Gardner C. Taylor (1918-2015) the dean of American preaching

Gardner was the grandson of emancipated slaves. His father Rev. Washington M. Taylor was a Baptist pastor. He grew up in the segregated South of the early 20th century. He was admired for his eloquence of speech -hence his nickname ‘dean’.

Gardner wanted to be a lawyer. He received a football scholarship to Leland College. He served as as a chauffeur for the president of Leland, Dr. James A. Bacoats, a friend of his father’s. At the time he was struggling with the call to the ministry - he just received an acceptance to the University of Michigan Law School.

A car accident changed his mind. He was driving Dr. Bacoats car when another car veered across the highway. He slammed on the brakes and steered towards a ditch. One man was dead or dying. At the inquest two white witnesses said Gardner was not responsible for the fatal accident.

This near brush with death turned Gardner’s mind. That summer he acknowledged his call to the ministry.

Before going to college he had already been the pastor of Bethany Baptist Church in Elyria, Ohio (1938-41). He graduated from Oberlin College School of Theology in 1940 and began a lifetime of preaching and civil rights activism. He was only the third, of African- American decent, to graduate from Oberlin. In May he married laura Bell Scott.

He ministered at two more churches ,Beulah Baptist(1943) and his father’s former congregation at Mount Zion Baptist Church, before becoming the pastor at Concord Baptist Church of Christ (CBCC) in March,1948. He was just 29. It had the second largest membership in America- 5,000 ; under Gardner’s leadership it grew to 10,000.

In 1952 the beloved edifice of Concorde fire. They were without a facility for 4 years. ** 13** years later, 1965 they entered their new 2,200 sanctuary at a cost of 1,7 million $.

Gardner retired as pastor of CBCC in 1990 after 42 years, The congregation gave him the title of senior pastor emeritus, He lived for another 15 years. He died on 5th April, 2015 , aged 96, he ‘crossed the Jordan’.

In 1958 he became only the second black member of the New York City Board of education -on board for 3 years - he attacked segregation in the city schools.
Gardner was a close friend and mentor of Martin Luther King Jr. and played a prominent role in the Civil rights Movement in the 1960s. In 1961 he founded the Progressive National Baptist Convention (PNBC) - a new national fellowship for Black baptists., with Martin L.K.Jr… He was president for (1967/9).

Gardner gave lectures and sermons at universities and churches all over the USA. as well as in the U.K. Denmark , Australia , China and Japan. During his life time he received 15 honorary degrees. On August 9th, 2000 he received from Bill Clinton the Presidential medal of Freedom.

(To understand Garner’s method of preaching you need to read* *Preaching **-

the last page and a half of the notes I have included).

Sources used
wikipedia
Martin Luther King research