Newly devout Christian Taylor couldn’t wait to change the world, pastor says at funeral

Those attending Christian Taylor’s funeral Saturday were asked to pray that his death not be in vain, this 19-year-old whose last spoken wish to his loved ones was to change the world.

More than 1,300 people, many young adults, turned out to say goodbye to Taylor, a Mansfield Summit High School graduate and Angelo State football player who was shot to death Aug. 7 by a rookie Arlington police officer answering a burglary call at a car dealership.

Saturday’s service for Taylor, at Koinonia Christian Church in southeast Arlington, was attended by relatives, friends, and college and high school teammates.

About two months ago, soon after Taylor turned his life over to Christ, he started texting his thoughts about Jesus, said Ronnie Goines, Koinonia’s senior pastor. Goines, impressed by what the teen had to say, told Taylor that he would allow him to share his testimony with the congregation.

Taylor replied with an enthusiastic “Bet,” Goines said.

“All Christian heard was that he was going to preach [his] first sermon at this big church,” Goines said. “You don’t believe me, just watch. When I told him that was something that we had to build up to, he was not happy.”

Taylor’s disappointment stemmed from not being able to say what he yearned to say, Goines said. Taylor desperately wanted to bring others to Christ and saw his self-image elevated with those of men like Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, Goines, friends and relatives said.

Goines said Taylor told him, “I want to change the world for this God.”

Taylor did everything with passion, Goines and others said. When walking might have gotten him there fast enough, Taylor ran. When his words seemed inadequate, Taylor tried to get his meaning across by waving his hands, Goines said.

Goines did not believe that Taylor would confront police. But Taylor would be energetic in trying to explain his position to police, Goines said.

“He had this Jeremiah thing happening,” Goines said. “Fire shut up in his bones.

“I said to his father, ‘You know that boy of yours, he’s going to be all right. We just have to help him package that energy,’” Goines said.

Goines compared Taylor to Stephen in the Book of Acts, a man so persistent and energetic in spreading the Gospel that people thought something was wrong with him, Goines said. Stephen, who Goines emphasized was chosen as a representative of the minority in the church, dies soon after readers of the Bible are introduced to him, Goines said.

“I’m convinced that God chose this young lion to bring awareness to others to not waste your days,” Goines said.

Supporting public servants

Goines also talked about first responders, men and women who sacrifice themselves for the people they serve. Police officers, firefighters and emergency medical personnel need encouragement, Goines said.

At the same time, he said, he has heard police officers say that when they go on duty, their goal is to come home safely. Goines said that goal can cloud a servant’s judgment.

“If you are in a uniform, I’m depending on you to pull your gun on my son no faster than you would pull it on your own child,” Goines said.

Arlington Mayor Jeff Williams and Police Chief William Johnson were also at the funeral, seated in one of the first rows.

Taylor was unarmed when shot by officer Brad Miller, who was responding to an after-hours burglary call. Security footage from the dealership lot shows Taylor breaking a car windshield, then driving his vehicle through the glass front of the showroom. Taylor was shot while inside the business.

Miller was fired Tuesday.

‘A choice he made’

Summit football coach Travis Pride attended the funeral with about 30 current players and about 20 from Taylor’s class.

The national attention has been difficult, Pride said, but to him Taylor’s death is a local story. Pride said he had talked to only two people about what happened and had not yet broached the subject with his team.

“I kind of wanted to let it settle a bit and let people kind of digest,” Pride said. “Certain emotions, they’re certainly not going to subside, and there will be a time where we will sit down and discuss the sequence of events.

“People want to know what kind of person he was, and he was a great kid. But I also wish Christian wasn’t there at the time of the events. I certainly think that was a choice he made at the time, but does one episode of your life define you? No.”

He wants to use Taylor’s death to help his athletes become better people.

“Sometimes when you don’t know what to say, you just kind of keep waiting,” Pride said. “I’ll pray about it, and when the time comes, I think I’ll know what I want to do. Primarily, I just want to be able to use it. … There’s great experiences in life and there’s tragedies. Probably the most growth has been from the tragic situations.

“I hope we use it to grow and better ourselves through the circumstances. I just want me and my football players to continue to grow.”

Many of the men who played with Taylor at Summit wore their blue and black jerseys in honor of him.

“I was his No. 2; he was my No. 3,” former teammate and cousin Jerald McGlothin said.

At the burial, his former teammates huddled and repeated a chant they used to pump themselves up before games. They chanted, “Clap it up!” and ended with “C.J.’s home!”

Making a difference

Taylor’s family received his football jersey from Angelo State coach Will Wagner, who was accompanied by about two dozen players. Wagner said Taylor was going to wear the number 23 this season.

In one of his last conversations with Taylor, Wagner recalled, the college student said he wanted to make a difference.

“He was making a difference four hours away in San Angelo, Texas,” Wagner said.

Before the funeral, a man who identified himself as a friend of the Taylor family said the death was a tragedy because it could have been avoided. Bernard Waller, 45, said the question is, When is the use of deadly force appropriate?

Because of Taylor’s death, Waller said, he will redouble his efforts to reach teens and children and help their parents acquire the tools they need to help their children stay out of the criminal justice system.

“This hit pretty close to home for us,” Waller said. “So we can’t afford to sit on the sidelines anymore. We’ve come to a point where we’ve said, ‘No more.’”

Staff writer Ryan Osborne contributed to this report.

This story was originally published August 15, 2015 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Newly devout Christian Taylor couldn’t wait to change the world, pastor says at funeral."