Vision Is Crucial!!!

Well, as you all know it’s been a while since I’ve blogged.  No good excuse…just hasn’t been high on my priority list lately.  But, after taking a couple of months off from the blog world I’m now ready to throw my hat back in the ring…hopefully a little more consistently.

So, I want to address a subject that I see as a real problem among Christians and especially Christian leaders.  You see, as a pastor now for almost 20 years I’ve been exposed to just about every dysfunctional leadership quality a minister could legitimately tolerate.  And quite frankly, the older I get the more it sickens me.  What is it?  Poor vision!!!  I really don’t understand how we “Christians” can proclaim that we love Jesus when many of us never go out of our way to ever invest in the lost.  We say we have a vision to “see His kingdom grow” or “win the sinners”; but, quite frankly, all it is…is words!!!  I read a statistic some time ago that basically said that 90% of people who call themselves Christians have never or never will lead anyone to Christ.

Can I tell you what I believe the American Christian’s vision is today?  Themselves!!!  Bigger houses!!!   Nicer cars!!!  Larger 401K’s!!!

Now, for those of you who have big houses, nice cars, large 401K’s, don’t shut me out!  Those things aren’t evil in-and-of-themselves; however, when they begin to rule and dominate our spiritual perspective…then our eternal vision becomes skewed.  What about you?  How’s your vision?  Is it on Jesus and His life-changing message?  Just a few questions.

Over the years of watching and observing leaders who are visionaries, I’ve come up with a few things I feel a genuine vision will cost you:

1.  Your passion.  Why did we ever think a true vision would just come to us without any work?  If there’s one thing I’ve realized about following God’s vision for my life is that I’ve had to work my BUTT off to get to where I am.  Our church has experienced tremendous success these last three years, but it didn’t just happen!!!  There’s been a great deal of prayer, dedication and elbow grease put into this church plant.

Can I tell you a secret?  I’ve found that many (not all) of the pastors I know are lazy.  Sorry, but that’s what I’ve seen.  I realize I’ll probably get all kind of hate email on that one.  But, that’s my genuine observation.  My encouragement to anyone who gets into the ministry and isn’t willing work…GET OUT…YOU’RE WASTING SPACE!!!

2.  Your Creativity.  I believe God created all of us to be like Him (You can check it out in the first few chapters of Genesis).  God is a creator and He created us to be creative (like Him).  So, if that’s the case…then why is it we (His church) can be the most uncreative people in the world?  No wonder lost people don’t want to come to our churches.  If I had to sit through most of the church services I’ve heard about…I’d probably regurgitate.  Most have no preparation, no forethought, no structure and no organization.  Yet we complain about how the world needs to get into church.  Why?  They can sleep at home!!!

3.  Your Friends.  When a person adopts a God-given vision it will cause them great hardship.  Often times at the expense of vital relationships.  Believe it or not, when pursuing a vision it’s not unlikely that many of your closest friends/family will become your greatest critics.  You could very well be labeled as an arrogant dreamer (like Joseph in Genesis 37:1-11) or even abandoned.  So, if you’re bold enough to buy into God’s vision for you…you’d also better be ready for some extremely disappointing relationships.

4.  Your Will.  Many people I know automatically assume pastoring a church was my occupation of choice.  However, if I would’ve been given a choice of careers it would not have been as a minister.  When I finished high school I traveled 500 miles to South Carolina in order to study for the ministry, but there was a war waging inside me.  What was that internal war about?  Well, believe it or not my ambition was to coach high school football…God had other plans.  At some point, I had to surrender my will.  Every person who truly embraces God’s vision will have to cross that bridge.  God’s will or our own?

Now, not everyone is called to be a preacher…I realize that.  But I believe everyone will come to a point in their lives whereby they’ll have to surrender to God’s will and relinquish their own.  If they do not, no matter what they do it’ll never bring peace or fulfillment.  Have you surrendered your will over to God?

5.  Your Traditions.  Christmas is my favorite time of year!  I love Christmas trees, lights, snow, presents and everything that makes-up the whole Christmas spirit.  Why?  Because it reminds me of the birth of my Savior and His willingness to become human so He could pay the eternal price for my sin.  The entire season speaks to me about His love…every single tradition.

Here’s my problem with traditions.  They can sometimes lose their effectiveness if we’re not cautious.  If I were to give my wife flowers every day for six months it would eventually become very old.  For first couple of days it would probably be ok.  But, at some point she would probably deposit those same flowers in a most inconspicuous place…if you know what I mean.  The tradition would lose its luster!

This is characteristic of lots of churches.  They get accustomed to business as usual.  Everything is mechanical and has lost its meaning.  Many people ask me why we don’t serve communion at CommonGround more frequently…it’s for this very reason.  I don’t want it to lose its significance in the lives of our people.  So, that’s why we take it periodically.

As I close, I want to challenge everyone to become a visionary for God.  Allow God to reveal to you His vision for your life.  There are many things we can afford to miss, but His vision for us is not one of them.

Neal

Christmas Eve Thoughts

My Christmas Eve Thoughts:

1.  I’m sitting here on my couch watching Beaux (my 8 yr old) play SONIC on our playstation 3 game system.  Why didn’t we have these kinds of video game graphics when I was coming along.  All we had was Atari and it had 1 joy stick and 1 button and we still thought we were in heaven.  These kids today have it made!

2.  I’m so glad Jesus came to Earth over 2,000 yrs ago to pay the price for my sin (and yours).  My sermon yesterday was, “What if Jesus had never come?”  Where would we all be today?

3.  This is my first Christmas without my Dad…I sure do miss him.  I can remember as a child how “Santa Claus” (my Dad) would get up in the middle of the night (usually 2 or 3 am) and bring our presents in while we were sleeping.  Atleast he thought we were sleeping!

As I look back on those days I realize the greatest present he ever gave me was Jesus.  We didn’t have alot of money, but you don’t have to have money to give Jesus away.  Thanks Daddy for giving me the greatest gift that could ever be given…Jesus!!!

4.  I hope this SONIC game blows up!!!

5.  Anybody want to buy an 8 yr old?  He’s real cheap!!!  What about a 15 yr old?  He’s even cheaper!!!  Does the word FREE mean anything?

6.  Common Ground Community Church is on fire!!! God has really blessed our church and we have the best congregation in the entire world.  I’m one lucky pastor!!!

7.  I miss my Mama too.  OK, I’ll admit it…I’m the world’s biggest Mama’s baby!  Sorry, men, I broke the man code.

8.  Our 11 yr old dog, Carter, had to be put down this week.  Wow, that was tougher than I thought it would be.  Believe it or not, I did shed some tears!  Sorry again, men, I know we’re not supposed to cry.  Yeah, right!

9.  I’m going to eat Christmas dinner with my in-laws tomorrow.  Do I need to say anything else?

10.  Went out to eat with my cousin John and his fiance’ Marie tonight.  She’s pretty cool…still not sure about John, though.  Just kidding John!!!

11.  Folks, I need to lose some weight!  I’m about 1 cheeseburger away from Jenny Craig.  Lord, help me!!!

12.  Did you folks know Alabama is #2 in college football recruiting for the upcoming year?  Fear the Elephant!!!

13.  God, I hope Hilliary don’t win the presidential election!!!  Sorry, it doesn’t have a thing in the world to do with her gender.

14.  This is why Jesus came…Luke 19:10.

I hope everyone has a great Christmas and may God bless each of you this next year.

Pastor Neal

Seize the Season!

First off, I have to tell you that Christmas is my favorite…yet most frustrating time of year.  There’s nothing I like more than hangin’ out with friends and celebrating the Christmas Spirit.  But, I have to be honest with you…after, ohhh, 25 parties and way too much FFF (forced family fun) I’m ready to move on.  Move on from what?  Move on from the artificial nature of what we’ve transformed this time of year into.  Move on from plastic smiles and insincere greetings.  Move on from credit card balances and cheap cologn.  Move on from 75 degree winter weather.  Move on from the hustle and bustle of an insane holiday existence.  When December 25th arrives…I’m just ready to move on!

Now, please don’t misunderstand me…I’m all about the real “reason for the season”.  However, I am a little concerned about our true allegiance to it.  You see, I believe Christmas has become so commercialized that we automatically get sucked into a worldly lifestyle before we even realize it.  I have friends who say every year, “I’m not gonna spend that much money next year!”  Guess what?  That vow never seems to materialize…it’s the “same old song and dance”.

In case you’re wondering, I’ve battled with this also.  My nature is to overspend on about everything.  If I’m buying a DVD player…it can’t just be a simple DVD player, it has to be the top of the line McDaddy DVD player.  You know the one…the one that plays Blue Ray DVD’s, HD DVD’s, mp3’s, mp4’s, mpeg’s, cd’s, cassette tapes, eight tracks, LP’s, etc., etc.  I’m worse than a little kid in a candy store.  Consequently, God has dealt with me in this area…just being honest.  We preachers have issues too!!!

Saying all that, I want to challenge you to Seize this Christmas Season.  Don’t let it become about buying the biggest and best toys.  I’m sure for many of you…you could probably afford about anything you want for Christmas.  However, the real issue here is not whether or not you or I can afford it, but is it neccessary and does our needless spending spree’s honor our Savior’s birth.

In case you’re misunderstanding me, I’m not suggesting that we shouldn’t buy gifts for our friends or family.  My point is this…our priorities can often be misplaced and we should be extremely cautious about how we choose to glorify our Savior.

So, how do we best glorify our Savior during this Christmas season:

1.  If you haven’t already…give your heart to Him.  He wants to be your Savior.  As a matter of fact, His very purpose for being born was to rescue us from the grip of sin and death.

2.  Celebrate your salvation.  The most awesome gift ever given to man was Jesus.  If He lives in your heart, then make it a priority to celebrate Him…He’s worthy of our praise.

3.  Cherish your relationships.  The nature of Christmas is busy-ness, but we can’t allow ourselves to get so busy that we miss some of the most awesome gifts God’s given to us…our family and friends.  Make a conscious effort to let those closest to you know how much you love them.

4.  Rededicate yourself to Church.  I know I sound a little preachy, but Christ came and died for the church.  So, if that’s the case, then our dedication to the church should be unquestioned.  How’s your commitment to God’s church?

As I close I want to wish everyone a merry CHRIST-mas!!!  I pray this Christmas is the best you’ve ever had and that God becomes more real to you this season than any other time in your life.  SEIZE THE SEASON!!!

Read this…It all began right here – Luke 2:1-20.

 Neal

PS – Our church wesite is down, it will be up in a few weeks!!!

What do you do when the storm comes?

Tragedy is going to happen to everyone!  Whether we like it or not, our life will be rocked with some sort of misfortune at some point.  Jesus never promised us a rose garden, though.  Instead, He said that there will be times of tribulation and difficulty.  So, when those times come I think it’s only fair to ask this question, “How do we handle the storms?”

Now, Jesus gives us an interesting parable found in Matthew 7:24-27 about two different types of men…one wise and one foolish.  One who built his house on the rock and the other who built his house on the sand.  In Jesus own words He refers to the fact that storms are going to come.  Not that they might come or could come, but that they WILL come.  Jesus never defended the possibility of storms, He just asked us to be ready when they get here.

Many years (1991) ago, I was youth pastoring in Laurel, MS, for the summer.  I was serving under one of the most Godly pastors I’d ever met…Rev. Jon Betz.  As was his custom, he took a mid-summer vacation and decided to leave me in charge for the week.  I was 22 years old and thought I knew everything about ministry, boy was I in for a shock!

The very first day Pastor Betz was gone I received a phone call in the middle of the night with someone frantically screaming.  As I worked through the tears and hysteria, I finally understood what this person was trying to say.  The 24 yr. old son of a lady in our church had stuck a gun to his head and ended his life.  The problem was to even get more complicated for me.  I had to tell her!

Now, I must admit my education at Southern Wesleyan University was a good one…but I don’t think any amount of education would’ve ever really prepared me for a moment like that.  It was a life moment that only experience could produce.  I was face to face with having to minister to someone who’d been catapulted into the center of a terrible storm.  What was I going to do?  Better yet, what was this mother and church member going to do?  This would show our metal.

Not every storm is as devastating as this one, but they’re storms nonetheless.  For many of us a storm could be financial, emotional, or even physical, but they always have to be confronted in one way or the other.  How are you doing at handling the storm?  Are you blaming God?  Are you bitter?

Well, believe it or not, this parable instructs us that in order to make it through the storm we must build our house on the proper foundation.  You see, some people build on sand while others build on THE ROCK.  How do you build on the rock?  Jesus, in this passage refers to people who put His words into practice as those who are building on the rock.  So, the million dollar question is this, “Are we practicing the words of Christ?”

How do I know if I’m practicing His words?  A few possible answers:

1.  When you value your relationship with Christ.  Do you pray?  Do you read the Bible?  Do you go to church?  These are all things that cultivate a relationship with Jesus.  These are also things that He commanded us to do.  So, if I say that I love someone and continually disregard their feelings or requests…do I love them?  Try that with your spouse?  Probably will not go over very well!

2.  When you serve people.  The key here is LOVE.  It’s very difficult to serve people when you don’t love them.  I guess you could probably do it out of obligation, but eventually people see right through you.  There’s nothing worse, I suppose, than unauthentic service.  It’s hypocrisy at its best.

One more thing regarding serving people.  When we serve people, we serve Christ.  When we do not serve people, we do not serve Christ.  As a matter of fact, Jesus said in Matthew 25:40, “I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.”  Think about that!  When I or you neglect to serve anyone, then we have in essence neglected to serve Christ.  Pretty sobering, isn’t it?  God help us!

How’s your foundation?  Is it being built on the rock of Jesus?  The only true way to determine the success of one’s foundation is to go through the storm.  It is only during the storm when we realize what we’re made of.  So, my challenge to you today is to reevaluate your building codes.  Ask yourself, “Am I building on the right surface?”  If not, it’s never too late to start.

Have a great day!  See all you Common Grounders Sunday.  We’re gonna have an awesome Thanksgiving service!

Pastor Neal

Significant Events in My Life

I know life has a way of changing us.  Our experiences from day to day and year to year constantly mold us and reshape our thinking.  So, I began to ask myself, “What are some of the important events that have formed my character and personality?”  Here’s what comes to mind…

1.  I was in a car accident when I was 14 that killed one of my best friends.  I realize today…had it not been for that one tragic night (February 25, 1984) I probably would not be a Christian today.  God has a way of getting our attention…and He did it that night.

2.  Youth Camp 1985 (June 25, 1985).  I went there looking for girls and found Jesus!  Not a bad trade off, is it?  I owe everything to Him and what He did for me at that youth camp.

3.  The day (August 22, 1988) I travel from my home town (Bayou La Batre, AL) to Central, SC, in order to go to school  for the ministry.  Not many people know this, but there was a point in that trip where I almost turned around and went back to ‘bama.  It was a real test of my commitment to the Lord…I’m so glad I didn’t turn back!  Where and what would I be today had I done that?

4.  The night (March 6, 1992) I got married.  I was a 22 yr. old young man who knew nothing about life.  I figured my wife would want a divorce within the first year…but she’s hung in there with me for over 15 years.  What did I ever do to deserve her?

5.  The birth of my first child Austin (September 16, 1992).  It’s hard to believe he’s now 6′2″ tall and plays the guitar like its going out of style.  Sometimes when I look at him I pray that God would help me to be as great a father to him (and Beaux) as my daddy was to me.

6.  The death of my Granny (July 19, 1994).  All of my other grandparents died either before I was born or when I was a small child.  She was the only grandparent I ever knew.  She was a fiesty, nosey, red-headed fireball who knew how to put you in your place.  She raised 9 kids in a 1 bedroom house.  And when she died, it seemed like the Taylor family lost the glue that held everything together.  I still miss her today!

7.  The day (December 19, 1994) I graduated from Southern Wesleyan University.  For most people this would have been a small task.  Their families kind of expected them to go to college and “make something of themselves”.  I was a little different in that respect, not many people in my family (at that point) had graduated from college.  We were not wealthy (poor, in other words) and most had no ambitions beyond working in the seafood industry.  However, God helped me to understand that what I was doing was going to help break a generational mindset that had plagued many in that area for years.  I’m so glad I hung in there!  Perseverence really does pay off.

8.  My ordination as a minister (July 26, 1996).  When a person is ordained as a minister it’s always a significant event.  However, the thing that made mine so special was when my daddy walked up to me, with tears streaming down his face, and told me he was proud of me.  That’s a moment I’ll take to my grave.  I can’t begin to tell you what that did for me.  I guess there’s a part of every son that longs to make their father proud…and that day…I did.

9.  The birth of my second child Beaux (November 10, 1999).  From the moment his personality began to take form I realized we had a “wild-child” on our hands.  He looks alot like Ashley but acts an awful lot like his daddy.  I was hoping I’d keep some of my hyper-active traits from passing on to the next generation of Taylors…I’m not sure it work.  He’s me made over!  God help us all!!!

10.  Finally…the death of my Daddy last month (September 17, 2007).  Everyday I think about him.  I know everyone thinks that there dad is the best and I respect that.  However, they didn’t have my daddy…he was the best!  All my life, no matter what I did, he was always there.  Whether it was a baseball game, football game, or track event…no matter what it was, he was there.

After he died I wondered why I wasn’t grieving as much as everyone else in the family.  I think it had alot to do with the fact that it hadn’t really hit me, even during the funeral service.  But over the last week or so I think it’s started sinking in.  I still look at my cell phone with his number programmed in it and realize I’ll never be able to call that number again.  I understand more and more everyday how important he was to me.  I also realize everyday how much I miss him.  I LOVE YOU DADDY!

Well, these events have been a significant part of my life.  I cannot imagine what I would be like had it not been for every one of them.  So, I encourage everyone to take the time to list their own significant events.  You’d be surprised at how much you have to be thankful for when you do this.

Have a great day!

Neal