Overcome Your Stagnant Complacency
Insights from the “Lead2Serve” Podcast
Season 5. Episode 2
Ever wondered what it truly means to serve with intention? In our latest episode, Pastor Bob and I dive deep into the heart of servant leadership. It’s about rolling up your sleeves and looking for ways to actively serve—no task too small, no effort unnoticed. It’s a journey of growth and grace.
Reflecting back on my own spiritual growth, I’m reminded that our greatest steps in ministry often begin with humble decisions. Nearly 25 years at Calvary Church have taught me that serving isn’t about titles; it’s about touching lives. Entitlement can be a danger in our mission to serve. It’s important to confront the dangers of a self-centered mindset and explore the freedom found in serving others as Jesus did. It’s time to trade entitlement for empathy. Connection is key—not just in ministry, but in all relationships. There is a real power in listening, truly listening, to those we serve. From understanding our children to walking alongside our congregation, it’s these moments of genuine engagement that build enduring bonds. Stepping out in faith isn’t just a saying—it’s an action.
FULL TRANSCRIPT
Intro VO:
Welcome to today’s broadcast of Lead2Serve, a leadership podcast with Ed Taylor.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
Welcome again to another episode of the Lead2Serve podcast. My name is Ed Taylor. I’m the pastor here at Calvary Church in Aurora, Colorado. We’re coming up on 25 years serving here in Aurora. I grew up in Southern California. I was saved at Calvary Chapel in Downey and spent eight years there serving in a variety of different ways. And God then launched us off here into Colorado. 25 years serving here, almost. It’ll be this December, and what an honor it’s been. I’m your host of the Lead2Serve. It’s an idea that was in my heart for many years to record these conversations that we have around the office here all the time. These are conversations that happen in my office or in another pastor’s office, or they happen when somebody calls our live radio broadcast and we wanted to record them and really hone down on how to serve. Well, “lead to serve,” “serve to lead.” It’s a passion of mine to train men and women for ministry and for service. This is Season 5, Episode 2, and I appreciate all the response to the podcast. We get calls and emails and even texts. Here is the dedicated text line. If you have an idea for the podcast or you have feedback, you can text me directly at 720-608-0012. That’ll come right to me. I’d love to hear your feedback. I love to hear your ideas. The rest of the season, in a couple of episodes, we’re going to actually have one that was some feedback from a brother in Southern California that Bob and I are going to talk about. So we want to integrate what’s on your mind as if it was a live call in show, but it’s not. It’s a podcast. So you can text it or you can email me at ed@edtaylor.org. Make sure it’s dot org because there is a professional Santa Claus named “Ed Taylor,” that has my domain. He owns the “dot com.” Don’t use “dot com” for me. Santa will not get back to you. And he happens to have developed the same email address as me, but for him it’s “dot com.” So for me, it’s “edtaylor.org” same thing. You can email feedback. You need any help, any questions, you want us to speak into your life on a situation, or whatever it might be – we’re ready to help and ready to serve. Our goal through the podcast is to help you grow in your servant leadership so that your life will glorify God in all that you do. The better servant you are, the better leader you’ll become. And the better leader you become, the more you’ll find your service unto the Lord more fruitful. So these times, we’re discussing topics related to serving God. No matter what your station of life is, from senior pastor, to assistant pastor, to lay pastor, to elder, deacon, mom, dad, boss, employee, doesn’t matter. These principles are, across the board, applicable. And in-studio for Season 5 is Pastor Bob Claycamp. Welcome back again, Bob.
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
Yeah, it’s good to be here, Pastor.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
It’s good to have you. We had a great discussion last time on this topic of “give out as much as you take in.” And then we even flipped that around and said, “take in more than you give out.” There’s an element of reading your Bible, praying every day. But I want to build the bridge because today’s topic is…and really, let’s go back for a second. The theme, thematically, what we see developing in Season 5 is each of the episodes are going to help you grow into a better effectiveness for the Lord. Like, I always get this question, “how can I be more effective?” How can I even measure my effectiveness? How can I even have that feeling? Not necessarily measurable, but how can I sense and feel that I’m effective? So the theme this week, or this season really, is growing into deeper effectiveness or skills that will help you become more usable. Like, “I want to be more usable.” OK, well, number one, “take in more than you give out,” and “give out as much as you take in.” And we’re talking spiritually here because you’re always praying, helping, serving, loving, caring. But are you taking in? How is your prayer life? Your devotional life? How is your intake of the Word of God? Are you listening to Bible studies? Are you taking notes in your own church, your own pastor? Especially you pastors, because pastors think they’ve outgrown a Bible study because…and it’s not even necessarily sinful. I don’t mean it in a negative way, but pastors, they don’t necessarily find themselves pressing into the things of the Lord anymore because they’re overwhelmed and, you know, they’re hiding back in the green room or they’re not worshiping with the church anymore or whatever it might be, and you just don’t do that. So here’s a word. So we’re going to build a bridge into this episode. Today’s episode, we’re titling, “Look for Things to Do and Do Them.” You want to be more effective? Look for things to do and do them. But let’s build a bridge, because one thing we didn’t talk about at the end of the episode last time was this sense of entitlement. Entitlement is something that will hold you back from God’s best in your life. The sense that you’ve arrived, that “you’ve served enough.” That, “now other people can do things.” You’ve “earned something.” Entitlement is like the working in the world and you have seniority. Like, you start in an entry-level position and you’ve been there for a few years and you get a promotion and then you get some titles and then there’s new employees hired behind you and they do all the “grunt work.” They do all the stuff because no longer do you need to do anything because you’ve earned the right to do…you see that in ministry a lot, Bob. Not necessarily for yourself, although I’m sure we do have to fight this ourselves. But this sense of entitlement…is it common…not common?
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
It’s totally common. And it sneaks up. It doesn’t start so much that way, but after a while, there’s so much focus on “my right.” I have a right to this. I have a right to that. And we end up elevating who we are in our own minds. We’re the “Greatest American Hero.” And we lose perspective that God has called us to be a servant. And when people ignore us after we’ve served and there’s a reaction that, “well, I can’t believe they don’t even see all the hard work I’m doing.” I mean, that’s like we talked about in our last episode. That’s a light on the dash that’s telling you that your focus is on you and your rights. And there’s this entitlement that is going from small letters to big letters. And you need to repent because your eyes are on yourself. And it’s sin.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
That’s an important connection. I looked up the word while you’re talking. I looked it up just in the dictionary. And here’s one of the definitions for entitlement, “the belief that one is inherently deserving of privileges or special treatment.” And as you just described it, you describe something that’s helpful to our topic in this episode. And that is if I’m looking to myself, or looking to other people, or looking for special privileges, I’m not looking to the Lord. And I’m also no longer looking for things to do or people to serve and then doing them. I’m, “it’s all about me.” “What are people gonna do for me?” “Look at me.” “Look.”” Look what you’re not doing,” instead of like, “hey, I’m here.” This is how it started. What God started in the Spirit is that He saved me, rescued me, radically changed my life, and then entrusted to me the opportunity to serve Him by serving people, whether it’s practical things or spiritual things. And if, when I stop, maybe that’s another theme of our season as it develops, is “what are the lights on the dashboard?” Or here’s one, “when I stop looking for things to do and people to serve and then do that, I’m in trouble.” I have immediately gone backwards in what God has called me to do. I’m not. I’m looking for you to…when I look for Bob, when I measure up Bob and my relationship with Bob, and all I see is what he can do for me, I’m in trouble.
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
Yes.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
What kind of trouble am I in?
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
You’re in deep weeds.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
I mean, what is that? What kind of trouble is somebody in when they’re just living in the entitled life as a servant of God?
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
Well, you start using people, and instead of loving people, and it’s “wood, hay and stubble.” I don’t care what you’re doing. There’s no treasure in Heaven for it. You might get things accomplished, but all this ministry and serving the Lord has to do with people, not “admin stuff.” And the admin stuff is important and behind-the-scenes, but the focus is ministering to souls. Jesus died for souls. He didn’t die for administrative things. He died for souls. And the people around us are…you don’t know what’s going on because everybody has quite a big wall up because they don’t want people, “intruding into their pain,” so to speak. But in Proverbs 3:5-6 and 7, we like to quote that scripture, but there’s implications in what it says. Again, Proverbs 3:5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.” But then everybody forgets verse seven, “Do not be wise in your own eyes. Fear the Lord and depart from evil. It will be health to your flesh and strength to your bones.” And when we ask the Lord to guide us every day, he’s going to lead us to people. Maybe it’s just to your own children, because you’ve been so focused on your work and the responsibilities or the financial things that you haven’t spent time with your youngest child, just to “hear their heart,” and develop that relationship with them. Part of the reason for the gifts of the Holy Spirit is that you would use them in your family and get used to that. Right? With those children. We think of great things we want to do. But listen, it starts in the home. And so looking for things to do and doing them starts in the home.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
I’m sure somebody picked up on what you just said, but you had almost like a prophetic word there, “Paying attention to your youngest child and hearing their heart.” What’s one way? Let’s talk about that real quick, just for the sake of the person listening that really wants to know the heart of their child. What’s the number one way or a very effective way to get to know your child’s heart?
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
Well, first of all, to me, I want to understand, what is it that they like to do that just excites them? What is it? Maybe it’s something simple, maybe it’s a particular, even a video game or whatever. But enter their world and be with them and let them know you love them for who they are and what they’re doing. Maybe you’re not…you don’t like video games or whatever, but they like it. And it’s a silly little game. I mean, when my kids were growing up, they were basic video games. I mean, Atari 2600. But yet you just sit with them, because in order to…you’re not going to have them tell you their heart just by “talk to me, you know, tell me your heart.” That’s not how they operate, but you have to show them that you’re interested in their things. And then as you’re there, maybe it’s just taking them out for an ice cream cone or a hot fudge sundae or something and hearing them. Because once they start feeling comfortable with you, then they will share.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
Yeah, get them talking. The Bible says, Jesus taught us, “Out of the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks.” One way, as I was listening to you, one way that I was able to discover my kids’ hearts over the years when they were young was praying with them. It’s amazing what comes out of a kid’s mouth. Even praying with my wife, there will be times when I’m listening to her and I’m like, “Oh, I didn’t know that.” I didn’t know she was carrying that, or I didn’t know she was thinking that, or I didn’t know, whatever my kids, how they were experiencing the world from their little perspective compared to my adult perspective. And here at Calvary, on Wednesdays, we pray together. I generally sit in the same place in the sanctuary, which means the people that also generally sit in the same area, we almost always pray together. And so there’s a couple that is up front and also a brother that sits behind us that we almost always pray with every Wednesday. And it’s very interesting as they’re sharing their heart, they’re not talking to me, they’re talking to God. They’re allowing me into their personal, private life as they’re praying about different things going on in their life…whether it’s some trials, or some things at work, or some family things as we’re praying together. Prayer…we can’t neglect this spiritual discipline of prayer, together and individually…that would help us to not only get our hearts out exposed to the Lord, but to ourselves, too as I’m listening to myself pray, but also praying with others. So that was a word. I just think I wanted to pause there. We’re not “Focus on the Family,” and we’re not…this is not a “family podcast.” But I felt like that was a “rhema” word for someone like that was…this, “when you hear your kids’ hearts.” Like, I definitely want, especially as we’re talking about ministry, or serving the Lord, where there is a volume of activity that comes from our lives…we just talked about this yesterday, it’s probably another topic. We could do topics for the rest of our lives. Like, there’s always something new. But with the pastors, we talked about how ministry comes “from the family,” not “to the family,” in 1 Timothy 3 just yesterday. But let’s go back to looking for things to do and do them. This is going to help you not be so entitled. Like, people are not there to serve you’re there to serve them. There’s a “proactive-ness” where we start this way. This is how we start. It’s almost like all these topics, this is how we started. We were taking in, taking in. And we needed an outlet. I mean, I was listening to the radio. I was so eager. I read in the Bible all the time. I just couldn’t believe it. I’d read the Bible at work. I’d read the Bible. I was so enamored with the word of God. And growing up in Southern California, there was a radio station called “K-Wave.” So all the guys were on K-Wave teaching us the Bible. And I’m like, “I can’t believe…!” I remember there wasn’t, like, a day that didn’t go by that I was listening to a Bible study, and I’m like, “that’s in the Bible?” “That’s in the Bible!” And then Pastor Jeff would be teaching something from the pulpit at our church, and I was at every service. Like, Marie was like, “Do you really need to be at every service?” “Yes, I need to be at every service.” “I need to be there both services on Sunday.” “I need to be there Sunday night.” “I need to be there on Wednesday.” “I’m going to take a couple classes on Tuesdays and Thursdays.” Like, man, I am looking for things to do. But over time, you don’t look for things to do anymore. You’re not looking to help. You’re not looking for the single mom getting out of the car that is in the parking lot. You’re coming into service because you got your Bible and you’re ready to take notes. But there’s a single mom, or obviously a woman by herself. Maybe she’s a single mom. Maybe she’s there by herself and her husband’s at work, but the kids are all haywire, and the Lord, you saw them, and, you know, she needs help. And then you just walk in the building, like, that happens. Like, we’re here. We’re not looking for things anymore. Like, and I find that’s a repetitive reminder that I give to the team here, that this is a habit to develop where we “aren’t entitled to anything.” We don’t want what we deserve. We don’t want what we’re entitled to, if you will, the special privilege of Hell and the separation from God for eternity. That’s what we’re entitled to because were born in sin. We don’t want that. We want to be more effective. I know that you’re listening to this because that’s your heart’s desire, and you’re a pastor. You’re kind of behind your desk, and you’re frustrated, and everything seems to be falling apart, and you’ve got this difficulty. I happen to have quite a few difficulties in my life right now as a pastor in this particular church. But one thing that, even today, is Pastor Bob and I are recording this podcast. This is…and I’m living out this principle even though I didn’t mean to. I needed to do something proactively instead of this reactive place I’m in right now. I’ve got to respond to this, and I got to respond to this, and I’m like, “no, let’s talk about ministry.” “Let’s look to do something.” We haven’t done the season in a while. We keep putting it off. Keep putting it off. And you got traveling. I got traveling. We got the church. No, no. Let’s look for something to do, and let’s just do it. Let’s just get it done. Let’s present ourselves to the Lord and be proactive. So whether it’s helping someone in the parking lot or maybe you have a book inside of you need to write, or you have a letter you’re supposed to send or a text message, God put something on your heart, and you need to reach out to someone. Look for something to do and do it. Look for many things to do and do them. And I would say what’s helpful in the context of people in discipleship is “take somebody with you.”
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
Yeah. And you’re walking through it. I mean, when we ask God, we ask you to use us, then you’ve got to put yourself in a place in the midst of people to be used. You can’t go out in the forest and say, “God, use me.” I mean, what. What are you going to do? Just, you know, help a fox out of his hole? I mean, what? Come on. You have to take steps of faith. You’re asking, God, set up divine appointments in my life, but you can’t just “hide away,” and expect things to take place. You have to put yourself there “in the midst.” Jesus took His disciples with him, and they never knew what was going to happen every single day. Every day was different, and there were days that were just so normal because it was in between the amazing kinds of things. And in our life, God has us to walk by faith. And so there are days when you don’t even sense the presence of God, but He’s there. So you got to fall back on the truths that God has told you and remember what he told you during the exciting times during this sense where I really sense His hand and His fingerprints and I watched Him work. Well, keep that in mind, because there will be days when it seems like you don’t feel Him, and you got to go back to that because you got to get prepared for what’s coming, but don’t “hide yourself away.”
Pastor Ed Taylor
“Look for things to do and do them.” Let’s do something…right out…something unusual, Bob. Let’s come up with 10 things that we can look for and do them, and we’ll go kind of rapid fire. So I want you to think of something, and then I’ll think of something and you and see if we can come up with ten things at the end. “Don’t give me that face.” “Don’t shake.” You know, you can’t see, like, you don’t see it on the podcast. But Bob’s, like, “What?” Cause Bob likes routine. He has a tendency to like routine as much as all the rest of us. But let, but let’s put ourselves, like, somebody sitting at their desk, a pastor, someone, a servant, somebody that’s new to the faith and like, OK, what am I supposed to look for? I’ll go first. OK?
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
OK.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
Look for things to do. Look for a full trash and take it out.
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
When you go to a restaurant, tell the server, “We usually pray for our meal. We would like to pray for you. How can we pray for you?”
Pastor Ed Taylor:
Okay, number three. So come early to church and walk around the sanctuary and look for someone that seems like they’re out of place. Like they’re either reading the announcements or they’re reading maybe a pamphlet bulletin that they were handed, but they’re there early as well. They’re sitting there with someone or by themselves. Look for them and then walk up to them and introduce yourself and welcome them, asking them a question about how long they’ve been coming to church. So look for somebody before service and introduce yourself to them.
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
Another way is when you’re in the grocery line and somebody behind you just has two items, offer to pay for their items.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
Ooh. Five. In Starbucks, or whatever coffee shop you’re in, you could pay for your drink, and then pay for the drink behind you, but also hope that they don’t order a coffee machine!
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
Okay. Number six, shovel your neighbor’s driveway and sidewalk.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
That would be, of course, if you’re in a snow, we’re in a “snow place.” So you can’t shovel in Southern California or Arizona. I guess you can help the sand of your neighbor in Arizona move the rocks over. But here in Colorado, that’s a big deal. And also the East Coast, anywhere there’s snow, especially these snows that we’ve had that were heavy. I’ve got my neighbor to the right, he goes to work early in the morning, so it’s just a mom and her kids, so I try to help them. And then my neighbor on the other side is a firefighter, so they’re usually gone early in the morning. So I try to help him. And then across the street, that brother, is a little bit older, so if he’s not out and I can beat him, I’ll try to get, I don’t “beat him,” like, physically, but “beat him outside.” Try to do that. So, you could help. You could help pick up trash. You could mow the lawn if it wasn’t snow, you can mow the lawn. Okay, so here, number seven. If you’re serving with someone in your church, like maybe an elder or home Bible study leader or even a pastor, ask them if you can go with them on their next hospital visit or something that they’re doing. Ask them, if you can come along with them. And let me add the bonus on there. If you’re a pastor, like…you’re sitting…I could picture you right now. You’re sitting in your desk. It’s tiring. It’s difficult. You can ask somebody that you see potential in, in your church to come with you. You can, like you just like, you know, sometimes pastors are like, “man, there’s no one to serve, and I just don’t have,” well, you just need to be like a fisherman. Like, be a “fisher of men,” and just ask people. And then as you’re in the car with them…you’re going to the hospital with them, two by two, you’re able to get to know them and see where they fit in the body. Right? So ask somebody to come with you or ask to go. Number eight.
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
Okay, you can. Yeah. While you’re at church, you see a married couple and they have a couple of kids, and the kids are real active. Offer to watch their kids so they can have a night by themselves, just out. Not overnight, but just so they can have a dinner by themselves and have a little time, maybe four or five hours, watching their kids.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
And they should know you.
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
That’s a relational. That’s going to be relational. So it’s not some random couple, but in the relationships you’ve built, maybe in a life group or maybe in a men’s study or women’s study. And there’s a relational thing where you have become friends with someone, offer yourself. That’s a big deal, those date nights.
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
Right, right.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
That’s a big deal. Number nine would be when you are hearing your announcements of your church, whether it’s video or you get it by email or a piece of paper still bulletin. Sign up for something. Look for something to do. Sign up. Is it a. Is there a class? Is there a opportunity for service? Sign up for it because you’re sitting there and you’re thinking, “they got it covered.” “They got it covered.” Look, if we had it covered, we wouldn’t ask for help. So just know that if we had it covered, we wouldn’t ask for help. So we’re asking for help. And when you hear it, you don’t know what you’re stepping into, whether it’s just “we need help at a women’s thing, the men, we need you to serve,” or “we need help with the kids so the women can study the Bible.” So sign up for something, look to the bulletin, pray over it, and then do something in it.
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
Okay, final one is be a greeter at your church and be welcoming for people coming in. When new people come to your church, it’s insecure. They don’t know where they’re supposed to go. They don’t know what they’re going to run into. They maybe had some bad experiences at different churches. So just be more welcoming, because some churches can just end up being like a “country club,” where everybody focuses on their own friendships and the people coming in feel out of place. Awkward. Unwelcomed.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
Yeah. Let’s do a couple for pastors. So pastors are listening right now, and let’s think of the pastor that’s a little frustrated right now, or in a position where they’re responsive to a lot of difficulties, which can really discourage a pastor where they’re just dealing with problems all the time. I can think of a pastor that would say, “I just want to teach the Bible.” “I just want to pray.” And although that’s a great desire, pastoring is tending the flock, too. It’s not just teaching the Bible, but tending the flock can be tiring. What are a couple things that a pastor can look for to do and do them? I would say, number one, look for the person that wants more and give them more. You could give them a book to read and then you could follow up with them. You could take them out to lunch. You could make yourself available by giving them your phone number so they can text you questions or…but look for…literally, and here’s the thing, I could already feel the tension. “Don’t you know, Ed, I already have so much to do?” I do know. I do know, and I’m not advocating that you create more work for yourself in that respect. What I’m advocating for is you are “on your heels,” a little bit and this will get you off your heels. You see that brother that comes early all the time, or you see that person just signed up for a greeting, or you see it because you’re very observant. You see it. Invite yourself into their lives. They’re probably waiting for you to do it, and you don’t even know it yet. So look for somebody. Give them opportunity to have access and then give them something to do.
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
Yes.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
What’s number two?
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
Well…sorry.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
You should see his face right now. If we had this on video. We’re not doing it on video yet. But Bob is “the man of many faces.”
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
Okay. As a pastor, you’re looking for future leaders, and you’re asking the Lord to open your eyes to those who just have a heart to want to be around other people and help them and to serve. Those are the kinds of people that you want to draw in. Just give them a little more responsibility and see how they respond. Spend some time with them. I remember asking one fellow who was a manager of a grocery chain, I said, “What’s on your heart?” “What do you see in the future?” He says, “You know, I always have seen myself in the future to be…I want to pastor a small congregation in an out-of-the-way place.” And it was such a shock to me. But it was spending time with them, hearing their heart, seeing how they’re interacting and loving people, and then “draw them in.” Don’t just say, “That’s a good thing.” But actually be intentional and come alongside them and invest in them. And I have had some pastors say, “Every time I try to invest in somebody, they move away…so what’s the purpose?” Well, you’re a foster parent. And you want to be a change agent with those who are under your care for as long as you have them, because they’re not yours. And, you know, eventually they could go on. But make a difference while you have them.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
What are those flowers? You just gave me a picture. What are those flowers that when you blow on them, the white things fly away? What is that?
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
Dandelions.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
Dandelions. So they’re pretty in your hand for a little bit, but then when there’s a little bit of wind, they get blown away and they get spread out. And that’s how ministry is. We do have a lot of beautiful people and wonderful families that we get to serve for a while, but then the wind of the Holy Spirit takes them and blows them away into a new season, new place, new fruitfulness. And it’s always a bummer when good families leave and when people leave. But it’s always a exciting thing, too, because you get to follow along. I always tell them, “Stay in touch, because I want to hear what God’s doing in your life.” I want to hear how God has used this. And one of the things we’ve adopted here, again, it could be another topic, but we just want people to leave stronger than when they came here because they’re probably going to leave. It’s a very transient time. We live by the Air Force, “Space Force,” base now, they call it, and we get families for two…four years, and then we get to pour into them and move on. So I’m on number three. Here’s something that pastors, if you want to just really step out, is as you’re driving around your community, you already know the other churches in town. Find a church and either…here’s the easier one, I’ll give you the easier one first. When you get back to the office, look that church up on the web and call the pastor and pray for them. Just call the pastor and say, “Hey, my name is Ed, I’m pastor at church right down the street…we’re co laboring in this community…is there anything in your life right now that I can pray for you about?” You’re looking for something to do and then you’re going to do it. And this is your wheelhouse. This is it. You’ve been called to encourage and, who knows? Imagine you…and you already should be doing this with the people you already know. Texting. Emailing. All the time. I just got one this morning before I came in. Pastor Jimmy from Southern Cal, he reached out to me this morning, encouraged me, said he listened to a Bible study and said, “man, that was a really good study; thank you for it.” And he reached out to me, which reminds me, I need to be sending things out of people that God puts on my heart. But this is unique. This is a unique one. It’s not just to the people you know, but it’s to the churches in your community that are teaching the word, that are plowing the field. They might be different than you. They might have a different approach, different perspective. But believe me, if you look for it, you’re going to find it and reach out. You might have a really cool friendship develop, but at the very least, you’re praying and taking somebody to the throne room of grace that’s in the same field you are. Okay, one more, Bob.
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
Okay, one more is on that same idea. Develop a relationship with a pastor in the area that’s not a part of your denomination or a part of your family of churches and get to hear their story.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
You just took mine. That’s mine. You just took mine, Bob.
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
No, no, actually, I’m talking about taking them to coffee. You’re talking about praying with them. OK, that’s another thing.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
Okay. It’s the next step.
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
Okay.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
All right. All right.
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
Yeah.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
You should see his face right now. Go ahead.
Pastor Bob Claycamp:
OK, so, actually hearing their story, don’t go…don’t meet them just to tell your story, but listen to them. Let them talk and hear what’s going on. When I was over in England, spending time with vicars who were over parishes in the Church of England, and I had to confess before I left United States to go to England, my perspective of the Church of England was quite low until I got to know these guys and hear their heart. And of course, there’s always some that are very in it for whatever reason, but there are a few that are so dedicated to the Gospel and keeping it pure, and they’ve chosen to be in that venue to be a change agent. And, man, my hat is off to them because, I mean, it was just so refreshing to hear that. And it actually rebuked me for little prejudices because we kind of think our own little group is the “best group.” And we get myopia or “spiritual cataracts?” We just think everything’s fuzzy.
Pastor Ed Taylor:
Make a commitment and read a book. Read a book that you haven’t read in a while. Read a book that maybe was recommended to you or is on a stack over there and become friends with an author. Let the Lord pour into you. One of the reasons I love reading books is…I can interact with the author and just let him speak to me…and he doesn’t…if it’s a rebuke or it’s a correction or it’s an encouragement, I will receive it because it’s in a “book form.” And I love reading. And I think it was Oswald Sanders in his book, “Spiritual Leadership,” that said, “Leaders are readers.” And I can already hear, you know, “I already have enough to read.” Yeah, but this is something new. Like, this is. You’re looking to do something, these…these steps and more, and maybe you have a few. You can text us or email us. You have a few things that have helped you. When you’re looking for things to do and you do them, it’s going to make you more effective. And that…this last part was just for pastors, because I know pastors listen in, but across the board, I know God will honor it. So we come to the end of another episode. The title of this episode, or the flavor of this was “Look for Things to Do and Do Them.” It’s a battle against entitlement or discouragement or just kind of sitting back on your heels and having to respond to everything. This is the Lead2Serve podcast. We are in Season 5 and I’d love to hear your feedback. Make sure you leave a good review. If it’s a bad review, email us. If it’s a good review, put it up on there…wherever you get your podcast, because it helps the algorithms and gets things out. The response to the podcast is always so encouraging. We probably should do it a little bit more often because there’s always a gap in between and we lose some listeners and then they come back and there’s another gap. But you know as well as I do, keeping up with ministry can be hard. And this is a bonus on top of everything because we’re pastoring a local church. So that gets our priority and the podcast comes afterwards. But we’re glad that we’re able to get this season. We’re in-studio with Pastor Bob Claycamp. Between Pastor Bob and me, which is pretty startling. there’s like 80 years of ministry experience in the room right now. But experience really isn’t as important as the leading of the Holy Spirit and a fresh word. So if you have any feedback, email me ed@edtaylor.org. Until next time, this is the Lead2Serve podcast. Share it. Tell people about it. Give us some feedback. We’d love to hear from you. God bless you.
Outro VO:
Thank you for joining us for this episode of lead to serve with Pastor Ed Taylor, a leadership podcast from Calvary Church in Aurora, Colorado. If you have a leadership question you want to hear answered on a future lead to serve podcast, please email it to pastored@calvaryco.church
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