Winter 2008

Dear friends

This was the last Banner that Wade Taylor edited. He was allowed to work on the whole thing and then, the "Powers That Be," rejected it and then stripped away The Banner from Wade Taylor, printing instead their 40th Anniversary Issue.

 

What has occurred here, reminds us of the story in the Bible where Absalom made war against his own father, King David, and rent the Kingdom from him, and then sought to blot out and defile all that remained of his father, the King. King David and those that were most faithful to him were forced to flee in shame, the Kingdom and the house that the Lord helped David build.

 

The story of Pinecrest Bible Training Center began on July the 4th 1959. After Wade Taylor had graduated from Eastern Bible Institute (EBI) he had made plans to go to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to pioneer a church. As he drove, the Lord began to speak to him about this small Italian Assembly of God Bible School in Upstate, New York called Pine Crest. At first Wade was skeptical that he was hearing the voice of the Lord, because the school was created to teach students to be pastors of Italian speaking Assembly of God Churches in the US and to prepare students to be missionaries in Italy. The Lord intensified His demand that Wade to go to Pine Crest. Wade, as he has testified, repeatedly was mystified because he could not speak Italian and had never sensed that he had any calling to go to Italy as a missionary. Bound by logic, and unwilling to turn around and go to bible school all over again and start at the bottom, much less attending an Italian Assembly of God school, Wade argued and resisted the Lord for quite some time -- until the Lord spoke words that struck fear into the heart of Wade.

 

The Lord said, “I will let you go to Philadelphia to pioneer this church and I will bless you, BUT my will for your life is to go to Pinecrest.” It was actually those words that formed a kind of threat that God would let Wade go his own way that halted Wade in his tracks. Walter Beuttler had instilled in Wade a fear of God, and a fear of God letting men go their own way, the meaning of this was that the cost of Wade going to Philadelphia would be the loss of the approbation of God over Wade's life.

 

So Wade Taylor turned around and then drove to Pinecrest, lost in why God would do such a thing, and in speculations of what God had in store for him. When he arrived, God said nothing, and so Wade showed the registrar his still wet graduation certificate from EBI which he found out meant nothing at Pine Crest, so he was forced to sign on as a regular first year student which must have been a very humbling experience from Wade's stand point as a grad student that was ready to go out in the ministry, and to his having to explain all these things to a not so enthusiastic wife and children that were more than likely weary of bible school life.

So Wade was there a Pine Crest for a day, a week, a month, three months and the Lord did not speak anything particular to Wade. But Wade did some things that were very important - he spent time daily waiting upon and seeking the Lord. And most importantly Wade became content in his circumstances knowing that God was with him.

 

The next thing that happened was one day in late 1959 when Wade was in his small apartment in Penn House.  He was bodily caught up and stood before the throne of God. Terrified out of his mind, God began to speak to Wade of His Desire and Purposes and that He would have a School of the Spirit where He could move freely about and teach and impart to the students themselves - not hindered by bells, and academic requirements, a school where students could come into a deep abiding personal relationship with God, and learn how to hear His voice. God continued that Pinecrest would become that place and that He had given Pine Crest into Wade's hand.

 

After this visitation of God, Wade was greatly affected spiritually; however there were also some negative results. Wade stopped waiting on the Lord and seeking after God, as his whole life and focus now turned to waiting day after day for the President of the then Pine Crest and / or for the higher-ups in the school's faculty to get the revelation that God had given Pine Crest to Wade. Well, that never happened. And secondly, Wade's logical mind went into overdrive trying to figure out how God was going to bring all of this to pass.

 

One day the Lord rebuked Wade Taylor and told him that everything that he would figure out as to how and what God was going to do, God would eliminated it.

 

About that same time, Wade had his second visitation of the Lord when he was doing his work duty for maintenance changing light bulbs. When he was up on a ladder, the Lord came. Wade said he had to hang on for dear life, and it was there that God spoke and clarified a few things.

 

The mystery of what God was going to do and how He was going to do it continued even after graduation day two years after he had first arrived. Wade continued to hang around Pine crest until he was told in no uncertain terms that he had to leave.

 

Not too long after that, Pine Crest shut down and with that all of Wade's dreams and what God had spoken to Wade died. Wade at that time went to Elim Bible Institute where he taught.  There, he met IQ Spencer, who also had had a personal visitation of the Lord and was promised a school with a similar vision of preparing a people for the end time move of God.

 

I expect that Wade found great comfort and assurance in IQ Spencer. And it appears that during this time, Wade got his life back on track spiritually with the Lord as the Lord began to move and minister in Wade's classes.

 

The end result of his stay at Elim was that Wade met some people and was able to speak about his burden and calling regarding Pinecrest, and he, through the providence of the Lord, ended up with the keys and deed to the property. In the Fall of 1968, the door was first opened that Wade might begin to realize the reality of what God had called him to do.

I have spoken to Wade a fair amount lately and he has been the most candid that I ever recall him being in his life concerning his loss of Pinecrest and some of his miss-steps.

 

More recently, Wade spoke of things on a much more personal level. He confessed that once Pinecrest began, that he became so wrapped up with what was happening that he again stopped waiting upon the Lord, and seeking after the Lord.

 

One may remember his stool story of how Wade attended Eastern Bible Institute with Bob Mumford and how that one day between classes Mumford asked Wade a question. Wade, not thinking, rattled off a powerful answer that knocked the socks off Mumford. Mumford then asked, “Where did you get that” and Wade paused and thought and said, “I have this little stool that I sit on.”

 

Wade then had a second story. A few years after Pinecrest opened, the school was in a crisis and the Lord intervened. Afterwards the Lord spoke to Wade and said the bank account before me that you created on your stool at EBI is now empty -- and then Wade sheepishly in the years 1976 -1981 would say that he needed to get back on that stool. The meaning of it passed over most of the students, but a few understood his meaning, -- that Wade, for a long, long time, had not been waiting on and seeking the Lord -- and for those who understood this, they could also see the terrible cost, not only Wade was paying, but the students of the school were paying for his disobedience as well.

 

On that same evening Wade made a second great admission that I have to admit surprised me, as this was something that I had never seen as a student. He told me that when he first came over to Pinecrest he arrived with four men. The purpose of this meeting was to begin to shape the staff and faculty that would have a large hand in what was to take place at Pinecrest. Wade told me that two of these men had a strong affinity to the manifestations of the Spirit, while the other two had a strong affinity to a reverence for the Lord. (To be quite honest, as Wade began to talk, at first I could not grasp what he was saying so I asked him to repeat himself. I had to ask some questions before I was finally able to understand what he was saying) Wade said that he went with the wrong group and that these two men were able to reshape the vision he had received from the Lord as Pinecrest being a place where one could come into a deep abiding personal relationship with God, and learn the voice of God and the ways of God, -- to the school being focused instead on the visitation of the Lord for the manifestations and the good feelings it could give alone.

 

Wade was saying that the famed 1974 revival, in his eyes, was a failure and completely fell short of what might have been had the students been able to wait before the Lord and sit under His mighty hand (So that they too might have been able to have hear the angelic choirs that Wade and other students heard in EBI in the 1950's) and in so doing would have had a much deeper work done in their lives.

 

Since then, Wade has repeatedly spoken of his loss and of Pinecrest's loss as being Isaac, and having to have been sacrificed by Abraham because he loved his son too much. Each time he said Isaac his voice paused first and he then with some effort was able to say Isaac.

What I saw in this was that despite the Lord Wade could not yet bring himself to call Pinecrest Ishmael.

 

What was begun in the Spirit, when one seeks to perfect it by the flesh becomes Ishmael.

Over the last few years, Wade has once more been able to right himself once more again waiting on the Lord and seeking after his face.

 

I further see in the Spirit that Wade Taylor, as Abraham being of great age when his body was dead -- and having no more the power to conceive -- Isaac shall then be brought forth. And from the bowels of Isaac shall come forth the end time people of God that the Lord seeks.

 

For the time being, we can not let the Vision that God gave to Wade Taylor die. We must remain steadfast and hold to those things that are good.

 

(Update July 1st 2008) We were not going to say anything but the Lord woke us up at 2:30 in the morning and spoke to us certain words. Wade Taylor called last night and we read together and edited the words written here to their current form.

 

And the Lord would say because thou hast humbled thyself my son and made open confession here-- I have forgiven thee for all thy short comings, thy ommissions, and even thy disobediences as to letting me build my work, and letting me build thy house.

 

Hear now the word of the Lord, the vision that I have given unto thee shall not fail, and neither what I have given unto thee shall any man take away. Thou hast done right to let Me undertake and war in this matter, and I would say that thou shalt indeed see with thine eyes, handle with thine hands, and walk upon with thy feet the land and even the school that I gave into thy hand.

 

The Lord would further say: Is not this the hour of preparation for you for what is to come? Therefore lay aside every work that thou wouldst entangle thyself with and put them aside, for thou hast yet a meeting and a visitation from Me.

 

May The Lord Bless You -- as you ponder these words.

 

 

 

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