About the Book
Book: From Comfort Zone to Trust Zone: How Jesus Urges Us to Take Leaps of Faith for His Kingdom
Author: Cecil Taylor
Genre: Christian Living
Release date: March 6, 2024
The innate human longing for comfort is undeniable. However, Jesus challenges us to step beyond the boundaries of our comfort zones and venture into the profound realm of faith, aptly described as trust zones by Cecil Taylor. These are the spaces where we dare to take risks in service of Christ’s Kingdom. In this enlightening exploration of the Bible, Cecil Taylor delves into 12 narratives of Jesus encouraging individuals to forsake their comfort zones in favor of trust zones. Through insightful interpretation, he unveils the valuable lessons these stories impart for contemporary followers of Jesus.
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About the Author
With more than 30 years’ experience as an adult Sunday School teacher and as many in youth ministry, Cecil Taylor has impacted lives in local churches throughout his adult life. He founded Cecil Taylor Ministries to broaden that impact, teaching Christians to live a 7-day practical faith through books, video studies, and speaking engagements. His ministry is cross-denominational, focused on the common struggle Christians face in putting their faith into practice and applying scripture and faith principles to life situations.
From Comfort Zone to Trust Zone has won the 2024 Living Water Award (nonfiction, third place) from the Blue Lake Christian Writer’s Conference. This is the fourth award that Cecil has been presented across his three books.
More from Cecil
Comfort zones can be positive. Not only do we feel good about ourselves, but we also can be effective and efficient. We can find a groove. We may even be able to mentor others and cause a ripple effect of good.
But comfort zones can fool us. Our comfort zones can become invisible. They can limit us and tell us not to take risks. Comfort zones can keep us from going all-in on what Jesus has to offer us.
As I read the Gospels, I see how Jesus frequently pushed people out of comfort zones and into his trust zones, where they would take leaps of faith for the sake of his kingdom. Similarly, Jesus calls us out of comfort zones today, inviting us to take risks while deepening our faith.
A woman who read From Comfort Zone to Trust Zone said one of the most gripping moments in the book is when I shared my own story of going all-in for Jesus. I had grown up in the church as a preacher’s kid. Throughout decades of my adult life, I was a leader in my church, a highly committed volunteer, someone others might think was all-in for Christ.
But I wasn’t all-in, though I fooled myself into thinking I was. In a time when I asked for more comfort zone, Jesus gave me a trust zone: to forget about volunteering so much and to focus on giving my heart to God. I was busted, as I foolishly thought I had hidden from God that I wasn’t fully yielding control of my life. I didn’t know what Jesus would ask of me, so I held him at arm’s length. My prayers zeroed in on what was comfortable for me rather than what the Holy Spirit was beckoning me to do.
Since that moment, my life has changed. I believe your life needs to change, too, if you’re feeling comfortable. It’s time to get uncomfortable, to overcome your desire for certainty, and to inspect the ways in which you have limited the Spirit’s power to work through you. I invite you on a journey to identify subtle comfort zones that you never knew you had and to uncover trust zones that will take your faith to new levels while mightily serving Christ. I invite you to the experience that is From Comfort Zone to Trust Zone: How Jesus Urges Us to Take Leaps of Faith for His Kingdom.
Interview with the Author
- Does writing energize or exhaust you?
I would say both. Writing a book, blog, article, or devotional is mostly exciting, as the creative process is engaging.
However, when I’m writing a book, I find I can only write for perhaps three to four hours per day. I’m talking about the actual writing, not the research, organization, or editing. My books are about personal discipleship, and writing them often feels like I am extracting something from my soul. Writing a book is very intense for me. After a few hours, I need a break from the intensity, or the quality dips.
- How did writing this book grow you spiritually?
Identifying the comfort zones that Jesus found in individuals that he encountered made me uncover my own comfort zones. I realized more deeply the areas in which I’ve grown and areas in which further development is required, such as my ego, my trust in Jesus, my willingness to live with uncertainty and discomfort, and how my personal views on the world need to bow to Jesus’s views on his kingdom. I can relate to readers and reviewers that say From Comfort Zone to Trust Zone has made them discover comfort zones they didn’t know they had.
- What do you like to do when you are not writing?
When I’m not working on my ministry (CecilTaylorMinistries.com), my first choice is sports. I’m a sports nut in general, and I bleed burnt orange as a fanatic for my alma mater, the University of Texas. I play fantasy football; in fact, I used to run a fantasy football advice website.
Other than sports and exercise, I volunteer through my church. I enjoy gardening and landscaping my yard; getting my fingers in the dirt is a wonderful departure from working indoors. I don’t watch a ton of TV, but I never miss Top Chef and Only Murders, and I’m catching up on Ted Lasso and the wealth of available Star Wars material. Speaking of being a chef, one of my unsung improvements is progressing from a clumsy cook to someone who fixes gourmet meals for my wife, Sara.
- What books or authors have most influenced your own writing?
Assuming you mean writing technique. Philip Yancey’s layman approach to spiritual writing is something I try to emulate. Gary Smalley’s vulnerability is a quality I appreciate.
Someone else who greatly influenced my approach is an old Army general and Sunday School teacher himself, Bob Panell. He went to my church and attended my Sunday School class. As I was growing as a teacher, Bob would beat me up every Sunday for slipshod Biblical study and insufficient arguments. He wasn’t wrong. The experience has made me crisper and sounder in my Biblical analysis, and all my books address rightful counter arguments in a section usually called, “The Elephant in the Room.” Readers appreciate me examining my own thesis for counter views and how I address them.
- How do you do research for your books?
I’m in a research phase now for a couple of future books. I usually start with scraps and tidbits of information around the fledgling book’s theme. For months, I’ll throw them in a brainstorming document, letting them marinate, adding to them, and eventually starting to research and flesh them out further.
I allow curiosity to guide me to in-depth research, usually online, but also from my own library. I follow multiple trails, sometimes rabbit trails that lead nowhere, searching for understanding and new ideas, which are welcome surprises.
From a Biblical perspective, I use various commentaries, both in book and online form. I want to make sure I’ve chosen useful scripture and understand its context so I can properly apply various verses or topics throughout the book.
Blog Stops
Blossoms and Blessings, June 15 (Author Interview)
Book Reviews From an Avid Reader, June 16
Artistic Nobody, June 17 (Author Interview)
Mary Hake, June 17
Jodie Wolfe – Stories Where Hope and Quirky Meet, June 18 (Author Interview)
Lots of Helpers, June 18
Beauty in the Binding, June 19 (Author Interview)
Texas Book-aholic, June 20
Guild Master, June 21 (Author Interview)
Locks, Hooks and Books, June 22
A Reader’s Brain, June 23 (Author Interview)
Debbie’s Dusty Deliberations, June 24
A Modern Day Fairy Tale, June 25 (Author Interview)
Happily Managing a Household of Boys, June 26
Truth and Grace Homeschool Academy, June 27
Fiction Book Lover, June 28 (Author Interview)
Giveaway
To celebrate his tour, Cecil is giving away the grand prize package of a copy of the book and a $50 Amazon gift card!!
Be sure to comment on the blog stops for nine extra entries into the giveaway! Click the link below to enter.
https://promosimple.com/ps/2ca3c/from-comfort-zone-to-trust-zone-celebration-tour-giveaway