The Simple Joy of Missions April 28, 2008
In May 2006 I skipped my graduate school commencement and Chuk skipped his college graduation ceremony to take advantage of a missionary opportunity. Our family went with an evangelistic team to Mexico. One evening we visited a tiny, humble village on Lake Chapala. Most of the streets in the village were dirt. The main street was cobblestone.
The street was filled with children when we got there. We had a big watermelon to use for a skit, but someone had the idea that we should just slice the melon and give it out to children. A long line of children formed for watermelon. One of our team members made animal balloons. Another line formed there. Three or four girls visited in homes. I walked to a little shop that opened up to the street and ordered a Coke. I didn’t drink the water in Mexico but I put away the Coke. In Mexico they are cheap and cold and sold in real glass bottles.
Dan, Wes, and Chuk juggled. We sang to draw a crowd, told stories and did skits. Finally it was time to go. Most of the team made their way to the bus, but two of our young women stayed behind. The sun had set and the street was getting dark. I stayed with them. One of them knew Spanish. She interpreted while the other told the gospel story to a group of about five teenaged girls from the village. I watched. None of the girls looked away from her eyes for even a second. She explained the gospel and prayed with the girls, then we all walked back to the bus in the cool night air.
That spring night in a tiny, poor village in Mexico, a young lady from Indiana and another from Boston were learning missions first-hand. On the bus home they were tired but joyful that they had been able to give the gospel and pray with the girls. I will never forget the look in the eyes of each of the girls, the joyful chatter of our young ladies, the cool of the night, or the worn cobblestone streets of the village. I will never tire of telling the story.
Ken Pierpont
Granville Cottage
Riverview, Michigan
April 28, 2008
Be an Inviter April 25, 2008
A few years ago I stumbled across a unique restaurant in Fenton, Michigan called “The French Laundry.” One morning I took Lois there. We sat and watched what people ordered. The waiter walked past the table one morning with a waffle the size of a small state piled with a mountain of fresh strawberries and a mound of whipped cream. Lois said, “I’m getting that when I come back.” Over the years we lived in the area Lois and I split not a few of those strawberry waffles. I would get the waffle at the end and drown it with real maple syrup. With the French Laundry house coffee it was memorable.
One day, speaking in our college chapel, I described the French Laundry and their legendary waffle. I think I noticed the students drooling. (Chapel was always just before breakfast). Immediately our students began to frequent the Laundry. This made me very popular with the owner. Sometimes on a Saturday morning I fight a strong temptation to get Lois, jump in the car, and drive to Fenton – but I resist the urge because I want to thoroughly explore and patronize Downriver businesses.
Evangel is one of the best-kept secrets around. If we describe it to others with genuine enthusiasm many will come and share what we enjoy.
If you are in the Evangel family one of the things you are going to hear from us over and over again is: “Learn to be an inviter.” Keep a running list in your heart of people you are going to invite to join you here at Evangel. There is nothing quite as pure and powerful as the testimony of a “satisfied customer.”
This may surprise you, but one of the most significant things you can do to serve the Lord, help people, and make your life count for eternity is learn to enthusiastically invite others to church. You don’t want to badger or button-hole people. You just want to show them your enthusiasm and joy in what you have enjoyed.
Pastor Ken Pierpont
The Study
Evangel Baptist Church–Taylor, Michigan
April 25, 2008
Spring Watch
Lois invited me on a walk last night. I’m glad I went. It’s a lot less punishing than the game of “21″ the boys and Hope were putting me through in the driveway. After months of pale winter the neighborhood finally has some color in it’s cheeks. There are scores of flowering ornamentals in our neighborhood. They are fragrant and beautiful and they do my heart good after a long, snowy, monochrome winter. It rained last night and deepened the shade of green in the grass to emerald. Branches that have been bare and black all winter are fringed with fresh green or decorated with blossoms now. The highlight of our walk was around the corner from our house. One of our neighbors has a dogwood. Right now the blossoms are a greenish yellow, but in a few more warm days the little tree will display bright while blossoms. It is the tree that dotted the hillsides of my childhood. Maybe one day we will find a spot for a Flowering Dogwood at Granville Cottage. Every day the creation displays the glory of God.
Spring at Granville Cottage April 21, 2008
We moved into the Granville Cottage just as the last leaf fell from the trees. I have to count again to make sure, but I think we have nine trees in our yard. There are a number of shrubs and bushes. Now that spring is here we’ve had some happy surprises around the cottage. A few days ago we were delighted to discover daffodils springing up along the fence in back and from the ground cover. Along the very back fence is a huge, brilliant, yellow forsythia bush. It just flames in the morning sun. We open the back door to the beautiful sound of dozens of birds. Maybe someday I will even get a Dogwood to grow in our yard.
Last week I had a happy experience. Jan Karon read a little piece I wrote about her and posted at www.kenpierpont.com and she posted on my site. So I guess I’m mixin’ it up with the big-hitters now. She is a very gracious Christian lady.
I hope you will take time to listen to the messages in my series Everything You Ever Need based on Psalm 139. You can find it on the podcast page at www.evangelbaptist.com
Well, Hope turned nine yesterday and we are going out for her little birthday breakfast today – so until next week, I have to run. I have a little girl here that’s growin’ up on me and I have to spend time with her while I can.
Left Behind
One night the older girls went out on their in-line skates and left little Hope behind because she can’t keep up. Usually they take her almost everywhere they go so it is hard for her to be left behind. She told me about it with a little catch in her voice so I knew it was time for Dad to practice some dadness. I said; “Would you like me to take you to the park?”
She said; “Sure!” (She has the sweetest way in the world of saying “sure,” you would have to hear it for yourself).
In a few minutes we were at our lovely neighborhood park. For about a week we had been enduring record heat but the night before the temperature was dropped off and it was pretty chilly. I could tell we would not be able to stay at the park too long.
After a few minutes I said, “Hey you wanna’ call and have mom meet us at the ice cream shop?”
She said, “Sure!”
So in a few minutes we were sitting in the window of the ice cream shop watching the traffic in the village. Hope ordered an ice cream that tasted like cotton candy and looked like it was from outer space and she forgot all about being left behind.
Some day she will skate away. I won’t be able to keep up. I will be left behind. I’ll have a catch in my voice then. I hope somebody will notice and take me to the park or buy by ice cream.
Ken Pierpont
Granville Cottage
Riverview, Michigan
April 21, 2008
Quiet Kindness April 18, 2008
This week, while I was doing some pastoral calling. Everywhere I went I heard unsolicited reports of kind deeds, acts of mercy, and good works, done by someone in the church for others. Potato soup for shut-ins, auto repairs for widows, help for young mothers, and visits to those who are sick. I could write you a long list. These deeds were done without fanfare. I can tell you that more is happening than you will ever see. More good deeds are being done than you will ever know. More ministry is accomplished at Evangel than human beings will ever record.
While people are trying to love God and serve God my family and other staff families frequently get “caught in the cross-fire” of these kind acts of giving, worship, and devotion. We are all very much in debt.
As a pastor it warms my heart to see how often the Spirit of God inspires the people of God to do the works of God to advance the Kingdom of God. Keep up the good work. It is kingdom work. Jesus is worthy of our greatest acts of devotion and kindness.
Pastor Ken Pierpont
Granville Cottage
Evangel Baptist Church
April 18, 2008
Licking County Farm April 15, 2008
I have about 75 pages of a book nestled in the electronic archive of my notebook computer. It is a book about my grandfather’s farm. Here is a fairly current view of the farm, now no longer owned by the family. If you know what to look for you can actually see in the satellite photo the tree I refer to in my story, “Of Trees and Truthfulness.”
Holly’s Birthday April 14, 2008
Today is Holly’s birthday. As always, we could hear the birds singing as we walked into the restaurant for our traditional birthday breakfast. (I’m sure you can see pictures of Holly at www.loispierpont.com). Dan and Wes preached their first sermons this past weekend. Dan will preach again on Wednesday night. Pictures of that may surface there, too. Hope will be nine next Lord’s Day. (more…)
The Greening of the Year
The One who with the Father and the Spirit spoke the worlds into existence has promised that as long as the earth remains the cycle of the seasons will continue. We are again on the brink of warm, sunny days and evenings among the flowers in the yard. We’re in the greening of the year. It’s like the whole world is blushing with young love. (more…)
Janice Meredith Wilson
I brought this post to the top of my site because I mentioned it in my message Sunday morning. Be sure you follow the link at the end of my essay.
Do you know who Janice Meredith Wilson is? You should. Let me get on my soapbox here for a minute and then I will introduce her to you.
The guest list for lecturers at the National Cathedral in Washington D. C. is heavily weighted toward an odd amalgam of men and women, writers and preachers, educators and media persons who almost always speak with robust confidence about questionable things. The same people treat with detached skepticism the simple, straightforward claims of the Bible. In other words, the people who speak at the National Cathedral are often sure of things that Christians have historically been doubtful about and doubtful about things that have historically defined Christianity.
I know I’m speaking in direct tones here, but I would not recommend that you surf onto their site and start watching lectures unless you have a strong stomach and a stalwart faith. None of us have enough time on our hands to watch people talk on and on about what they DON’T believe, no matter how sophisticated, popular, elite, educated, or well-spoken they are.
But there have been a few exceptions. On December 6, 2005 the powers that be at the National Cathedral invited Janice Meredith Wilson to lecture. From what I can tell it was one of their best decisions in recent years. I watched the lecture on my computer.
Janice Meredith Wilson is the name of the author who is known by the pseudonym, Jan Karon. She is the author of the Mitford series of novels about an Episcopal pastor from a delightful fictitious village in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains called Mitford, North Carolina. There are nine books in all. They tell a warm story about a community of people and a pastor, his wife, his dog, and her cat. The books are entertaining and insightful, they are descriptive and delightful. Her depictions of people make you laugh and cry. Her descriptions of food make your mouth water. Her insights on the things of God make you want to pray and serve and love and give. Though fiction they are accurate and tasteful in their treatments of human nature and Janice is able to accomplish all this without resorting to profanity, offensive violence, or sexual innuendo.
She did in her address at the National Cathedral what she did in her books. She told her story in a compelling and clear way weaving into the story spiritual insights and biblical truths. It is an art and she is a skilled artist. She told how she came to the place where she knew her life was empty and she called on the Lord Jesus to forgive her sins and take over her life. She so tastefully and boldly proclaimed Christ and the gospel that I literally jumped to my feet and cheered her on.
We may not be asked to speak at the National Cathedral, but we all have our pulpit, our lectern, our microphone, our street corner, our place at the table in the coffee shop. We all have our moment on the stage. We all have our circle of influence. When the time comes-follow Jan Karon’s example. When you have a brief moment in the lights don’t forget who your God is. Don’t forget who your creator is. Don’t forget the One who is your hope and your salvation. Don’t forget the One who is your life. Don’t forget the One in whom we live and move and have our being. With a winsome spirit, with the bold confidence of someone who is handing out one hundred dollar bills, with graceful poise, stand up and make Christ known.
He is the way, the truth, and the life and when you proclaim his name it will have the ring of truth in the hearts of those whom God is calling to himself. He is at work in the hearts of people, do your part and make Him known. Here is a link to Jan’s lecture
Ken Pierpont
Brook Place
Hinsdale, Illinois
January 16, 2007
