Bittersweet Farm

When Roger was eight his dad gave him a very unique gift. Roger has kept that gift for fifty years. Roger’s dad was a veteran of WWII. This gave him priority consideration to buy an Army-surplus General Purpose vehicle built by Ford in Dearborn, Michigan. This is the vehicle that came to be universally known as a Jeep. The “General Purpose” was shortened to GP and then slurred into the word “Jeep.” The nick name stuck. He probably paid around five hundred dollars for it.

Roger’s Jeep has been in the family for over sixty-five years. The family used the Jeep on the farm for chores and to plow snow in winter. When Roger left home he took the Jeep with him. Other projects took priority so for many years Roger stored the Jeep but didn’t start it. That was fifty years ago. Early this summer he decided to pull it out of storage and see what it would take to get it running. He gassed it up, checked the fluids, hooked onto it with a tractor, pulled it, and popped the clutch. The old Jeep coughed, spit, sputtered, and came to live and ran…after sitting unused for fifty years.

This is true. Rodger told me himself and he has witnesses. He also said, “If anyone asks, tell them that it is not for sale. I’m going to pass it down to my son.” He is determined to pass down to his son what was cherished and passed down to him.

Rodger’s Jeep got me thinking. What do I have of value to pass down to the people who I love most in the world? What do they need more than anything? What would be the most valuable thing I could give them?

I’d like to give them houses or valuable real property. I am tempted to desire a life of ease and pleasure for my children but in my heart I know that we are not on the planet to pursue a live of ease. When I’m gone I want to leave behind children and grandchildren, maybe even great-grandchildren who desire for themselves the joy, delight, pleasure in God they see in me.

I want to know God personally and intimately and live in unbroken fellowship with Him. I want to influence and inspire and coach those I love to know God personally and intimately—to find deep soul-satisfaction in God.

Paul said of Timothy, “I can tell you have the same genuine faith your mother and grandmother have.” Genuine faith is an eternal source and sustenance to the soul. It is a guarantee of eternal life. It is an assurance that we will spend eternity together in the bliss of heaven and the presence of God. If by my life I am able to influence my heirs to have genuine faith I will have given them something money cannot buy. They will have something of infinite and eternal worth. It’s what I like to call an heirloom-quality faith.

Ken Pierpont
Granville Cottage
Riverview, Michigan
September 2, 2010

I love the idea of having 24-hour road service. There are five women in our home and I don’t want any of them ever to be stranded on a dark and lonely stretch of road. I don’t want my sons stranded either. Dan was on the way to church the other day and the Jeep died—just stopped running. He had barely rolled to a stop when Steve Massengill, one of the men of our church—rolled up in his pick-up and offered roadside assistance. Sunday night he offered to help me get the battery on the charger. Monday morning he picked me up and helped me get the Jeep to the shop for repair.

It’s been that way all my life. I have been “broken down” in more ways than one and it seems that God always arranges someone to be there to help me. He may one day choose to allow me to be alone and without help and I will not charge Him with unfaithfulness, but it warms me to think how many times He has sent the right person at the right time in the right place and equipped him with just the right skill or experience to help me with what I need.

A few years ago I was talking with a friend who had an old van and a large family and had returned from a long trip. He had had some mechanical difficulty. He was able to do the repair himself by the roadside, but if he had needed a tow there would not have been enough room in the truck for his large family.

“Do you have AAA roadside assistance?” I asked.

“No, can’t afford it.”

I said, “I tell you what. If you ever get into the situation again, keep your number in my wallet and call me. I will do whatever I can to help you. You consider me your 24-hour roadside assistance. I will do whatever needs to be done to get help to you. You can count on me.”

My friend looked me in the eye and said; “Pastor, the same goes for you. If you are ever broken down with your family and you need help and you don’t know what to do, you keep my number with you and call me. I will do the same for you. You can count on me.”

This he spoke with gravity and deep sincerity, looking me directly in the eyes and then he extended his hand and gave me a firm handshake. There was a wordless fraternity between us that day. It’s nice to have someone that you can call on when you are trouble. It’s even nicer to be the kind of person others can call on when they are in trouble.

You may even be the answer to someone’s prayer that way.

Ken Pierpont
Granville Cottage
Riverview, Michigan
August 24, 2010

This summer God has been doing something in my heart. I spent most of five weeks of the summer with teens. Neighborhood Gospel Outreach and Cola Wars week was toward the beginning of the summer. Teen Bash, VBS, and Commmunity Celebration week was later in the summer. I spoke to Sr. High teens for a week at Lake Ann. I led a missions trip of 9th and 10th graders for a week to northern Michgian, and last week I spoke to Sr. High teens for a week at Camp Barakel.

During these times I taught the word of God and told the stories of God and the stories of God’s work in my life. Then, each day, I took time to listen to lots of kids tell me their stories. I would eat with the kids or I would tell them, “If you want to talk look me up this afternoon. I will have my toes in the water and we can sit on the dock and I will give you the talking stick.” Two of my daughters, Holly and Hannah spent the summer counseling at camp and they told me some of the stories of their campers. Two of my sons work with youth and they frequently tell me the stories of the teens they work with. There is one great word—one great theme that hangs over almost all of these conversations. It seems to be a main subject in almost every story: Hurt. All kids have hurts. Most kids have deep hurts. Many have devastating on-going hurt in their lives.

Last week, on Saturday night, Dan and Wes and I drove back home from Barakel into the early hours of the morning on quiet roads. Usually I would listen to a good podcast or some edifying music. Sometimes, after a week at camp I will put the songs of the week on my iPod and re-live the sweetness of worship that we experienced during the week. But Saturday night as the boys slept and the miles passed a deep burden and a clear vision formed in my heart. I could not stop seeing the faces of the young people or hearing their voices. I could not stop thinking about the Downriver—the area where we live and work—my mission field. I thought about the thousands of young people who live in a ten or fifteen-mile circle of our church, their hurts and their need for Christ.

I believe that no one gets through life without hurts. Even the greats of the Bible, who were loved of God, hurt. You can read this in the laments of the Bible. The book of Lamentations chapter three through verse 20 is a good example of this. When life hurts God has not abandoned his people. He is still faithful. When bad things are happening to those who love God, He is always up to something God. He is faithful. You can see this in Lamentations 3:21-17. Even when things are hard his mercies are new every morning. Sometimes his mercies are severe, but they are mercies form God and he is in control. When we think of this we can have hope. His compassion never fails.

When life hurts, God is there and He is faithful—he’s doing something… but will your hurts push you away from Him or into his arms. Will you get closer to God or farther away when hurt comes into your life? Will you trust God to compensate you for your hurt with a dynamic spirit or with rewards in heaven or will you be buried in bitterness and anger.

This is the message I would like to get to the thousands of young people who live within the sound of the “voice” of Evangel. When a child or a teen is drowning in hurt someone who is on solid footing needs to be there to throw them a life-preserver. When they are staggering in the dark someone needs to give them an arm to lean on and lead them out of danger. I want to lead our church in doing what needs to be done to help families. May of them are single-parent families. Thousands of them are suffocating in shame and guilt because of past failures. They don’t see any way out. Satan has conspired to bury them in guilt and shame and confuse them about the gospel. They see the church as an organization devoted to adding to their burden of guilt, not ultimately removing their guiltiness forever.

God has stirred my heart and inspired my heart to find broken hearts and introduce them to the One who can give them a new heart.

Ken Pierpont
Granville Cottage
Riverview, Michigan
August 18, 2010