Loyd C. Taylor

Fall Creek Baptist Church
Jonesville, North Carolina 28642
336-462-4844

• Experience: Over 35 years ministry and counseling experience.
• Comment to those looking at my sermons: I claim no originality and just hope they will be a blessing to the reader.
• Sermon or series that made a difference: G. Campbell Morgan, any of his sermons. Chalk Artist Berrie Merit who drew the picture, "Throw Out the Lifeline" from which I was convicted and later saved.
• One of my favorite illustrations: One of my favorite sermon illustrations goes like this: There was once an older man who would often go down to the beach to write. One morning, after a terrible storm had passed through, he was walking along the shoreline and noticed that the entire beach was covered with starfish as far as the eye could see. In the distance, he saw a young boy approaching. As the boy walked, he would stop every few steps, bend down, pick something up, and throw it into the ocean. As the boy came closer, the man called out to him, “Son, what are you doing? Look at this beach—it’s covered with starfish. You can’t possibly make a difference.” The boy didn’t say a word at first. He simply bent down, picked up another starfish, and tossed it back into the water. Then he looked up and said, “Mister, it made a difference to that one.” I’ve often thought about how small my impact may seem in light of the great needs of this world. But this story reminds me that ministry is not always about reaching the masses—it’s about making a difference, one soul at a time.
• Family: I am married to Katherine. I'm a family man, and a people person. I have four children, ten grandchildren, and four great-grandchildren.
• What my parents think of my sermons: My mother and dad would be proud of a son being in the ministry, both are now with the Lord Jesus.
• What my spouse (really) thinks of my sermons: She is brutally honest, my best critic.
• Best advice given to me about preaching: Have the skin of a rhinoceros and the heart of a deer.
• Books that have had an impact: My Utmost for His Highest, by Oswald Chambers Competent to Counsel, by Dr. Jay Adams None of These Diseases, by S. I. McMillen, M.D.
• Hobbies: I write poetry and songs; I play the guitar and sing.
• If I could Preach one more time, I would say...: If I Could Preach One More Time I suppose if I knew I had just one more sermon to preach, I would speak about the great love of God. I would tell how, after all these years, it still amazes me that He would save a sinner like me. I would stand and testify that it was His love that found me, His love that drew me, and His love that kept me—and for that, I will be forever grateful. And then I would plead with others to receive that same love—the love that reaches down, lifts up, and never lets go. I believe I would echo the words of Frederick M. Lehman in that old hymn, “The Love of God,” reminding us that no measure could ever fully capture just how deep, how wide, and how eternal His love truly is.
• Something funny that happened while preaching: I finally saved up and bought myself two brand-new suits—both pinstripe: one brown and one blue. I was invited to preach at a church for the first time, and I was so excited to show up looking sharp in something that didn’t come from the Goodwill rack. Well… in my rush to make a great impression, I accidentally put on the jacket from one suit and the pants from the other. I walked in feeling like a million bucks—turns out I looked like loose change. Needless to say, it was a humbling reminder: I probably should’ve gotten a handle on my pride before going out to preach about it to somebody else. 😄
• What I want on my tombstone: He was a friend to sinners.