Pastor Taylor is a native of Pine Bluff and a graduate of Pine Bluff High School. He attended Ouachita Baptist University and received his B.A. in 1967. He did graduate Work at Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary in Mill Valley, California. He received his Master of Divinity degree from there in 1970 and the Doctor of Ministry degree in 1980. While attending Seminary, Pastor Taylor served as a Student Chaplain at San Quentin State Prison for two years. He has served as Pastor in Arkansas, Chicago and the San Francisco Bay area. Pastor Taylor and his wife JoAnne have two grown children and twelve grandchildren.
Alice Anderson plays the violin…well. She is first violinist with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. And she credits First Baptist Church, Atlanta with much of her success. She grew up in the church, was married there. She sang in the choir. Her mother played the piano there for 25 years. Alice credits many of the people in the church with enabling her to become the person she is today according to an article in the June, 2002 issue of Guidepost magazine. But what she really remembers as a turning point came on a Wednesday evening back in 1965. Home from college for the Thanksgiving break in her senior year, she had brought with her a beautiful antique, Grancino violin. It had been made in 1700 by the renowned Milanese violinmaker Giovanni Grancino. It rested on the seat beside her this Wednesday evening. Noticing her in the congregation, the Pastor asked her to play for them. Her mother had told the pastor how the violin was on loan to her at the recommendation of her violin teacher. He had told her she needed such an instrument if she were serious about playing professionally. At $4,000, the violin was far too expensive to purchase. Her father was recovering from a stroke and her mother was doing all she could to pay for college. As she played she looked out over the congregation and saw so many faces of people who had played such an important role in her life. And with all her heart, she wanted to play, and play the best she could for these dear people who had given so much to her. As she finished playing, one of the members stood and expressed appreciation for Alice and her mother for all the beautiful music they have brought to us over the years. Then the pastor shared how the violin was on loan to Alice and was the kind she would need to continue her music career. I wonder if we would like to enable her to purchase it? The cost is $4,000. It would be a gift from First Baptist. Within moments the entire amount was raised. Alice stood, unable to speak. She was to play the Grancino at First Baptist Church many, many more times. The building is gone now, but as Alice closes her eyes she can see a congregation full of familiar faces. The church wasn’t just bricks and mortar any more than the Grancino violin was just a piece of wood. The love that had brought that gift to her would go on, pure and full like the music of her violin.