Taylor Lyall

Funniest thing I’ve seen since “Jesus is My Friend,” but it’s just wrong.

Even though I am headed to Africa for the next few years, I feel called to be a Senior Pastor one day. In my free time, I have been reading books on leadership and pastoring. I am also reading a ton of blogs and listening to podcasts on those subjects as well.  I came across a blog by Craig Groeschel, pastor of LifeChurch.tv.  He shares 40 leadership tips for young pastors. I am going to share some of my favorites.

• Life is short. Make every day count for God’s glory.
• God called you because He is good, not because you are.
• If you blame yourself for bad results in ministry, you’ll likely also take credit for the good results.
• Err on the side of generosity.
• Hire staff members that you like.
• Don’t just delegate responsibility, delegate authority.
• Talk about Jesus every time you preach.
• Always be caught speaking well of others.
• Love your wife more than you love the church.
• Don’t return emails angry.
• When you suffer and hurt because of ministry, worship Jesus all the more.
• Believe in people that others overlook.
• If you’re going to reach people that others aren’t, you’ll have to do things that others won’t.

and my favorite one

• Laugh frequently.

I stole this from this from another blog, (http://jodyrlanders.com/)  but I totally see myself in it.

“I have a savior complex, and since I fear my efforts won’t end in grandiosity, I’m tempted to not try at all. That’s pride. Jesus could of had a savior complex if anyone could, but he was humble enough to stop and heal one obscure man. Jesus was motivated by compassion, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless…” (Matthew. 9:36)

When Jesus looked at this world, he wasn’t thinking about influence, he was responding in compassion. I want my motivation to be compassion and love, not a desire to do something big” (Amber Van Schooneveld)

That’s what time I was awakened this morning by a loudspeaker from a police car. “This is a mandatory evacuation”. We had watched the news all night and was hoping the flames wouldn’t get close to our house, but they did.  I went outside and saw my neighbors sprinting across the street with their lives in their hands. My job was to pack up the home movies. Check. Then I went for my college diploma and pastoral license, then this collage of pictures my mom made for me.  Grabbed some clothes, my phone charger, Bible, some of my favorite books.  You always talk about what you would grab in case your house was on fire, but now this was almost reality.  You really find out what your stuff means to you, when you have to load it into a car at 5 a.m., which turns out to be not that much. We ended up not having to evacuate (even though Channel 9 told us to).  I think our street is no longer in danger, but the fires continue to burn. I can still hear the water planes fly over my house. Please continue to pray for those who have lost their homes or are in danger of doing so.  Like Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, Jesus is with us in this fire.

“As the deer pants for water, so my soul pants for you, O God.”           Psalm 42:1

I am not to this point yet, but hopefully I will be one day.

Matt Chandler, pastor of The Village Church, urges us to long after God with desperation.

In 2004 Mike Ditka, the beloved former coach of the Chicago Bears, was contemplating running for a Senate seat in the state of Illinois. His opponent would have been, current President-elect, Barack Obama. Can you imagine what might have happened if Ditka ran against Obama? Ditka is the most beloved person in Illinois other than Michael Jordan. Let’s see what the Chicao Bear superfan has to say about it:

Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!

2 Corinthians 5:17

“You could feed the whole world with the crumbs of old bread
Spread the good news through dreams and stones
With a breath of the wind You could raise up the dead
But You ask us to go

Help us love mercy, help us do justly,
Help us walk humbly with You God”

Taken from a song by Charlie Hall inspired my Micah 6:8.

He can do it by Himself, but He invites us to take part in the story. Ask Him to see the way He sees.  Ask that your heart would break for the things that break His.  Then do something about it.

Love is a verb.

“Enter the story.  Christians can still change the world.

The story of Christ’s birth is a subversive story of an upside-down kingdom. It’s a story of promise, hope, and a revolutionary love that is still changing the world to this day. So, what happened? What was once a time to celebrate the birth of a savior has somehow turned into a season of stress, traffic jams, and shopping lists. And when it’s all over, many of us are left with presents to return, looming debt that will take months to pay off, and this empty feeling that we somehow missed its purpose.

Is this what we really want out of Christmas?

What if Christmas became a world-changing event again by turning our focus back to the birth of Christ? What could happen to your family if this focus was celebrated in loud, bold and totally unexpected ways? What if you could actually trade your season of stress for a season celebration and unbelievable memories with your friends and family? What if all of this could save a life at the same time? It can.

Welcome to Advent Conspiracy”