Pinecrest Bible Training Center
1968-2008

John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone.

Beginning in 2008 the vision and bible school that God so graciously gave Wade Taylor beginning in 1968 came to an abrupt end, falling into the ground and dying.

We now wait for God to raise up and bring forth His seed of promise in another, that the vision fail not.

Spring 1994

The Spirit of Cooperation
Wayne M. Balcar

Jesus often taught in parables. These were easily understood stories that had significant spiritual meaning.

Even today, the Lord will use our present circumstances to speak to us. For example, in my role as a tennis coach, I find the Lord showing me some very important parallels between a tennis team and the functioning of the Body of Christ.

Tennis is a sport in which it is very difficult for a coach to balance individual abilities with team unity. How true this is in the Body of Christ. As a Christian, each one of us has an individual personal relationship with the Lord on different levels of experience.

Jesus calls us as an individual to be united with, and function within a corporate Body. He does not ask us to relinquish our individuality, but He asks us to cultivate our relationship with Him while at the same time, we develop relationships with others.

In tennis, it is crucial that each player practices both with the team and on their own. Sometimes only the team leader sees the importance of this practice. If some members of the team fail to practice, it affects the team in several ways. During a match, it is very evident which players are unprepared. Not only do they usually lose, but it also frustrates those who have prepared.

The Body of Christ is also affected when some members have not set aside enough time to prepare themselves through prayer, meditation, and Bible study. In a church service, due to this lack of preparation, they miss receiving the blessings which the Lord intended them to receive. And along with this, it becomes more difficult for others to enter in and receive.

Again, in tennis there are those who remain on the bench and as a result, feel very insignificant. These do not realize that it may be their lack of practice that keeps them there. Should there arise a need for them to replace someone on the team, again the whole team suffers.

This holds true for those in the Body of Christ who find themselves "on the shelf." We should examine the reason we are there, and then seek the Lord as much as we would in full time ministry. If we have been set aside by the Lord, it is not His will for us to remain there. If we miss His call due to our negligence, we may remain on the shelf longer than intended.

Finally, I require my team to maintain a good attitude and play the same way regardless of the score. Likewise, the Christian must continue to press into God regardless of the situation in which he finds himself.

I encourage the players during a match and remind them of the key things they need to remember. In the Body of Christ, not only must we cultivate our individual relationship with the Lord, but it is of vital importance that we encourage and seek to build up each other in the functioning of the corporate Body.

Then, we will be good players on God's team.