Here is a quick letter I wrote to a young man turning of age…

Jackson, I always loved that name… Jackson. It just seems to me to be a Man’s name… Jackson. Like Jackson Hole, or Jackson Wyoming. Places where men are still men.

You know, you probably don’t even remember me. The last time I spent time with you, you were just a toddler. And toddlers don’t remember much… unfortunately.

Your dad has asked me to give you an analogy; an analogy of the attributes of a Leatherman tool. Now, I have never owned one of these devices, yet it seems to me that every man I know has one. You have a problem, or a device that needs to be “fixed” and your man friend pulls out of his belt like a six shooter, the Leatherman ready to fix any problem. Most of the guys I know are now on their second or third generation of Leatherman. It seems to me to be the ultimate multi-task machine. Man, you have a plier, knife, screwdriver, nail-filer… Like a Swiss army knife, but a Man’s Swiss army knife, if you know what I mean. Man, this thing goes on your belt… not a puny, cute “red thing” that slips quietly in your pocket. No true man pulls his Swiss Army Knife out of his pocket and says, “Man, look at this thing!” But a Leatherman? Watch out…

Unfortunately, like I said, I have never owned one. I think it only because, I couldn’t get used to the idea of it “hanging” on my belt like a six shooter, ready to draw. Maybe it is that last vestige of the old west. Maybe, I was never quite a “man.” Who knows? I think I can only handle one tool at a time. I don’t like to multi-task, to do multiple things at a time. But for some reason (now I am moving to philosophy here, attributes like your dad said…. ), the life God has given me, and I believe to every man ultimately, is a life where you are thrust upon with many tasks at once, a true multitask. I don’t think I have ever had a time in my life where I only had one task to focus on. Life for me has been more like juggling balls. And you never quite seem to get your act together, once you figure out how to keep all four of your balls floating gracefully at once, God throws in another…. then another… and another. Fortunately, once in a while, a ball is removed and you get a breather, but only for a moment it seems, and then you are back again juggling the remaining balls… multi-tasking.

If I could wax philosophical, I would say life is like a Leatherman, every ball you are juggling is different and requires different skills to manage, and some of the time you’re using all your tools at the same time. What tools you ask? Well, some tools are tools that are specific to the task; tools like your education, learned skills, talents and abilities. These are helpful. Then there are breakdowns in these skills through greed, lying, flattery, intolerance and many more. But there are more important tools like wisdom, humility, patience, understanding, joy, trust, hope, and most important Love. Love is like that little “nut” that holds the whole Leatherman together. Once it is gone, the whole thing falls apart. Love is important! But you need them all, like a Leatherman!

I don’t know if you will even read this at thirteen years old and understand what I am saying. I don’t know if you will still have this epistle years from now when you realize, “Yes, Chris was right.” “Life happens“ as someone has said. And you never quite get your act together. You always feel a little behind the ball, “homeless” in this life and no Leatherman tool will take you fully home. As each ball is juggled, you really don’t get it quite right, try as you may, because this life is just a shadow and was never designed to be totally figured out, at least in the sense where we have every answer to every problem. Because possibly we might just get a little too comfortable here; we may not see that we were made for something more, someone else. We will never be quite satisfied here on earth, because our home is not here!

Jackson, my prayer for you, as it is for my children, is that you might find the tool that has answer for every problem. I think you have been told about Him. Yes, this tool is a person, who became “homeless” in order to bring you home. Jesus Christ.

Maybe that is why someone invented the Leatherman; in hopes that one tool would “rule them all.” I hope this person was not disappointed when he realized that his Leatherman really didn’t have the answer…..

Love to the “little man” I played with many years ago….

Chris Taylor, alias: always your Dad’s best friend….

1.  Avoid moralism! Your listeners are wired to think moralistically.   In other words, they already are looking to find the next thing they can do in order to be accepted by God.  Don’t make your message an easy target.

Straightening out the lives of parishioners is the stock and trade of the pastorate. But much of this straightening is often unrelated to Christ and the real depth of congregational problems.  Moralism whether it takes the form of denunciation or pep talks, can ultimately only create awareness of sin and guilt or manufactured virtues built on will power. A ministry which leads to genuine sanctification and growth, on the other hand, avoids moralism, first by making clear the deep rootage of sin-problems in the flesh so that the congregation is not battling these in the dark, and then by showing that every victory over the flesh is won by faith in Christ, laying hold of union with him in death and resurrection and relying on his Spirit for power over sin… Ministries which attack only the surface of sin and fail to ground spiritual growth in the believer’s union with Christ produce either self-righteousness or despair, and both of these conditions are inimical to spiritual life. Richard Lovelace, The Dynamics of Spiritual Life (emphasis mine)

2.  Don’t be pedantic. Your listeners don’t want commentary they need life! In the words of DA Carson, we need to devote a fair bit of thought to the relations between ancient text and contemporary context, between expository lecture and expository preaching (where men and women are made to feel the text’s bite and balm), between rigorous exegetical accuracy and colorful presentation.

3.  Remember the gospel! Think motivation.  What motivates Christians to greater levels of commitment, sacrifice and holiness?  Only the Gospel.  In I Corinthians 5, Paul states that the love of Christ controlled him.  What was it that both constrained (think compulsion) and restrained (think banks of a river)?  What both compelled him to be “out of  his mind” and yet restrained him to hold his “reserve”if necessary?  It was the love of Christ, not just his love for Christ, but as the Greek suggests (and the majority of commentators agree) namely “Christ’s love” or “the love Christ showed” for him.  No one doubts that believers’ love for Christ motivates their actions, but here Paul is concentrating on an earlier stage of motivation, namely the love shown by Christ in dying for humankind. (M Harris, NIGNT II Cor).  When preaching we must see that Christians, as much as unbelievers, need the gospel, to see Jesus’ sacrificial love demonstrated at the cross.  That every thing Christ demands of us he has already done for us.  Here are a couple MP3 and articles by Dr. Keller that have really helped me in this area…. (all of these can be found here)

Evangelistic Worship PDF

Preaching to the heart I MP3

Preaching to the hear II MP3

Contextualization MP3

The Centrality of the Gospel PDF

This blog is perhaps my expression of lessons learned in my life.  I pray that those who are in the autumn of their years make take hope and not believe that they are “second hand lions.”    Those of us who have lived over 50 years have much to give and those in their early years have much to learn.

Here is my favorite quote from the movie….  Uncle Hub confronts a group of young “roughneck” teenagers who treat him rudely and disrespectfully as he eats his ribs at the local diner….

I’m Hub McCann. I’ve fought in two World Wars and countless smaller ones on three continents. I led thousands of men into battle with everything from horses and swords to artillery and tanks. I’ve seen the headwaters of the Nile, and tribes of natives no white man had ever seen before. I’ve won and lost a dozen fortunes, KILLED MANY MEN and loved only one woman with a passion a FLEA like you could never begin to understand. That’s who I am. NOW, GO HOME, BOY!

Then as the group of teenage hoods attempt to “teach him a lesson” with their knives, he promptly beats them up.  He then takes them home with him, feeds them, and gives them a mentoring speech he gives to all young men. They go home changed….

May the old men of this life, those with true wisdom, begin to teach those who follow after.  There is much to be learned from Perspective and experience that can save young men from the mistakes and errors we have made….