again, didn’t recognize anyone. I met with the family the next day to plan the service and I was sure I’d know at least one of them. Nope, didn’t know any of them, either. It was apparent that the family didn’t have many resources; the cardboard casket was just more evidence of that. On the day of the funeral, I asked the funeral director if he knew this family, to which he said, “No”. I told him that I didn’t know them either, to which he replied, “Well, they know you!” and “They specifically asked for you!”

I can’t explain in words how that made me feel. It’s one thing to be ‘known’ in the company of the ‘elite’, and I guess I have a few acquaintances in that small crowd. But it’s a totally different thing to be ‘known’ in the community of the downtrodden! I can’t remember when anything left me feeling more honored than that!

Laugh a Little! …….. No, Make That a Lot!

March 17, 2015April 7, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / 5 Comments

Why? It’s just healthy, that’s why! Julie and I were sitting watching America’s Funniest Videos a few days ago, which we never do. It was just on and we didn’t change the channel. I started watching and there was just one funny video clip after another. Some of them were, of course, funnier than others….and some of them I literally laughed out loud. I even did the TIVO thing and watched several of them three or four times. What I noticed is that my general demeanor just naturally changed from laughing at the video clips. And it changed in a really positive way. I just felt better!

I’m pretty sure that most of us don’t laugh enough. I mean, life IS serious.…it really is. And it can really take a toll on us over the course of time. It can, and will, erode our emotional state to the point of anxiety and depression if we let it. Most everyone agrees, and it has even been proven scientifically, that a poor attitude (sad, discouraged, discontent, angry, bitter, etc.) eventually begins to affect our health in some very negative ways.

I firmly believe that we need to do something to offset the emotional damage that’s being done to us. And if you ask me, laughter is one certain way to do it! I know you’re thinking, “Easier said than done!” Here’s a few things that I think might help: 1) Get an eternal perspective; If you belong to the Lord, everything is, somehow, going to work out in the long-haul. Jesus even said that we were to have “His joy”!! 2) Learn to laugh at yourself! That’s definitely been one that has worked for me over the years. It works for me to ‘not’ take myself so seriously! 3) Identify things that make you laugh; My grandkids make me happy…..even writing now I smile when I think about them! *And if your attitude is in ICU, Google a baby that gets so tickled that he can’t quit laughing and that’ll get you going! 4) Chill out! Yeah, really…..just chill out a little bit. You can do it with a little effort.

Oh, ……and it has also been scientifically (and Biblically, too; Pr 17:22) proven that laughter has definite healing properties!

Don’t just laugh a little…….Laugh a lot! Life will be so much better!

“I Yub Oo Too Daddy”

March 5, 2015April 7, 2015 / Andy R Taylor / Leave a comment

I’ve learned so much from my kids about my relationship with the Father but this one is priceless! Saying “I love you” has been a regular, consistent and heartfelt thing around our house since Julie and I were married 38 years ago, …and it still is today. We were only married a year when Clint was born and our lives have been rich, as parents of 5 phenomenal kids.

I’ve found that God is faithful to instruct us in whatever situations we find ourselves in. But being a parent offers, maybe, the best scenario of being in the ‘school of life’ and for learning from Him.

When one of my little boys (I’ll withhold his name so as not to risk any chance of embarrassment) was just beginning to learn to talk I’d catch myself 10-15 times a day telling him “I love you”, to which he’d reply, “I yub oo too, Daddy”. First off, I do love him….but the Lord got me to thinking about it. And it became apparent that the thing that I enjoyed the most about it was that I loved to hear him tell me in his unique little way that he loved me too.

The Lord showed me that my little boy had absolutely no idea, whatsoever, what the word ‘love’ meant. And that for you and I and our understanding of love compared with God’s concept of love is exactly the same. Although we’re learning…there’s still a great distance between our understanding of love…and what love means to Him! He doesn’t just ‘have’ love….He is love!!

Here’s what I learned;

1) When you tell someone that you love them….it means to them what love means to them!

2) So when my little toddler said, “I yub oo too, Daddy”, it meant to me what love means to me! *That’s why I loved hearing it as much as I did. We have a need to be loved….and hearing it is important.

3) So, (It gets better!) when you tell the Father that you love Him…….it means to Him what love means to Him!!

4) So, as our understanding of love grows, and even if there’s a vast difference in our concept and His….keep telling the Father you love Him because I believe He really likes to hear it!!