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About
Here's a little information about myself and things important:
I am the pastor of Christ the Servant Lutheran Church in Conway, SC. I was ordained in the Lutheran Church in 2003. I am also an Air Force Veteran, an author, a guitarist and songwriter.
I studied for my MDiv at Concordia Theological Seminary and Ashland Theological Seminary. I have a second Masters Degree in Library and Information Science from Kent State University, where I also received my BA. I have an Associates Degree in Computer Science from the Community College of the Air Force.
My spiritual journey began as a child with my parents taking me to Sunday School at People's Church in Geneva, OH. As a teenager I attended church and participated with a youth group at Northfield Presbyterian Church in Northfield, OH. In September of 1984, at 21 years old, I had a radical spiritual awakening the same night after visiting a concentration camp in Germany. Ever since that event, I have been studying in both Christian and Jewish circles. The Navigators were instrumental in my discipleship as a young man before seminary. Still today, I actively study the Bible, and other ancient texts, as well as the Early Church Fathers, and history.
Someone once asked me, 'With all that studying, what exactly have you learned?' If I could boil it down to one great truth, it would be what I learned from King Solomon: "Meaningless! Meaningless!” says the Teacher. “Utterly meaningless! Everything is meaningless,” (Ecclesiastes 1:1).
This means that at the end of the day, without God, life has no meaning. Without meaning, life has no purpose. Without purpose, life and every pursuit in it is ultimately futile. The richest and poorest person on earth have the same fate. Death is no discriminator of wealth, power, gender, race, creed, wisdom, or stupidity. At the end of life, we must all give up everything we own, everything we have worked for, and leave them to somebody else, or nobody else, as the case may be. There is only one thing that we take with us in death, and that is our relationships. And the relationships we take with us in death are determined by the path we walk in life.
For example, the very 1st Psalm of the Bible explains that there are two paths in life, and also the difference between the two. You can read it if you like here. To the psalmist who wrote Psalm 1, life is a road we walk that has spiritual meaning. This fact is displayed all through the Bible, from Enoch, who "walked with God," to Noah, and Abraham, the model of faith in God, who considered himself just a sojourner through this life. When you think about it, we are all really just travelers through this life. Each of us at a different place along that journey.
There are many examples for us from those who have traveled before us. During the life of Jesus of Nazareth, he himself never wrote anything down on paper that we know of, but after he finished his journey, the first writings by his disciples is a book called 'The Didache.' The first line of this book reads, 'The Lord's Teaching Through the Twelve Apostles to the Nations.' The book is thought to be the oldest instruction manual in Christian faith. The first line of instruction in the book reads, 'There are two ways, one of life and one of death; but a great difference between the two ways.' You can read about the book here.
For myself, I have found my path as a student and a follower of Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of Man, called the Christ, who I believe taught the path of faith that leads to life everlasting. He suffered and died on a cross for his teachings and gave his life as a substitute for our sins. By his substitutionary death, God ransomed us from the consequences of sin and the power of eternal death. Jesus taught his disciples this truth and offered as proof that God the Father would raise him from the dead on the third day after his execution at the hands of the Roman and Jewish authorities. Hundreds of people including his first disciples gave witness that Jesus was resurrected and walked among them, and hundreds saw him ascend into heaven at the same time. From that time onward, repentance for the forgiveness of sins and receiving life everlasting in the name of Jesus has been preached by countless disciples.
I seek to emulate Jesus and his teachings and preach the same message today. I know I am not perfect, I make mistakes, and I don't claim to be an expert. I do claim to be a disciple and I offer my experiences and understanding so that others may be helped in their situations and understanding. It is also my hope that through this website I could help others find the way of God, and perhaps we could even begin walking this spiritual road together for a bit. I know that like any road, there are wonders to be seen, dangers to be avoided, and lessons to be learned. I have witnessed many of them. If I have helped, I am grateful.
That's about it for me as it speaks to the core of who I am. So welcome to my website and may you be blessed along the way!
Pastor Rob Taylor
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