James Plank and IHC Come to Colorado--And the Mother Who Is No Longer a Missionary

James Plank and I were in classes together at Penn View--and then we haven't seen much of each other for the last 30 years except recently at InterChurch Holiness Conventions.

Here he is at the right with fellow preacher Ron Stevens and family(at left), and the Michael Maley family who were singers at the convention at our church last weekend.

How we appreciated the West Virginia hill-billy Maleys down-to-earth, simple, but from-the-heart singing!

Also Ron Stevens' amazing life story of being saved from a life of drug abuse and prison sentences 

to being now a preacher of the gospel for about 20 years.

It's usually hard for me to handle really noisy preachers, but Ron Stevens has a smile that stretches from the Atlantic to the Pacific- and an energy that keeps you awake even on Sunday afternoon!

He preached about waiting for Christ's coming like Rahab waited for the children of Israel to come, 

and kept her scarlet cord hanging from her window while she gathered her family into the safety of her home. It was one of the most energetic, positive and uplifting messages about waiting for the second coming I have ever heard. Most scare me or leave me worried. This one left me wanting to be busy serving God and making sure all is under the blood of Christ!

And here above are all the preachers and wives who were in Sunday evening service.

James Plank preached boldly, and some of what he said was especially personally encouraging to me.

  A lot has happened in those 30 years since we were in classes together.

I'm not a James Plank, pastor of a church of 400,

thundering out messages with authority and power, and leading convention after convention from Dayton (attendance in the thousands) to Papua New Guinea where 10,000 attended.

Just a couple days before convention, I spent some time in my kitchen on the bear rug, surrendering all my ambitions, all my dreams to be up front ministering like the singing Maleys were doing and like I was trained for years to do, all my hopes to be a blessing and an influence, and just lay it all at Christ's feet.  

Because for a long time it feels like I've been just warming a church pew, (something that was as bad as backsliding) and there is the temptation to want to be up front like I used to be for many years.

Plus there was that call to be a missionary.

I wasn't a missionary Sunday...

We just picked up a lady for Sunday School who has come out of drug and smoking habits, 

and welcomed an uncle and aunt who have been attending church ever since their wedding when we invited them.

We just took the young people and children of the convention for a walk in Garden of the Gods nearby after the Sunday afternoon service,

letting them climb a few rocks and get some exercise and energy worn off before the evening service. 

We just invited another young couple along who have three little children and expecting their fourth,

helping carry the two littlest ones and talking about raising our children for the Lord.

Nothing up front on platforms--just walking on dirt paths giving tired children a reason to smile and a lift to a young mother and father.

I wasn't on the platform Friday night like James was.

Before service, I was just taking shopping the uncle and aunt who can't drive anymore since their third accident,

bringing them to Hannah's birthday party, which we had to fly through in order for everyone invited to get to church on time.

Hannah had made the cupcakes herself [with help from her mom who was supposed to be a missionary].

 She decorated them, too, with the help of Rose.

 This is as cute as any cake!

 Grandma and pa were the kind hosts for Hannah's picnic in their backyard.

 And Saturday, after attending the morning service and prayer time, I wasn't on the platform that evening--or even in the pew.

I certainly was not on the mission field.

I was just hosting another little informal party for Hannah, having invited, on the spur of the moment the day before, her friends the two neighbor children who have started loving coming over to our place to play with our children.

We are wanting to invite them to church, and did already, but it did not work out yet.

I had a little birthday gift hunt outside.

Here Hannah is finding one gift in a feed bin in a shed.

 Here she is looking in a tree...

 and finding another gift!

 And earlier in the week, we hosted another birthday party for Carrie, who turned 18!

That day we had a family from Kazakstan. The mother asked us pointed questions about our conservative beliefs, and about who we hoped our children would marry.

 Carrie is being a witness in the restaurant.

Her Hindu employer asked her for prayer for her marriage, and wants to bring her little girl out to our place to have some time in the country with a loving family.

Nothing up front--nothing on the platform--

just doing what we can to love others and bring them to Christ...

and surrendering the platform and all the rest to the Lord

after the children have gone to bed,

a mother who is not a missionary walking alone in a quiet kitchen,

while tears fall

above a bear rug on the kitchen floor.