Ken Pierpont's Blog, page 150

West with “St. Ratus”

Tuesday I had two choices. I had been invited to a pastor’s meeting where a number of my friends would be in attendance. Most of them would be younger pastors. There is a hopeful movement among young pastors toward a more robust theology. It’s great fun to be around these guys. The preaching and the fellowship and the singing can make your soul soar up to God. I put it on my calendar.

Later I heard that there would be another pastor’s meeting on the same day in early May. This would be a small meeting at a small white clapboard church on a little knoll south of a the tiny village of Litchfield, Michigan.

I wrestled a little with the decision. Which meeting? The young pastor’s meeting would feature nationally-known speakers and a band. The younger pastor’s meeting would be closer to home. I woke early on Tuesday looking forward to the refreshment of a meeting with other brothers and sisters in ministry.

I aimed the litte white Dodge Stratus I call “Saint Ratus” west out into the country to attend the small gathering in the country church. Refreshments were served with coffee down in the church basement. The people were sweet and kind and encouraging. I wondered if they would have real caffeinated coffee for the “younger” people–they did.

The speaker was a man of 78 years. He and his wife had been in active ministry for over 50 years. He spoke of God’s faithfulness and his supply and help over five decades of ministry. I listened with my Bible open in my lap on an old wooden pew bolted to a wooden floor. During quiet patches in the message the sounds from the trees and fields that surrounded the church wafted in the open windows of the little church. I loved his message and was deeply moved and inspired by God’s faithfulness to him… Of course it was especially powerful to me because the 78-year-old pastor who was in ministry over 50 years has been my dad for over 50 years, too.

Just before lunch was a short business meeting. I excused myself and slipped outside. The trees around the church were symphonic with birdsong. The sun shone on my head. Across from the church acres of rich soil awaited spring planting. Far away on the south border of the field was a line of beautiful trees in the tender green of spring. A gravel road ran along-side the field under an arch of leafy trees. My spirit drank in the quiet and I prayed. Most of all I thanked God for his faithfulness to me and to my family over the decades. And I prayed that God would make me faithful and fruitful for Him until my final breath.

It was a delightful morning. As always, I drove away with a lump of gratefulness in my throat confident that I had made a good decision. (I’ll check on-line for the audio of the “young pastor’s” meeting).

P.S. On the way home I made a quick diversion past a favorite used book store and stumbled across a flawless hard-cover of Sheldon VanAuken’s classic: A Severe Mercy. It was a very, very, good day.

Inside-Out Holiness

Date: May 6, 2012 AM

Title: Inside-Out Holiness

Speaker: Ken Pierpont

Series: Matthew’s Gospel

Text: Matthew 15:1-20

A Flyover of Matthew

Date: April 29, 2012 PM

Message: A Flyover of Matthew

Speaker: Ken Pierpont

Series: A Flyover of the Books of the Bible

Place: Evangel Baptist Church–Taylor, Michigan

Holy Boldness

Date: April 29, 2012 AM

Title: Holy Boldness

Speaker: Ken Pierpont

Series: Matthew’s Gospel

Text: Matthew 14:22-36

He Cares and He Can

April 22, 2012 AM

Title: He Cares and He Can

Speaker: Ken Pierpont

Series: Matthew’s Gospel

Text: Matthew 14:13-21

Cosmic Blackmail

Date: 04/06/2012 01:00 PM

Title: Cosmic Blackmail

Speaker: Ken Pierpont

Text: Revelation 12:10-12

Place: Evangel Baptist Church

T4G12 Together for the Gospel

This week over eight thousand mostly young men are gathering for the Together for the Gospel Conference in Louisville, Kentucky. The tweets are coming in about the conference and I am up at three in the morning wondering what dark force possessed me that I would fail to attend this conference. Every tweet is a sharp rebuke for my foolish neglect. What was I thinking?

In 2010 I stood with my son with tears streaming down my face and hands lifted bellowing gospel-laden songs with thousands of other men. I returned determined again to keep Evangel (our church) living up to her beautiful name-a place of Good News. I immediately preached a series of direct messages about the Gospel. People were saved as a result of that emphasis. Based on advice from a wise, older, godly pastor at T4G I launched my current sermon series Matthew's Gospel. This has been powerfully enriching to my own soul and to our church. When last I attended T4G twice I ate, what else, Shepherd's Pie at an Irish establishment down the street. I came home with a trunkload of wonderful books-most of them gifts. What was I thinking? One of my favorite recordings ever is the recording of the singing at T4G

This year I did not attend. I have no idea what I was thinking. Because of T4G2008 and T4G2010 I have a renewed devotion to the Gospel of Christ. What was I thinking? Consider me officially present in spirit at T4G12.

Ken Pierpont

Granville Cottage

Riverview, Michigan

April 11, 2012

PS. And I wish I had taken my daughter, because I want one of these godly, Gospel-saturated, Gospel-preaching, Gospel-devoted, Gospel-singing men for a son-in-law.

Here is an old video of the singing… I can't imagine what a recording this year would sound like.

Sleeping with my Selfishness

Our daughter Heidi is married to Austin. He is a police officer in Wisconsin. He works nights–third shift. She does not like to stay alone at night so Austin bought her an alarm system and he dropped by the dog shelter and picked out a nice Pit Bull to keep her company at night and discourage bad guys.

In late January Heidi and Austin had baby Keira. When we heard Heidi was in labor we were on our way. While we were on the road from Detroit through Chicago to Wisconsin Keira was born. As we raced across the state up-dates on Heidi's labor would come in on our phones. Finally a picture of baby Keira. We spent the day with the little family in the hospital in Kenosha celebrating the birth of our first granddaughter. She was born early so she was dainty–a perfect five pound bag of sugar.

That night, tired and happy we got something to eat and drove out to Austin and Heidi's home to check on Kato, the family Pit Bull and get some rest. Austin and Heidi had left in a hurry that day so Austin's parents had dropped by the house earlier to look in on Kato and put out some bedding for us.

When we got to the house I was ready to get some sleep. We let Kato out and he bounded around the house like a small horse. We are used to our Yorkie, Hazard so Kato seemed more like livestock than a house pet, but he was good-natured and very, very happy to see Hope. His happy bark had a resonance that you could feel in your chest.

I noticed a quilt folded up on the couch and a pillow on top. I picked them up and said; "I don't know where you guys are going to sleep, but I'm taking the guest room." I assumed Hope would sleep on the loveseat and Lois would join me in the guest room or sleep on the couch. The guest room had a daybed so Lois chose to sleep in the living room. I would have the daybed and guest room to myself. I dressed for bed, tossed the pillow on the bed, lay down, covered up with the nice, warm quilt and went to sleep with a thankful heart. I noticed there was no pillowcase but I was too tired to look around for one.

I slept deeply and awoke refreshed and happy. We got some breakfast and drove back to the hospital to pass Keira around and take more pictures. When we got there Austin left to go home and get a shower and tend to some things. Kyle and Elizabeth and the boys arrived to join the celebration. It was a happy day… until Austin returned.

When he got back he had a funny smile on his face when he said; "I see you guys used the guest room. Who slept in there?"

"I did," I said. "Slept like a baby."

"You slept there alone?"

"Yes, I tried to talk Lois into sleeping with me but she wanted to sleep on the couch."

He laughed and said, "I hate to tell you this but that pillow you used belongs to Kato. It's the dog's pillow."

"Are you serious?" I asked.

"Yes. Didn't you notice hair on it or dog slobber or anything…and it didn't have a pillowcase?"

"No. I did notice Kato acted funny when I was getting ready for bed and he kept trying to get in the room."

Austin laughed… a little too much, I thought. For the rest of the day he would just chuckle whenever he looked at me. Lois enjoyed to a little too much, too. I even caught a hint of amusement in Hope.

This wasn't the first time my old selfish streak backfired on me and I'm sure it won't be the last. I have to admit, I have a sinful selfish streak in me that is rooted deep in my old self. I know the theology. There is no way to overcome that sinful selfishness without a series of Spirit-generated miracles deep within my soul. The Spirit of God lives in me and I know He is at work to root out the last ugly remnants of my sinfulness. I'm sure He arranges humbling circumstances as an aid to my sanctification, like slobbery dog pillows and people that are just a little too entertained when my selfishness backfires on me.

Ken Pierpont

Granville Cottage

Riverview, Michigan

April 10, 2012

Trail Magic

Classic re-post

My two oldest boys hiked a section of the Appalachian Trail a couple years ago. I even have a picture to document their adventure. They came back with some neat pictures and tales to tell that will endure long after the pictures are gone.

There is an interesting tradition on the Appalachian Trail. Along the tail, hikers and locals would perform acts of kindness and goodwill to help hikers on their way. Often this involved food, because it is difficult to pack as much food and your body requires while slogging non-stop through the wild. Hikers call this custom "trail magic."

In Massachusetts there is a lady who leaves chocolate chip cookies on her porch for hikers. Some leave water along the trail. Others offer rides to town. When my boys were on the trail a man hitchhiked into town and brought back a huge stack of pizzas which drew a crowd of famished hikers immediately out of the wilderness. At The Presbyterian Church of the Mountain in Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania the people of the church have a weekly all-you-can-eat pot-luck dinner for hikers. People find that one of the things that helps them endure the rigors of the trail is tail magic along the way.

Trail-hikers or not people everywhere are on a hard venture. Everyone you know is struggling forward against some difficult problems. Maybe you should consider a little "Trail Magic" every day with strangers and friends. Salt your day with quiet, anonymous kindnesses and simple good deeds. They make the hard trek of life bearable. In Scouts they always said, "Do a good turn daily."

Last year, running a half-marathon a woman was playing the theme from Rocky on a boom box by the side of the road in the first mile. I smiled at the elderly lady as I ran by fresh off the starting line. The course looped out and back along Lake Michigan. Within a mile of the finish I was nearly spent I was physically almost out of gas. I was pressing forward on shear determination and the grace of God when I caught the strains of Rocky again. The elderly lady was still there playing the same song. This time the music and the tiny elderly lady made me choke back tears.

It doesn't take much to encourage someone whose strength and courage is at low ebb. Just a little trail magic may be all it takes to propel them to the summit of Katahdin.

While I was writing this someone informed me that there were a couple young men who were riding their skateboards on our property and damaging our concrete flowerbeds by "grinding" on them. I went out to stop them. It was hot. They were kind and willing to move along. After they agreed to go I said; "It's sure hot today, would you like a Coke?"

"Sure."

"Come on in."

They came into the air-conditioned building. "Wow, it's nice in here."

I got them a couple ice-cold vanilla cokes. They thanked me warmly. I said, "You guys have a good day."

"You, too, thanks."

We don't live on the margin of the Appalachian Trail. We don't climb summits and pose for pictures on escarpments over grand vistas, our journey doesn't start at Springer Mountain and end on Kathadin, but that doesn't mean we can't still leave a little trail magic around for fellow trekkers.

Ken Pierpont

Riverfront Character Inn

Flint, Michigan

June 27, 2005

A Flyover of Haggai

Date: 04/08/2012 06:00 PM

Title: A Flyover of Haggai

Speaker: Ken Pierpont

Series: A Flyover of the Books of the Bible