Mufasa, Mufasa, Mufusa… brouhaha!  is a scary and sinful word for the hyenas in the movie Lion King.  They tremble at his power and don’t want to say the word because it brings them to reality of who is really the all powerful one.   I feel and many Christians feel the same way about the word, ‘Evangelism’…brouhaha.  ‘Evangelism’, what is the first word or phrase that comes to your mind?

Whether you believe in Jesus or not most people don’t have a positive view of this word.  Pride, shoving things down someone else’ s throat, “I am right, you are wrong”,  obnoxious, over-zealous and insensitive Christians, forcing people to listen to you and your views and ‘pray a prayer so I can feel better about my spirituality’ are all words that come to my mind when I hear the word  ‘Evangelism’.  Quite frankly it is a perceived sin in our culture.  Yet  as Christ followers we are called to proclaim the good news that Jesus saves and cleanses us from the incredible debt of sin and brings incredible life both now and in eternity because he paid the debt on the cross through his shed blood and rose from the dead.

Somehow the good news has been dumbed down in even the Christian world as a bad word.  Few Christians I know share their faith on a regular basis and fewer actually share a clear and simple message being able to  teach someone how to have an intimate relationship with Jesus Christ.

SON-RISE!  (Pun intended)

Campus Crusade for Christ is a key in the kingdom of God ministry that believes in initiating evangelism and they define it as this:  “Taking the initiative in the power of the Holy Spirit to share the good news of Jesus Christ and leaving the results up to God.”

On Jan 25 a Tuesday morning around 100 of us from New Staff Training from Campus Crusade went to do just that and I went with my fears yet with the burden of people needing to hear the incredible life changing power of Jesus Christ.  Over 140 people  were initiated with conversations,  of those over 72 students heard the gospel message and 6 prayed to receive Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior.  Many seeds were planted at this school where God has been working and where suicide is rampant.  Our efforts were to help the already volunteer ministry of Campus Crusade for Christ on that Campus.  Jesus who is the resurrection and the Life was intentionally pursuing the students of Daytona State College in which Satan has been trying to kill, steal and destroy (seen especially through suicide).

My new friends and soon to be co-worker in Sportlinc, Andrew Epps and I tag teamed to go and share.  With prayer and a desire to obey our leaders we set out to love on people in the cafeteria!  Of course what better place than to eat, unfortunately their were no red lobster biscuits which are my favorite but what Andrew and I found were some divine appointments of people wanting to be loved and some looking for God.

Our first couple we hung out with had an incredible sense of humor and Andrew and I never took it in thirty minutes to a survey or to spiritual things.  Feeling then like a Campus Crusade Evangelism failure because we “didn’t share the gospel”  what should we do next?  Realizing that we did a great job of loving and valuing the couple we balanced out our thoughts and saw a young man listening to his I-POD by himself.  I didn’t want to go ask but I had a prompting from God’s Spirit he was the one to talk with. Andrew initiated and I came over.  We started with a survey and found out this young man was an professing atheist who described his life as “boring and in a slump”.  Immediately we knew this guy is part of what Jesus talks about “the harvest fields being ripe”.  As we continued to get to know this young man Sam we discovered that he had been burned by a professing believer who took money from his mom (who is still a strong Christian).  Sam made a decision after that day that God was not real.

As we found out about the details of his life and shared our story of struggle yet hope Sam asked us,  “Did God send you guys here to me?”

Sam was getting wooed by the Holy Spirit and Sam was starting to see God trying to answer the cry of his heart through us as his messengers.  We affirmed that God did send us to him and we had been praying for him even though we didn’t know who it was we would be sent to.

Sam indicated that if there was a God who loved him (remember he claimed to be an atheist) and he could know him personally that on a scale of 1-10, would he be interested in getting to know him? He indicated an emphatic 11, 10 being the most interested!  Why would an atheist say that?  In fact I have noticed the same response in other conversations that I have recently had.  We have to ask the Holy Spirit to take us under the surface of their heart and find out why they either stopped believing in God or never have.  Usually its because they were hurt or they never seen him interact in their life.

Andrew proceeded to share how Jesus has met him in times of great pain and explained on a little napkin the simple good news of Jesus Christ die for sinners and offering a relationship with him.

Sam indicated that he wanted to pray to receive Christ and that it would be on his own time.

Sam said that prayer was talking to God and that God should talk back to him if it is a two way relationship. I told Sam he was exactly right.  That Jesus doesn’t speak to us audibly but does through God’s Word the Bible, His church and through the internal voice of the Holy Spirit.  I said, “Sam you know I bet your mom being a Christian named you Samuel for a reason.  Samuel was a prophet in the Bible who learned to hear the voice of God just like you desire.  I explained to him the story in 1 Samuel 3 and encouraged him that God wants to teach him to hear his voice just like the prophet Samuel learned to hear his voice.

We gave him some other connections about a Christian group that meets on campus that he could get plugged into and got his information.  We prayed for him and he left for class.

Other conversations with students happened that day but our faith was incredibly stretched and encouraged as we were obedient to share our faith with Sam.

I was reminded of Romans 10:13-15 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?  And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”

Thank you Jesus for letting Andrew and I be good news.  Thank you that you sent someone to be good news to us.  Give us beautiful feet and words full of opportunity to fathom you majesty.  My challenge is to let the Son-Rise in you so others can see His beauty!  Pray for Sam and all the Sams on college campuses around the world and in your life.  Be the good news to the Sams in your Samaria and to the Ends of the earth

     This Christmas season was also my Grandmother’s 8oth Birthday party in El Paso, TX and the video my sister made with photos and music to celebrate the seasons of her life brought tears to nearly all forty people in the room.  To celebrate life and family is such a gift from Jesus.  He is the author and perfector of our story and he has written such an amazing story for my grandmother Jean Taylor Darr.   Jesus is the resurrection and the life and he has granted her such joy in her life.  For me to watch a video of someone’s life is really precious to see the story they lived.  But after the emotions are over,  I have to ask myself those eternal questions.  There is something greater going on.  What happens when she is gone or someone else is gone.  With my Grandmother I see the joy of Jesus in her eyes, smile, service and interaction with others.  But that is not the case with everyone.

      In Acts 1:8 we are to preach the gospel to Judea, Jerusalem and to the ends of the earth.  Judea  was the geographic location nearest in proximity  to the disciples who receive this command.  Who are those nearest in proximity to you?  In the last letter I talked about mourning the seasons of life and proper mourning includes moving on in joy and sadness in the good and bad and accept your current reality.  I talked about the seasons I have missed with my family.  Well this Christmas in El Paso I was given a chance to be back in my Judea around my family for this Christmas  season and grateful for it!  My Judea are those closest to me, my family and that should be my first place to live out and be the gospel “good news” of Jesus.  Not everyone in my family believes or lives as if Jesus is their Lord and that is ok as long as they know the decisions they make.  I hope to radiate through my life the beauty of Jesus Christ and the depths of his love and mercy.     I am sure I have a long way to go at being a true example of Jesus to them.

     The second command is to go to Jerusalem the next nearest circle of  geograhpical influence.  My Jerusalem consists of my friends, community.  In my past I have done a great job at sharing the gospel with the ends of the earth other countries and Samaria complete strangers and bypassing my family and friends.   In fact many ministers of the gospel have been accused of missing their families and friends.  Trying not to miss this part of Acts 1:8 I really enjoyed my time with co-workers and friends with Athletes In Action.  Fifteen of us had a great time skiing, snowboarding, playing games in Breckinridge, CO over New Years Eve and then at Copper Mtn. and Winter Park.  My family hosted us the first day and last day in denver.  Both my close worlds got to meet and interact and I was very thankful.  Our time together was such genuine fun and community I am thankful for this group of friends and close body of Christ especially in the holidays when people can feel lonely.  Our group was a healthy community that operated as a family.  Thank you Jesus for community to keep us from despair and self-pity.

Who is in the Judea and Jerusalem of your life that you need to love and be a blessing to?  What steps will you take to capture precious moments with them?

     It is hard for me to set boundaries but I feel that  I am trying to live my life with some healthy emotional boundaries.  There are many of you that were once in my Judea or Jerusalem that I knew really well and haven’t contacted personally in a while.  That is weird for me because I seem to feel so connected to almost all my friends.  I am trying to learn what emotional balance looks like and how to live it out.  I can’t wait to catch up with many of you.

Jesus is continuing to keep me free from sexual impurity and quickly make me aware of pride and ungodly motives in all aspects of my life.  I am a living testimony to the cleansing power, mercy and love of Jesus Christ.  He is so good and I am continuing to fall in love with and be needy for his bride, the body of Christ. 

Thank you for your giving and your partnerships in prayer and resources!

I am currently in Daytona Beach. Fl  and studying my butt off in two master’s level courses Intro to Christian Theology and Bible Study Methods.  We have classes 8-12:30 Mon-Fri and Study the rest of the day.  It goes through Feb 6^th.  Then I hope to connect with friends, coaches, former teammates in Florida giving my testimony and raising financial support.

Please consider joining my team again financially, increasing your giving, networking for me or hosting a dinner.  Those are ways you can best help me at this time.

Also Please pray for me to meet my wife.  I would be more than blessed to begin that journey with her.

Playing every inning for Jesus,

Nicholas Taylor Hargrove

Click Below

Taylor Hargrove December 2010 Newsletter

10.10 Global Rewind Taylor Hargrove

Click  here

New Football Season; New Hope

MERCY

MERCY is God’s supply system for every need everywhere

MERCY is that kindness, compassion and tenderness which is a passion to suffer with, or participate in, another’s ills or evils in order to relieve, heal and restore.

MERCY accepts another freely and gladly AS he is and supplies the needed good of life to build up and to bring to peace and to keep in peace.

MERCY is to take another into one’s heart JUST AS HE IS and cherish and nourish him there.

MERCY takes another’s sins and evils and faults as its own and frees the other by bearing them to God

This is the Glow-of-Love.

This is the Anointing.

by Rex Andrews in his book: What the Bible Teaches about Mercy

This is a little bit about what I have been learning.  There will be more to come and a letter to all supporters letting them know what is going on.  May the Lord be merciful to you today and you learn to be merciful to others.

You can also substitute Jesus’ name for mercy in the above definition.

Now launched Everyathlete.com

We have been working on this for over a year and I hope that it deeply encourages people in the walk with Jesus.  As every athlete has a story and every athlete has an opportunity to walk with Jesus and learn to worship him in his sport.  Every Athlete is a place where ‘God, Faith and Sports’ (stories) unite.

Here is a  teaser.  go to the site…follow us on twitter and facebook.  You can use this as a tool to let people enter into the faith journeys of many of college athletes that our staff with Athletes in Action pour into and work with on college campuses across the nation.  Thank you for all your prayers.

Everyathlete.com

From Sept 15- Oct 22 on Tuesday and Thrusday’s around 20 baseball players ages 8-18 were participated in the Athletes in Action baseball instructional camp at our home facility in Xenia, OH.  What a blessing to be able to teach the truth of the game of baseball, challenge them mentally and be able to share our stories as a staff as to how Jesus changed our live and called us to us baseball as a platform for Jesus Christ.

I got to participate by running our infield instruction, base running and helping with our heading.  We had an amazing staff with tremendous help from the parents and coaches of some of theses players.  One thing we offered and encouraged was parents and coaches to be on the field to listen to what we were teaching their sons so that they can help remind their son later on to make truths we teach about baseball become a habit in the way the practice and play.

NCAA Proposal could effect Athletes in Action

International tours we need

your help!