Pastor Marcus L. Taylor

Pastor Marcus L. Taylor entered the Gospel Ministry after acknowledging his calling in September of 1973, at the age of 19, while a member of Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church, in Nashville, TN. He began his preparation for ministry in January of the following year (1974) by enrolling at the American Baptist College, where he began his theological studies, following his studies at Fisk University, where he majored in Sociology. Pastor Taylor continued his studies for ministry at Oakwood University, where he majored in Religion and Psychology.

Pastor Taylor has also done post-graduate studies and training in the area of counseling, focusing on Pathological Emotions, Addictive Behavior, Group Dynamics, and Cognitive Spiritual Therapy.

In the area of ministry, Pastor Taylor served for three years as Associate and Youth Pastor of the Pleasant Green Missionary Baptist Church; served as a pastor for fifteen years in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, serving as pastor of 7 congregations; and for the past forty-eight (48) years has exercised his gifts of ministry in the Seventh-day Adventist Church (SDA). His pastoral experience includes serving congregations in Nashville, Murfreesboro, Shelbyville, Columbia, and Memphis, TN; Louisville and Shelbyville, KY; Huntsville, AL; and Riverside and Los Angeles, California. He has also served as First Elder of the Emmanuel SDA Church, and the Calvary Sabbath Praise and Worship Center in Orlando, FL; involved as a part of the ministry team of the Sabbath Grace Fellowship Church in Apopka, FL; and, the Praise and Worship Leader and Associate Minister for the Hernando Mission SDA Church, in Spring Hill, FL. Pastor Taylor then relocated to the North Carolina area in March 2013 and continued his faith journey and ministry opportunities, serving as a frequent speaker at various churches in the Central and Eastern NC areas. He also served on the Board of Elders at the Five Oaks SDA Church in Durham, NC.

In October of 2019, Pastor Taylor, feeling the urge to return to Pastoral Ministry, was re-hired by the South-Central Conference of Seventh-day Adventists and re-entered the arena of Pastoral Ministry after an 18-year absence from pastoring while he exercised his ministerial calling and activities via the military in the United States Air Force Auxiliary Chaplain Corps.

From 19 October 2019 to 10 May 2025, Pastor Taylor served as the District Pastor of the Central Florida Panhandle District, which involved giving Pastoral Leadership to the Maranatha SDA Church in Panama City, FL, and the Emmanuel SDA Church in Greenwood, FL. This area of Florida was devastated by Hurricane Michael in 2018 and continues to this day to recover from its effects. Pastor Taylor was chosen for this assignment because of his experience and Emergency Services training in CAP and working with communities following major disaster events.

Pastor Taylor has been blessed by the Lord with vocal musical talent that has allowed him to travel doing concerts and singing for various church and community events, crusades, and revivals, direct and participate in several singing groups, and enhance his ministry with his singing abilities.

Aside from ministry, Pastor Taylor has worked as an administrator for various Social Service Agencies and Programs, an Elementary and Secondary Education Teacher, Adjunct College Instructor, Counselor, and Chaplain for the Tennessee Department of Corrections.

Pastor Taylor holds credentials as a Certified R.E.S.T. (Rational Emotive Spiritual Therapy) Counselor, Group Counseling Trainer, and Edu-therapist from the T.R.E.T.ment (Training, Research, Education and Therapy) Faith Counseling Services, Philadelphia, PA. He also has specialized training and master’s certifications in the areas of Mental Health Coaching, Trauma and Crisis Ministry, and Suicide Intervention and Prevention from Light University in Forest, VA.

Pastor Taylor has served his country in various capacities. He served in the United States Navy (30 Dec 1971 – 18 Jan 1974), having done his Naval Officers   Training at Vanderbilt University, and was honorably discharged after four years of service.

He later continued to serve in the Tennessee State Guard (17 Jan 2000 – 30 July 2004). He attained the rank of Major and served in the following duty positions: Assistant Recruiting Officer, Assistant Family Assistance Officer, Administrative Assistant to the Commander, Director of Personnel Management, Deputy Command Chaplain, and Military Funeral Honors Training Officer.

Presently, he serves in the United States Air Force Auxiliary Civil Air Patrol (CAP) (09 May 2000 – Present). Pastor Taylor serves as a Chaplain and has done so for the last twenty-five (25) years, and holds the rank of Lieutenant Colonel (LT COL). In the CAP, he has served as Emergency Services Officer, Squadron Commander, Delaware Wing Chaplain (first African American), the Middle East Region (MER) Deputy Region Chaplain for Diversity Affairs, and Asst. Dean of the Middle East Region Chaplain Corps Staff College. From June 2008 until October 2011, he was assigned to serve as the Wing Chaplain of the Florida Wing, the largest wing in CAP, and was the first African American to hold this position, as well.

From May 2010 – September 2011, Pastor Taylor fulfilled a temporary duty assignment at the Unified Command Center, Incident Command Post, for the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response Mission, in Mobile, AL, done in response to the Gulf Oil Spill Crisis, the largest natural disaster in U.S. history at that time. He was the only CAP Chaplain Corps representative and member of the Joint Forces Ministry Team for this mission. This mission was the single largest mission involvement for CAP since the Coastal Patrol missions that were performed during World War II. In this role, he ministered to over 1800 individuals from all eight military branches and affiliates (US Army, US Air Force, US Navy, US Coast Guard, US Marine Corps, Army National Guard, Air National Guard, US Public Health Service, US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and Civil Air Patrol) and civilians from 40 various Federal, State and Local agencies working on the oil spill in various capacities. For his work and efforts in this mission, Pastor Taylor was the recipient of the 2011 Distinguished Service Award, given by the Military Chaplains Association of the United States, and the Civil Air Patrol Distinguished Service and Exceptional Service Medals.

In October 2011, Pastor Taylor was then assigned to serve as the Deputy Region Chaplain for the Southeast Region (SER). In this capacity he was responsible for assisting the Region Chaplain with the training and supervision of the Chaplain Corps personnel in the Alabama Wing, Florida Wing, Georgia Wing, Mississippi Wing, Tennessee Wing, Virgin Island Wing and the Puerto Rico Wing. He was specifically task with the responsibility of being Dean of the Region Chaplain Corps Staff College. In this role, he was responsible for the development of the training curriculum of the college and all aspects of its successful operation.

In August 2015, Pastor Taylor was elevated to the National level of CAP and assigned to serve on the staff of the National Chief of the Chaplain Corps as the Secretary of the Chaplain Corps Executive Council (CCEC) and Chaplain Corps Advisory Council (CCAC). The Chaplain Corps Advisory Council (CCAC) is the chief governing body of the CAP Chaplain Corps, and is responsible to advise, recommend, suggest, and as necessary, vote to submit recommendations and/or regulation changes to the National Executive Committee of the CAP relative to chaplaincy.

On 01 October 2016, Pastor Taylor was reassigned and continued to serve on the staff of the National Chief of the Chaplain Corps as the Special Advisor to the Chief for Mission Chaplain Programs and Training. In this capacity, he was responsible for the development, training, maintenance, and advancement of the Mission Chaplain Ratings process and the Emergency Services readiness and response capability of all Chaplain Corps personnel. He was also responsible for the program development and supervision of the CAP Chaplain Corps Emergency Services School (ChESS) at the CAP National Emergency Services Academy (NESA). As a result of his experience with the Deepwater Horizon Mission, he is responsible for creating the program and drafting the proposal for these new programs that changed the way CAP Chaplain Corps personnel are trained and receive their Emergency Services (ES) and Mission Activity Ratings, and the development of the Chaplain Support Team (CST) concept and approach for giving Chaplain Support to all CAP missions and Disaster Response activity. As of 01 September 2017 to the present, Pastor Taylor continues to carry on his duties in this capacity.

In October 2018, he transferred back into the Middle East Region (MER), serving as the Deputy Region Chaplain, responsible for Training and Crisis Response Preparedness for the Chaplain Corps personnel of that Region.

In October 2020, Pastor Taylor rejoined the Staff of the Southeast Region, again serving as the Deputy Region Chaplain and Dean of the Chaplain Corps Region Staff College. As of 01 October 2024, He was elevated to the position of Region Chaplain and is now the Senior supervising Chaplain for the Southeast Region. In this capacity, he is responsible for the training and supervision of the Chaplain Corps personnel in the Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, Tennessee, Virgin Islands, and Puerto Rico Wings.

Pastor Taylor is married to the former Mary C. Snipes, known to her family and friends as “Chris”, of Mebane, NC. Chris joined other retirees in 2012 after forty-three (43) years of service to the States of North Carolina and South Carolina.  Her active career time included three years (3) of Nursing in the Intensive Care Units at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Memorial Hospital, and thirty-eight years (38) in the Schools of Medicine at UNC & University of South Carolina (USC).  Chris was a participant in some of the ground-breaking discoveries for the treatment of AIDs in the 1980s during her work with the Department of Microbiology & Immunology at USC. Her major assignment was to edit manuscripts that were eventually published in various medical journals. Her career passion was in the Bone Marrow Transplant Program in the UNC Comprehensive Cancer Center from 1992 until 2012. This was also a ground-breaking program at UNC. The program was launched in 1993 with 4 employees, and by 2012, it had grown to over 100. When word circulated that Chris was retiring, a rush of 250 applicants applied for her position (the majority of whom she had worked with over the years).  Chris was given the privilege of choosing her successor before she departed her position.  Chris placed her trust in her Heavenly Father and was truly blessed during her career.

Together, Pastor Taylor and Chris are the proud parents of eight children, fourteen grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.