Bad News

I got a call this morning that was sad. The man that lead me to Christ, Pastor Perry Jones died yesterday. He had been in the hospital with a blood clot. He was expected to get better and go home but died suddenly.

When I was 16 years old I had a crush on a young lady named Amanda. It was the summer before I turned 17. She was beautiful, sweet and a christian girl. Being the Suave guy that I am I tried to make my move. But it did not work. She wrote me a letter explaining that she did not date non christian boys. She shared the gospel with me and wrote out a lot of verses. It honestly angered me. I could not understand why she would say that I was not a Christian. I went to church, I went to youth group I did church stuff. What more was involved?

I went to church that Sunday night with the letter and showed it to Perry. You see, Amanda was Perry's niece. My goal that hot summer night was to get Perry to straighten her out. He said we could talk after the service.

After the service we sat down on the back row of the church. Perry then opened up the word to me and it just clicked. I had heard this before many times but this time it just made sense. That being a christian, meant that I had to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ and not just go to church and do church stuff. I prayed and asked Jesus into my heart. Perry baptised me that same night.

Perry pastored the same church in Elkhart for I guess 25-30 years. A small work there in my home town.

I would have loved to gone to the funeral or the visitation of the family. Ironically, I am now a pastor and had to go to a funeral visitation and preach a funeral at the same time as his. I think he would understand.

Perry was a rare breed. To pastor in a small town for years. To minister to multiple generations in the same place. To some he would not be "successful". He never had more than 150 in church. He did not have large crowds, flashy presentations, large budgets, multiple staff's, special effects, lights and 6 figure sounds systems.

But he was faithful. He faithfully with conviction shared the greatest story ever told. He faithfully shepherded the flock that God gave him. He faithfully ministered in a small town that time and progress seems to have forgotten.

Perry is now home. Perry's faith is now sight. Well done good and faithful servant.