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Tanzania and Europe...Cover Us with Prayer!

Dear Friends,

On July 2 Friede and I will leave the U.S. for the Trip of a Lifetime (up to now)!  We will not return until August 5...we enlist your support through your prayers for us daily and as the Lord brings us to your minds...

Here is the itinerary:

  July 2-16 Tanzania, Various conferences and The African Call

   July 17-19 Berlin Youth Conference, Germany

   July 20-23 Visit with Friede's son and family, Ramstein AFB

   July 24-26 The Vineyard, Graz, Austria, Father's Heart Conference

   July-28-August 2 Family Leadership Retreat, Pitzal, Austria (The Alps)

   August 3-4 Vienna, Austria and HOME!

We count heavily on your prayers.

One of our sons, Julian Griner, sent us what he was praying for us. Read it and pray it and more for us.

In Jesus Name, we cancel any assignments of the enemy against Jack and Friede and the team they work with.  We issue a summons to Holy Angels to go with them and "guard them in all their ways" in accordance with Psalm 91:11. In fulfillment of Hebrews 1:14, we ask those same Angels to serve them and assist them as they advance the Kingdom of God in every opportunity. 

Father, we ask you to protect their health and keep them safe in their travels. We further pray and decree that every need will be abundantly supplied and that blessings will abound throughout their journey.  By faith in Jesus Name, we call in the Harvest for this trip as the Holy Spirit prospers every seed that is sown.

We thank you, Father, for all that will be accomplished and set into motion on this Missionary Journey.

In Jesus Name.....Amen!

Thanks, Julian and Friends everywhere!

Jack & Friede  

PS  Have you heard what God is leading us to do with sons?  Check out the most previous blog and connect with us!

Have You heard?

Under the "have you heard" column, the news is out that my son, Tim, has come to work with me to develop an intentional ministry to my sons across the world.  What I have been doing instinctively across the years we have begun to prepare to do intentionally.  So meet Tim…

Tim Taylor has pastored four churches since 1985, two of which he helped plant.  In 2004 he left the pastorate to lead an independent missions group called HeartSprings.  HeartSprings uses the gift of safe water to open doors for the Gospel primarily in Latin America.  Through a community transformation model HeartSprings has provided safe drinking water to nearly 300,000 people in the first ten years and has seen as many as 526 souls come to Jesus for the first time in three-day projects.  Although Tim has resigned his leadership responsibilities for this group to work with His dad, He has not lost his heart for the nations and knows that God will only expand his vision and opportunities to touch the nations as he connects with spiritual brothers.  Tim will celebrate 27 years of marriage to Michelle, a high school counselor, in July.  He has two sons, Blake, who is in his third year of law school and Brice, who will graduate from Pepperdine University next May.  They live in Bedford, Texas and attend the First Baptist Church in Euless, Texas.

Tim says, “When we honor our earthly fathers, we honor our heavenly Father. I am being called to honor the Father by honoring my father.  I invite you to help me steward the legacy.”

Paul, in 1 Corinthians 4:15 said, "Even though you have ten thousand instructors you have not many fathers, for in Christ Jesus I became your father through the gospel."  I don't believe that it is possible to read into this statement the pathos Paul was feeling as he lamented the "not-many-fathers" condition. It is toward this painful reminder that we are preparing a ministry to my spiritual sons across the world.  Since there is no precedent that we know of, we are moving slowly through the development of this ministry.  The value of such a move has been made clearly obvious on many occasions the past months.  We feel deeply that as people discover their identity as spiritual sons, they will learn to father through being sons, and the power of the Father Himself will be released on us all.  Such is already happening as I write this letter.

I feel like the most blessed man on earth with my son, Tim, coming to work with me and, as we speak, he is hard at work in every area of the ministry.  So this is the first announcement that certifies what we are doing.  I have spoken to many of you and you have voiced much encouragement to us and that always makes the work easier.  We are compiling a SonsList and will begin to communicate regularly with my sons.  We plan to launch a website called SonsLink in the very near future to serve as a bridge for connecting my spiritual sons.

In the months ahead my deepest desires for my sons will begin to be fulfilled:
. . . I want to know who my sons are and know my sons better.
. . . I want my sons to know one another.
. . . I want my sons to be more effective and fulfilled in life and ministry.
. . . I want to be a better father.

Incidentally, I happen to know that at this moment sons are meeting and discovering one another for the first time.  I can't imagine the level of connectivity we will be experiencing in future weeks and months!

By the way, ladies, the term "sons" is not a gender limitation in this case, so all my sons' wives, who desire to be, are my daughters as well.

So, let’s begin to intentionally connect!  All input and feedback are welcome.  Feel free to share your thoughts as we launch out in this new adventure together.  We have had fellowship in the past.  I believe God is leading us, individually and collectively, to experience relationship on a level that we all desire, need and until now, have only imagined can be.  Let us hear from you soon…oh, and feel free to spread the news!

Love,

Pappa Jack

Who the Kingdom for? LOSERS!

This blog is written by Tim Taylor for Jack Taylor...

The Kingdom is not a material object that can be owned or possessed, but there are certain ones to whom it belongs; or better yet, there is a special class of people who belong in the Kingdom.  Robert Capon in his book Kingdom, Grace, Judgment describes those who belong in the Kingdom as the lost, last, least, littlest and lowest.  In the other words the Kingdom of God is inhabited by losers.  Before your pride reacts, let me explain.

For far too long we have allowed our culture (the kingdom of this world) to define success for us.  So, we assume that material wealth, social status, being in first place, being the strongest and maintaining control of our lives brings fulfillment.  Some of the least satisfied and secure people on earth are the richest.  Those with great authority know it is a weight too heavy to carry alone.  A victory this year is quickly forgotten the next.  There is nothing more empty than what this world calls success.

So, Jesus comes along and turns the world upside down.  He says we are blessed when we are poorest.  It is precisely for those who are spiritual bankrupt that the Kingdom has come.  I describe it this way.  The Kingdom is for the helpless, the humiliated, the hapless and the hopeless.  If we are honest we would have to admit that we are helpless without God, but we continue to try to make our way as if He is not there.  Shame and humiliation are universal experiences.  Either through our own failures or as victims, we have all been brought to our proverbial knees.  In addition, we do not have a clue.  We are most miserable because we think we know something when we actually know nothing.  Our wisdom only buries us deeper in the muck of this world, leaving us hopeless.  There is no sadder state.  To be without hope is to be locked up in the prison of this body in this world with no possibility of parole.  This is the state of everyone apart from the Kingdom.

So, we are pathetic trapped in an untenable condition and Jesus calls us blessed.  He proclaims our happy state.  Does He know something we do not?  I think so.  He knows that until we acknowledge our actual condition we will not change.  He knows that until we admit our absolute frailty we will never advance.  He knows that until we accept our complete state of "loser-ness" we will never really succeed.

Blessed are the poor in spirit for theirs is the Kingdom of God.  Who is the Kingdom for?  It is for losers! 

If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.  For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: and whosoever will lose his life for my sake shall find it.

Matthew 16:24-25

When we lose, we win!

Report from the Field (Literally)

This blog is written by Tim Taylor for Jack...

It was our intention to maintain this blog weekly and we are recommitting to this goal.  You will read often from me as I seek to communicate the thoughts and musings of my Dad.  To jump start your attention, allow me to report on the highlights of Dad's past several weeks of travel, on which I had the opportunity to accompany him.  Please do no be offended if something concerning your involvement is omitted, but we have limited space and you have limited time...so I report only the highlights this week.

Two events distinguish the past weeks.  One is the discovery of the best kept secret in Georgia.  God is building a community of believers that are being captured by the Kingdom of God in Moultrie, Georgia.  Dad calls it a "diamond in a peanut patch."  Pastor Julian Griner is leading a congregation which is self-describe as those nobody else wanted.  God is establishing a Kingdom outpost in south Georgia of people whom the religious system neglected and He is making them a people everyone needs.  The worship at Lifespring Community Church is vibrant and original.  The atmosphere is open and accepting.  The people are loving and caring.  The property God has given them is amazing and providing.  They receive an annual offering from the crops grown on the land around the building. 

Pastor Griner considers himself a spiritual son of Jack Taylor and his love and appreciation for Dad is as evident as Dad's influence in his life and ministry.  Among his staff are his two sons and the congregation is an extension of his family naturally and spiritually.  I have experienced love and acceptance at this high level in few places in my life.  God has given this precious local expression of the Body of Christ a vision to transform their community.  They currently maintain a rehab center for women and are seriously contemplating opening a free health care clinic on their property.  Situated on one of the major gateways to the city of Moultrie, Lifesprings is poised to change their world and see the Kingdom come.  Equipped with people with a passion for God and for their community, God has raised Lifesprings up to impact their city, region, state and nation.  It is just like God to raise up his leaders from places no one has heard of.  David came from Bethleham and Jesus from Nazereth.  Why not Moultrie?

The other event that stands out is time Dad and I spent in the mountains of Burnsville, North Carolina.  Hidden in the hollers is the most beautiful 60 acres.  Dad and I went there to spend time with David and Janice Van Cronkhite who are giving new purpose to the place.  You will hear more of Burnsville, but what was outstanding about the three days spent there this time was the activities we engaged in.

I though that you might like to see Jack Taylor in another setting.  Dad mowed several fields, whether they needed mowing or not.  He moved rocks and stumps and even got the tractor stuck in a mud hole.  A 16 foot chain is now available to pull him our of any hole he may find himself in.  You would no believe how much he enjoyed himself.  Harking back to his days as a boy on the farm, Dad and the tractor were one.  Dad left his mark on the property in more ways than one.

Both of these places speak of one vital Kingdom truth that cannot be overemphasized.  The Kingdom of God is all about relationships.  Fellowship is the means by which the Kingdom comes.  His presence in our presence changes the very physics of the universe and we get to enjoy it.  In the coming days of uncertainty that are sure to worsen, God is calling us to a deeper trust in Him.  Cast all else aside and abandon everything to trust in Him.  He will not fail you!  He is shaking everything that can be shaken so that we can see what is unshakable!  He is calling us to relationships that will prove Himself to us.

I welcome your feedback and comments...

Tim Taylor

BEEN THINKIN’

   Thought is a good thing. Thinking is a good habit IF (and a big “if”) one settles into the habit of thinking with God.   I had one of those moments yesterday when something came out of my mouth that I knew was from God. From-God-to-God prayer is both scintillating and satisfying.  I thought and said, “God, the only way my mind is safe is for you to be in control of it.  My unaided mind is anything but safe.”

   Now this does not mean that God, being in control, does my thinking for me, replacing my creativity in thinking, that by the way, He gives us.   It does mean that he presides over it, monitors it, directs it and keeps it in proper parameters.  This means that I am welcome to think of God, with God, toward God and from God.  I should begin every day, every project, every response and every idea with a prayer something like this, “Father, help me to keep my thoughts under the canopy of Your government, Your jurisdiction.  Let me think with you today.”

   My thoughts, unaided by His inner Life, unchecked by His wisdom and unimpowered (not a registered word but you get the point) from heaven are irrelevant to say the least and dangerous in the long run.
    The great issue of all our world crises is bad thinking.  Everybody thinks but when thinking with our human intelligence capabilities we, at best, are limited and vulnerable. This is because in the weakness of our mere humanity we are incapable of detecting the thought processes that are from the dark persons and powers of this world system.  Thus, it might be said, that much of the thinking of the world originates from Hell itself and reflects the nature of dark angels and the devil himself.  Violence, hate, spite, rebellion, selfishness, independence, lovelessness, anger and lust are thoughts both driven from within an unredeemed heart and from evil spirits filling the atmosphere around the planet.  The unredeemed are driven from both within and without.  The saved are assaulted from without and to the measure we are being strengthened by His Spirit in the inner man we are keeping the battle on the external level.  This, bottom line, means that those who do not profess faith in Jesus Christ are at the mercy of limited and distorted intelligence and evil spirits that can harass from without and control from within.

   Think about it but not before you put your total trust in Jesus and celebrate His indwelling which is the one great tenant of Christianity that no other religious expression even dares to claim.  He in us in the only hope of success and He in us ___in control ___ guarantees right thinking.

   So, in the words of a great contemporary Christian thinker, Ravi Zacharias, “Let my people think!”

Jack Taylor

A FORMULA FOR LIFE: THE PATH OF BLESSEDNESS

 I am not usually given to formulas but this morning I was awakened with a blast of blessing from a Scripture that, sad to say, I had not recently considered.
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding; in all your way acknowledge him and he shall direct your paths.   (Proverbs 3:5,6)
   It fell into place as I meditated on it.           
   The Prerequisite: Total trust in God (with all your heart).

  The Program:
       1. Negative: Avoid self-trust: Don’t even lean toward your own thinking.
        2. Acknowledgement of God in everything
    The Payoff: God’s guidance in our walk.

   This passage is gladdening my heart as if I had just discovered it for the first time. I find it intensely practical, immediately applicable and instantly rewarding!

  You know, I feel the Bible is full of passages like this one that we have not thought much about recently that would break over our heads with great benefit if we would simply stand still for a moment to hear what God might say and is ready to do.

   Try it!  You'll like it.  I have.  I did.

Where Are We Headed?

Are you feeling prodded, shoved, pushed, pulled, nudged?  You’re not alone! All these issues are involved in moving along with God.  We can’t always hear but we can most always “feel”.  I have good news for you.  We are being “put upon” by our Heavenly Father in order to taking us somewhere and that gives being prodded, etc., a delightful perspective.  We’re going somewhere and though there may be a few “providential bruises” along the way, you’ll really like it when we get there.
“. . . til we all come in the unity of the faith and
in the knowledge of the Son of God
and become mature
unto the measure of the stature of Christ
 (Ephesians 4:13)”.
   Wow!  That’s where we’re headed.  The trip may be rough but the destination will be royal.  Take heart, Dear Saint.  The sweat and struggle of the journey will soon be forgotten in the beautiful blaze of glory that will be revealed in us.  Feel the knots, view the scars, celebrate the pain . . . then go happily on!
   Think about it.  Much!

KINGDOMBITE # 10

THE KINGDOM: RELATIONAL

   The Kingdom of God is nothing, if not relational.  It begins and continues with a vital relationship between God and man. The moment we are related to God through the new both we are simultaneously related to one another, whether on earth or in heaven. When you and I are connected with God, we are immediately connected spiritually with like citizens on earth and in heaven.  As our relationships on earth are changed, due to our citizenship in the Kingdom, our relationships include those in heaven.  We are part of “all the saints”.  We have been changed from the common to the cosmic!
   As this idea is soaking in our souls, we will find it more difficult to exclude any fellow Kingdom citizens from our circle of love and cooperation.  We are all part of the same Kingdom, universal and infinite.  We are part of one another and parts together comprising the unending Kingdom.  We must give up the philosophy behind the adage:
To live above with saints we love,
Now that will be glory!
To live below with saints we know,
Now that’s another story.!
   It’s not another story; it’s a part of the whole story and a glorious part as we learn to enjoy, not endure, Kingdom relationships here and now.  “As it is in heaven”, the scope contained in the model prayer (Matthew 6:9), will put heaven on exhibit as we “live below with saints we know, exhibiting Kingdom love (agape).
   The Kingdom is inherently relational.  God’s kingly rule on earth, while including all citizens of the Kingdom,  call for a Kingdom, corporate and unified in experiencing and extending.  At no time are we to lose the individual facet of our relationship to the government of God on earth. It is from a healthy concept of our individual relationships to the King and His Kingdom that we facilitate the corporate aspects as well.
   I must think “cosmic” and if I don’t I will narrow and diminish my concepts and practice of life until I am alone and left out of the wider plan of God.
   I am not sure what all it will involve, but I feel strongly that God’s greatest waiting initiatives are held in check until we report For duty.
   For my part, count me in!  Reporting for duty, Sir!  Oh, by the way, the “relational” designation covers both the personal and corporate! 

Jack Taylor

KINGDOMBITE # 9

THE KINGDOM: IMMINENT

   I have this day, in my study, while engaged in seeking to consume the Kingdom one bite at a time, made what to me is an astounding etymological discovery (never mind the word, it simply means “study of words”),
    I know this is confusing but allow me to throw this other word into the mix, sounding the same as “eminent” and “immanent, the word, “imminent”! 
   No lesser than Webster’s New World Dictionary (from which the other words were defined) gives this word’s meaning as “likely to happen without delay; impending”.  Well hello “at hand” . These words are used in the declaration of the Kingdom by John the Baptist, “Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 3:2).”
   There are many opinions about this term “at hand”, most of them based on whatever predisposition one has taken on whether the Kingdom is now or later. Parenthetically, let me declare, from where I stand, that it is both!
   As a single word “imminent” is as near “at hand” as it could possibly be, Remember, it means “likely to happen without delay; impending”.  Such is the Kingdom of God, it is near, so near, in fact at it is at hand or reachable.  Every day this Kingdom does happen again and again as it is accessed and released.  So to summarize the last three KingdomBites, the Kingdom is:
“Eminent”, high, lofty, prominent, distinguished/  
“Immanent”, operating within; inherent; present throughout the universe
“Imminent”, likely to happen without delay; impending.
Consult your Bible for Kingdom descriptions, then look at these words through the eyes of God’s Word.
Consider!

Jack Taylor

KINGDOMBITE # 8

THE KINGDOM: IMMANNENT

Another word, sounding the same as the previous “eminent” as used in the last bite, is the word “immanent”. The word may be defined as “operating within; inherent; present throughout the universe, said of God”.  This is a powerful descriptive word relating to the Kingdom.  There is a key attribute of God (aren’t all His attributes “key”?) referred to as “immanence”.  It stands to reason that if God is immanent, then His Kingdom is likewise immanent.  It has come to me in the midst of this study (just now!) that this one word stands as a perfect description of the Kingdom of God.  I would ask a further word of the
“dictionarians” (the ones who coined and defined the word): Can you think of the name of an entity or person rather than God who fits this description?  If not, I rest my case __ there is none like He or His Kingdom.  They stand alone as “immanent”!
Two of Robert Farrar Capon’s observations on the implications of the parables to the Kingdom are that (1) The Kingdom has inherent energy and power and  (2) The Kingdom is at work all the time, everywhere in every way.  This, in a word is, immanace.
   I say “hurrah” for immanence!
   At this present, throbbing moment the King and his Kingdom are present within each of us and, at the same time, present and operating throughout the world and entire universe!  
   You best think about this but, before you do, open up for another word by the same sound that I just discovered.  Next KingdomBite please.