Gardner Calvin Taylor

Gardner Calvin Taylor

Senior Pastor Emeritus, Concord Baptist Church of Christ

The Reverend Gardner Calvin Taylor is senior pastor emeritus of the Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, N.Y. The “On Faith” panelist led the congregation from 1948 to 1990, as church membership grew by 9,000 and through a 1952 fire that necessitated a $1.7 million rebuilding effort. His role as pastor included oversight of the Concord Baptist Church Elementary School, Concord Nursing Home, Concord Clothing exchange, Concord Federal Credit Union, Concord Seniors Residence and Concord Baptist Christfund. Beyond Brooklyn, Taylor has taken the pulpit from London’s Westminster Hall to China to Copenhagen to Zambia. His publications include How Shall They Preach, The Scarlet Thread, Chariots Aflame and Wisdom. Among his awards and honorary degrees are doctorates from Oberlin College, Leland College, Wake Forest University and Howard University; a Star of Africa, conferred by Liberian President William Tubman; and the rank of Knight Commander, Order of African Redemption, conferred by President William Tolbert of Liberia. President Clinton awarded Taylor the Presidential Medal of Freedom in 2000. Born in Baton Rouge, La., he now resides in North Carolina. Close.

Gardner Calvin Taylor

Senior Pastor Emeritus, Concord Baptist Church of Christ

The Reverend Gardner Calvin Taylor is senior pastor emeritus of the Concord Baptist Church of Christ in Brooklyn, N.Y. The “On Faith” panelist led the congregation from 1948 to 1990, as church membership grew by 9,000 and through a 1952 fire that necessitated a $1.7 million rebuilding effort. more »

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December 2007 Archives



December 11, 2007 5:40 AM

Address Americans, Not Christians

Governor Mitt Romney’s statement about his religious beliefs prompts examination of what the founding people of the country believed about the political doctrines underlying the new nation. There is not one clear word in the Declaration of Independence or the Constitution which refers to the deity in terms of being related to Jesus Christ. In fact many of the people involved in formulation of our political documents were disciples of the English Deists and the French Philosophs [note: no correction necessary], notably lacking in faith in the God who is related in any way to Jesus Christ, who is the heart of the Christian faith.

Perhaps all of us should remember a word which first appeared in another generation in a Mid-Western newspaper which said, “There is so much bad in the best of us and so much good in the worst of us that it hardly behooves any of us to talk about the rest of us.”


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