What does it mean to truly know God, not merely through doctrine, teaching, or Scripture, but through experiencing His character operating within you?
 
In O Taste and See: A Guide to Developing Purity and Faith in the Heart of a Leader, Apostle Mary Banks challenges ministers and believers to move beyond an intellectual knowledge of God into a life in which His love, faith, purity, comfort, and righteousness become their own lived experience. It is one thing to teach others to love their enemies, forgive those who have wounded them, trust God through uncertainty, and remain faithful in suffering. It is another thing entirely to discover the power of God producing that very character within your own heart.
 
Written especially with spiritual leaders in mind, this study confronts the hidden matters of the heart that can determine whether ministry remains truly God’s work. It examines the responsibility that comes with influence, the danger of subtle manipulation, the temptation to depend upon people and resources instead of God, and the ambition for recognition, position, authority, or a platform. Purity, the book teaches, is not simply avoiding outward wrongdoing. It reaches into motive, intention, and the unseen reasons behind what a minister says and does.
 
Through practical instruction and spiritual examination, O Taste and See also reframes the difficulties of ministry. Waiting, limited resources, inconvenience, and seasons in which provision is not yet visible are not necessarily evidence that something has gone wrong. God may be accomplishing something far deeper: developing humility, exposing self-reliance, producing patience, strengthening faith, and reminding the minister that the work, the people, the provision, and the glory all belong to Him. God is not only concerned with what His servants accomplish; He is concerned with what they become while accomplishing it.
 
The book also addresses spiritual accountability, why the words “God said” must never be treated casually, why gifting cannot replace character, why leaders must protect the flock, and why a genuine servant must be willing to wait for God rather than manufacture recognition or spiritual authority. A true minister does not need to manipulate people to obtain money, opportunity, influence, or position. He can trust God to establish what He has ordained in His own time.
 
Ultimately, O Taste and See is a call back to the heart of true ministry. The measure of maturity is not simply how well someone can preach, prophesy, lead, organize, build, or gather people. It is character: purity when manipulation would be easier, love when retaliation seems justified, faith when provision cannot yet be seen, humility in success, submission when God says wait, discernment when His name is invoked, and obedience to the truth He has revealed. This is the journey from merely knowing about the character of God to tasting it for yourself and becoming a minister whose heart truly agrees with Him.