Eric Taylor

3 Weeks at UPS--part IV

Another reason I was horrible as a UPS employee was PRIDE.  I wouldn't ask for help.  There were nights I would be imprisoned by boxes and packages as I held up the delivery process.  One time a guy walked by and asked if I needed a hand.  My response... "No thanks. I've got it."  I lied!  I let my pride keep me from receiving help from someone because I didn't want to look like a failure.  After all, I was getting a Master's degree and some of these guys hadn't been to college.  That's how messed up I was!  These guys could have been very helpful, but I refused to let them.  So,  I opted for ineffectiveness and mediocrity instead of letting someone share the load and teach me how to do my job better.  Pride makes us ineffective as pastors, Christ followers and leaders.  So many times our churches suffer because we say to others, "I've got it."  When deep down you know that you're struggling.  The greatest thing that the body of Christ can do is to lock arms and help each other.  After all, we're on the same team.  But so many times we're too busy playing the comparison game... and the only way that can come out is to compare ourselves to someone who's doing "better" than we are and it causes jealousy.  Or we can compare ourselves to someone who's not where we are and it leads to pride.  Neither of those options are good, so why play the comparison game.  I've been there, at UPS and as a Church Planter.  But one thing has helped me... locking arms with other church planters and pastors and Christ followers and learning as much as I can from everyone I can.  I have taken the approach now that I can learn from guys like Shawn Lovejoy, Perry Noble, Ed Young and others.  But I can also learn from guys who are at smaller churches, more traditional churches, guys who are very young and guys who are very old.  I don't ever want to let pride be a barrier to what God wants to do at Journey Church.  In fact, I'm a part of several coaching networks as well as an association of pastors that I really don't have much in common with.  But whenever I get together with them, they encourage me, pray for me and share stories of how big and great our God is.   

I don't ever want to do anything that hinders the delivery of the Gospel.  So, here's what I want to do consistantly:
1.  Know Auburn/Opelika as well as the Chamber of Commerce knows it.  Drive around.  Talk to people.  Listen to people. 
2.  Nurture Vitality in all areas of my life.  That means discipline.  I stayed up late last night watching Kansas win the NCAA Basketball Championship... great comeback... but the alarm went off at 4:30 this morning... I didn't want to go to the gym... but I got up anyway. 
3.  Kill pride daily.  It will creep in every day... so I have to guard against it.  I have to surround myself with people who will speak truth into my life and call me out when I'm getting prideful.

I want to do all that so I can be faithful as a husband, father, leader, and friend and faithfully deliver the good news of the Gospel of Jesus to disconnected people in Auburn/Opelika and around the world.

3 Weeks at UPS--III

Another reason I didn't make it at UPS was the ungodly time I had to be at work.  11pm until 4am.  Then I went to class at 8am.  That didn't make for a great student, husband or employee.  I was tired all the time.  It didn't take long for me to get irritable and nasty with my wife and friends.  I was burning the candle at both ends AND trying to burn it in the middle as well!  I don't know how people can work overnight.  I couldn't do it.  They rhythms of my body and my life at that time wouldn't let me.  The human body is an amazing thing... when it needs something, it begins shutting down until it gets it... ie. SLEEP! Because of my lack of sleep, I was losing in several other areas... my relationships were taking a hit, my spiritual life was sagging, I felt bad physically... I was acting like an old guy and I was just 25. 
What that taught me was that, as leaders and church planters we must ALWAYS Nurture Vitality.  Not just spiritual vitality, but physical vitality, relational vitality and emotional vitality.  Pastors are the WORST at this.  Shawn Lovejoy and David Putman, my friends at churchplanters.com, say nurturing vitality is one the the Best Practices of a church planter.  How can we be effective in ministry if we don't get enough rest?  Our family and other vital relationships are out of whack?  If we're battling depression or self esteem issues?  Each one of those affects our spiritual vitality.  I learned a great lesson from working overnight at UPS... my body craves sleep and it will do some goofy things when it doesn't get enough of it.  Over the years, and especially lately, my wife and I have a system in place to help us nurture vitality in our lives.  We go on a regular date night, take walks together, etc.  She drags my butt to the gym every morning at 5am (I hate it but I thank her for it later).  We have changed our eating habits, we've paid more attention to who we spend our time with and very important... we have people in our lives that help us emotionally deal with the junk that the enemy throws at us constantly.  When you're tired... emotionally, physically, relationally or spiritually the enemy will attack like crazy... I believe that's why we see so many shipwrecks in ministry.  I want to always guard against that... because it's hard to be the husband, father, pastor and friend I desire to be when my health is failing.  Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can do is to sleep.  Do you need a nap?

One of those mornings

I'm having one of those mornings.  I can tell the enemy is after me and my family because we have begun some specific spiritual preparations for our Mission Trip to Jamaica in a couple of months.  I've been more easily frustrated and short with my family and friends... to add to the pressure, I spent a couple of hours on the phone with AT&T talking about our phone bill (why does it take 3 months to process a discount but when they add  another service it goes on instantly?).  So... I'm unplugging for an hour... kicking back and recharging... I'm going to listen to some cool music, maybe head to Starbucks, read my Bible and journal some more.  Then I'll be ready to tackle the rest of the day!

Why are we here?

Confession time:  ever so often I get into a church planting funk and wonder why we can't be like other churches that are growing like Kudzu in the hot Alabama summers. The last couple of days I was feeling that...then I read Gary Lamb's blog and it knocked me back into reality.  You can read his blog here.  He talks about everyone wanting to reach disconnected people... but really we want to do church in a cool way!  I have to be reminded that there is a BIG price when you go all out to reach disconnected people.  It's messy, it's gut-wrenching at times, it's frustrating as crap, but it's there... sure, I would love to draw hundreds, even thousands of people to my church... I hope one day we get there.  But, our focus, our future, is built on reaching those people who nobody else wants to reach... the broken, the damaged, the weird, the screw ups.  Sure it's going to be messy and slow and painful at times, but how much is it worth to see life change?  How would it have been to see the woman at the well's life changed, or maybe the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years finally healed completely?  What about the dudes that were demon possessed and had lots of junk going on?  What about the leper?  To reach them... it's going to take an investment of time, money and heart... for us, it's going to mean taking phone calls at 3am from someone who's struggling with something... it's going to mean being patient with a person you're investing in because they're taking 2 steps forward spiritually and 3 steps backward sometimes.  But I believe that's why Journey Church exists... We sing a song by Steve Fee called "You are the Light" and the words really nail our focus as a church and remind us what happens when we are the hands and feet of Jesus:

"We are the ones who will shine
his light in the darkness of night
the hopeless, the broken, the poor
they will be hopeless and broken no more
You are the light, the light of the world and we shine You Lord... "

Gary's blog and Steve's song brought me out of the funk I was in and reminded me that we may never be a church that gets recognized by others; I may never be a church planter who speaks a church planting conferences, but I can assure you that we will always be sold out to reaching disconnected people and helping them know Christ personally and intimately... that's why we're here!

 

Banner Week for Internet Service!

Haven't gotten to post all week because our internet service has been spotty at best... I have lost 3 attempts to post... man, they were profound too!  I get pretty mad when I can't finish what I started...Seems the problem is solved and we shouldn't have to deal with it again.  So... Here's the highlights of what those posts would have been...

• Church Planter's Roundtable -- we met in Millbrook for our monthly roundtable.  Mike Mozingo is a good friend and has helped me a ton.  It's very cool to get to spend half a day processing ideas and helping each other get better.  We talked about leadership and followship a lot.  Sometimes great leaders have to know when to be good followers, too!  We don't always have to be the smartest people in the room.  Great leadership means surrounding yourself with people who are WAY smarter than you are in specific area.  This works well when you're dealing with land, building and finances... unless that's your background... find someone who knows what they're doing, build a relationship with them and invite them to the table... They will make you look like a genius!  We're not anywhere close to land or a building yet, but I've got some ideas about who to take with me to those meetings!
• Hanging with Kent-- Thursday I took the day off and spent time with one of our church leaders, Kent Rogers.  His family has been a great friend of ours and they are one of the original families that helped launch the church.  Kent owns a bunch of CiCi's Pizza restaurants... and he's opening another one in Prattville.  I tagged along with him to help him pick up some equipment and it was a lot of fun.  I had a blast... we talked about being an entreprenuer, marketing, finances, taking care of guests and how God is at the center of his business plan... it's amazing how similar his journey in expanding his restaurant business is to our desire to be a multiplying church.  If you're a church leader, a pastor or church planter, we learn a lot from leadership books... even the ones written from a business perspective... but let me encourage you to spend some time with the business leaders in your church... shadow them, offer to make a trip with them.  You'll be amazed at what you can glean from what they do. 
• I'm really pumped about finishing up our ALL IN series.  This has been one of my favorite series of messages to teach.  Partly because it has come from the passion of my heart and so it's easy to share that stuff.  If you're a Journey church member/attender/guest (see note below), we're challenging you to go ALL IN for the mission...  This week we're going to reveal some of the places we believe God's leading us to get involved in the coming year... I think it's going to be an awesome service... Don't miss out!  Also... mark your calendar for December 2nd @ 5:30pm.  That's our first Sunday Night Live.  It's going to be a fun time to get together and eat (Potluck dinners help you grow spiritually...that's somewhere in the Bible), worship, pray and have an awesome time celebrating what God is doing @ Journey.  You'll be getting a call in the next week or two to let us know what you're bringing... (suggestions-- Banana Pudding, Greenbean Casserole and Cornbread.)
• NOTE:  Some churches have cool nicknames for their people... At Elevation Church in Charlotte, Steven Furtick calls his people "Elevators" (pretty cool!),  I'm thinking Revolution Church has a bunch of "Revolutionaries".  Even Andrew Kulp who's getting ready to launch out someday is calling his future church Transformation Church so he can call his people "Transformers".  I'm looking for a  name we can call "those who are members or attenders of Journey Church"... I was really stoked about NBC's show "Journeyman" because if it were a hit, we might be able to use it somehow... but, even though we watch the show, I'm not sure it's gonna make it.  "Journeyer" doesn't make sense...so I'm asking for your help... help me name our collective group of Journey church people.  Leave me a comment or shoot me an  email.  I'd love to hear the responses.  I'll keep you posted on the best ones.

Lots of Random thoughts ... but not a full on Mind Dump

It's been CRAZY BUSY the last few days with trying to get into our office.  We need some stuff to put in there.  If you have any GOOD stuff you'd like to give us... not the stuff you've been storing in your basement that the youth group at the church down the street wouldn't even take... but things that are in good shape and look somewhat stylish... things like:  sofas, futons, desks, office chairs, plants, tables, etc.  If you know where we might be able to snag some of this, leave a comment and we'll connect with you.

Adding to the busyness has been getting ready for our Newcomer's Coffee this Sunday.  This is our membership class and, if you've been coming to Journey for a long time or just a few Sundays... you're invited.  During this time you will hear  why we do what we do, ask any questions about Journey and at the end of the class you will be given an opportunity to join the church and partner with us in all that God is doing here through Journey Church in Auburn/Opelika and around the world.

We're also getting ready for our NEW SERIES that kicks off this week-- Lord of the Rings... It's about Marriage, not Hobbits.  We've got some really creative and funny stuff lined up for the series... and you can be sure... the band is going to rock!  The best part about it... this Sunday.. as we kick off the series... Sonja is going to be teaching with me...I'm really looking forward to it... she's going to bring it and it's going to be good... you want to invite your friends whether they are married, dating or looking for a date... this series is DEFINITELY going to be life changing!

Finally... it's premiere week.  I have to say, I'm waiting until January for 24 (yes, I'm giving it one more shot) but until then there's The Office and a couple other shows I'm watching.  I caught the premiere of Chuck... I think it's going to be a cool show... it's got all the elements-- Nerd, computers, action/adventure, espionage, lots of shooting and chasing... and a blonde... who, by the way, looks like she likes the nerd... which would probably make it Science FICTION.  Pretty cool show...I'll watch it again.
The other show I caught was Journeyman.  Yes the only reason I watched was because of the name.  I thought we might be able to pull some spoof stuff from here... it actually turned out to be a pretty good show... NOT AT ALL BELIEVABLE but still a pretty good show... even Sonja liked it.  I can't wait until Thursday night -- 8pm... The Office... don't call me then, I'll send you straight to voice mail.

Tethered to Technology

My internet service provider has not given me world class customer service like they claim.  For the past week, my internet service at home/the church office has been in and out.  It's been painfully frustrating and I could really spiritualize it and say it's some sort of test of my patience (which it might be) but I just think it's Charter not giving a rip about my need to check my email and read my blogs and do my online banking.  Thank goodness for Panera... my office away from the office. But that brings up a good point... How we have become so tethered to technology.  I love gadgets and gizmos that help get my work done and help me stay connected to the rest of the world... and it's an incredible way to communicate with lots of people... but when I can't sync my blackberry, or my internet's down or I can't check my email, I feel like I can't be productive.  But then God shows up outside my computer, away from my email and says,
   I am with you,
   I am mighty to save.
   I will take great delight in you,
   I will quiet you with his love,
   I will rejoice over you with singing." (Zephaniah 3:17)

So why do we stress out when we can't check our email?  Why do we fret when the things in our lives that make the most "noise" go silent?  Look at it as a gift of quietness from God.  Listen to Him... He may be trying to talk to you.  Rest in Him...He may be trying to Refresh you.

During my forced quietness, I had some of the most refreshing time with God that I've had in a while.  I'm thinking about trying it out at other times... turning off the tv or not listening to the radio, iPod, CD when I'm in the car. 

How about you?  Would you be willing to "quiet yourself" for a time in order to simply listen for God's voice?  Let me know how you do this.

24

Alright... I've held my tongue long enough.  Many of you know I'm a rabid 24 fan... I've seen every episode... every year... It's the only show I'll try to arrange my schedule around.  But I have to tell you... this year it's been more like a soap opera.  Too much lovey dovey stuff.  It started with Nadia and Milo, then Chloe and Morris, then Bill Buchanan and Karen Hayes.  Even the Vice President has some forbidden mistress stuff going on.  Then, last night when Jack and Audrey connected again... I thought they were about to play Michael Bolton or Celine Dion... give me a break... Less lovin'.... more blowin' stuff up! More shooting people in the leg just to make them talk! This has been a good season, not great, but good... let's see if the last 3 episodes can turn it from Good to Great.  Otherwise, move over Days of our Lives... Jack Bauer will be joining you on the daytime soap operas!

I Hate Allergy Season

I'm writing this with a box of Kleenex right by my laptop and a heavy drumbeat thumping inside my head... I hate allergy season... I feel like CRUD.   But there's so much I've got to do today, I can't be sick!  Of course, no one has time to be sick... I'm going to pump myself full of over the counter medicine and see if it knocks it out of me.  We're suppose to go to the Alabama Shakespeare Festival tonight with some of Sonja's teacher friends... I hope I don't get us kicked out by blowing my nose louder than a trumpet!

Giving Sangaia a run for his money

Yesterday I got to hang out with my friend, Mike Mozingo, who planted Journey Church in Millbrook, AL (just North of Montgomery).  They are kicking it!  Every time I talk to Mike he challenges me and yesterday was no different. I came away from there with a couple of nuggets that will help me continue to clarify and communicate the vision.  I'm more convinced than ever that our church is to be radical about seeking out and reaching people who are living outside a relationship with Jesus Christ.  After our meeting I stopped by a Christian bookstore to check out some of the latest music and that's when I saw her...I actually never saw her face, but I heard her... in fact, the whole store heard her.  She was picking out solo tracks.  She would pick one out, then sit on the stool facing the wall and put on the headphones and then belt out the song like she was on American Idol... and man, was she bad... you know the kind of bad where you think to yourself -- surely they don't think they sing well-- but then again, American Idol has given lots of Tone Deaf people hope as Sangaia keeps hanging on.   And for all of us in that store yesterday... it was brutal... and funny!