Breathe God In: Speaker Erin Taylor Emphasizes Our Reliance on God

By Sam Collins

It was apparent that Erin Taylor—one of the movement’s creative, young leaders—felt she was among friends as she spoke to those gathered in Anderson, Indiana, for the Saturday evening worship service. Standing onstage in Anderson University’s Reardon Auditorium, Taylor looked right at home—and in very significant ways she was.

Not only is Taylor the pastor of adult Christian education at The Church at the Crossing, a dynamic congregation in nearby Indianapolis, but she also was born into and nurtured by a family with multigenerational Church of God roots. Taylor’s grandparents used to attend what was then known as Anderson Camp Meeting in their fifth-wheel camper. Her father, Bob Moss, is a long-time Church of God pastor and formerly served as chair of the movement’s General Assembly. Taylor started attending the North American Convention as a small child.

Her ease and familiarity with the church was evident as Taylor addressed the theme for the evening: “Refreshing Our Relationship with Our Creator.” She urged those assembled to breathe deep the breath of God.

Taylor reminded her listeners of our physical dependence on breath for life. In like manner, she stressed, we must breathe in God to continue to live fully. “Life has moments that take our breath away, sometimes in joy and sometimes in sorrow. At times we find ourselves desperate for some breathing space in the midst of financial, church, relationship, and personal stresses. We need wisdom, stamina, grace, and even a sense of humor. In all of life’s experiences—whether in pain, loss, disappointment, or celebration—God’s plan is that in him we would breathe and move and have our being.”

Appropriately, at the close of her message, Taylor asked her father to offer a prayer, which included these fitting words: “Lord, may we breathe deeply of your grace and inhale your forgiveness and draw in your Holy Spirit, hope, and assurance.”