REMEMBERING PASTOR MIKE PINKERTON

"And whosoever shall exalt himself shall be abased; and he that shall humble himself shall be exalted." (Matthew 23:12)

On Monday evening, Pastor Mike Pinkerton "went home to be with the Lord" as we evangelical Christians like to say. Well, to say he "died" seems so stark, negative and final; and "passed away" seems like too much of a generic euphemism. I went on-line to try to find specific information about Mike: What day was he born? Where did he grow up? What are some things about his life or some accomplishments that I was not aware of? I could not find anything. There's not even an obituary posted on-line that I am aware of. I know that there will be a Memorial Service in honor of Mike Pinkerton at his brother-in-law, Pastor Phil McCutchen's church (Bethany Community Church in Mendon, MA) on Saturday, September 14 at 2:00 p.m. I am working on Saturday, so I can't be there; but I absolutely wanted to put something "out there" as a memorial tribute to Mike Pinkerton and to express my deepest sympathy to his family and friends. I know that when people's earthly lives end, there tend to be a lot of flowery, gushing, and poetic things said about them; many of which are exaggerated or just not true. What I write here about Mike Pinkerton may seem to be exaggerated or just not true, but I assure you that all of it is accurate.

I don't know what Mike Pinkerton's exact age was, but I would guess he was around age 61 or 62. I know he had several children- most of them are grown, but I believe the youngest is only around age 14. His widow, Judy, is a lovely and talented person. I cannot remember exactly when the Pinkertons moved into Massachusetts from Florida, but I would guess it was around 1998. I also do not remember exactly when I met them but I think it was at an Assemblies of God "Central Massachusetts Section" function. I do know that while my first impressions of people are usually quite incorrect, in the case of Mike Pinkerton, my first impressions were "spot on"! In ministerial circles, sad to say, I would often meet men (and women) who were overconfident, egotistical, and intimidating. Mike was nothing like that. Nothing like that! I was amazed that he seemed so simple, so warm, so sincere, so friendly, so "open", so unassuming, and so humble. There was nothing flashy at all about Mike. It was also very obvious that Mike loved God very deeply, loved his family very deeply, and very much wanted to reach out to hurting, needy people. He almost seemed like he did not belong in professional ministry. That may seem like a strange thing to write, but professional ministry can be very difficult. Pastors may have to deal with angry, selfish, and manipulative Church Board Members. They may have to deal with stubborn, rebellious people. They may have to deal with City or Town officials who frankly don't want a Pentecostal church in their community, and who certainly don't want a Pentecostal church putting up an impressive church building or exercising too much power and influence in their community. Admittedly, I was not the most capable person in dealing with the kinds of people and situations I am referring to here. Sometimes, the way I handled such situations was rather weak and unimpressive; and yet compared to Mike Pinkerton, I could be considered a very confident and capable leader. Mike Pinkerton pastored a struggling Assemblies of God church in central Massachusetts for a couple of years. He faced enormous problems and difficulties there, and ultimately the church closed. For a number of years, Mike worked at a secular job at the Bedford, Massachusetts V.A. Hospital, but he was always available as a guest speaker. I had him come to our (former) church in Framingham as a Sunday morning speaker at least once (perhaps twice) and I had Mike Pinkerton minister at our Men's Fellowship Group at least once. Honestly, Mike was not a flashy or dynamic speaker. Sadly, a minister's speaking ability is often the first and foremost item Pulpit committees look for in "calling" a pastor to their church. Mike's public speaking was at best average. Perhaps, it was a little below average, in fact. Yet, Mike always had some very rich and important matters to share from the Bible and about life. I happen to be a better speaker than was Mike Pinkerton. But Mike's very life "spoke volumes" as they say! As I reflect on Mike's kindness, compassion, love of people, love of God, and desire to reach out and help the hurting and needy, I feel (frankly) "like a jerk". Listen, in those areas, I would not have been worthy to get down and shine Mike Pinkerton's shoes! I so admired what a fine man and what a wonderful Christian he was, and I knew I fell far short of that!

I'm about to share something here that very few people know. In 2005, I had applied for an employment position with the Assemblies of God in Springfield, Missouri. It's not important what that job was. Despite my overall lack of accomplishments in ministry, this particular position was one which I was amazingly qualified for and would have been a good fit for. In fact, I ended up being one of (I believe) 6 ministers who were seriously considered for the position. I was slated to be interviewed by a very important Assemblies of God official while I was out in Missouri bringing our daughter back to college. What happened was that just a short time prior to my scheduled interview, a candidate was interviewed who was so outstanding and so perfect for the position that they decided to hire him and not pursue any of the other finalists. (Just for the record, that candidate was far more qualified than I was and was really a perfect fit for the position. I had absolutely no bad feelings about what happened.) I write all this to say that if I had gotten that job, my heart's desire was that the church in Framingham "call" Mike Pinkerton to be the pastor! Mike and his family never knew that, so now I'm making that public. I felt that with his amazing concern and care for the hurting and needy, and the excellent personal connection he had made with the church when he ministered there, he'd be perfect to pastor there. If you do an on-line search for "Bob Baril" or "Rev. Robert E. Baril" you'll find "all kinds of stuff" as they say. My friend T.H. often speaks of people who are guilty of "shameless self-promotion" and I say now with a red face that I've often been guilty of "shameless self-promotion". In life, I've often felt marginalized. I also felt that the church I pastored was often marginalized. Like a teenager "tagging" brick walls in urban alleys, I was screaming, "I MATTER! NOTICE ME! OUR CHURCH MATTERS! NOTICE OUR CHURCH!" I must admit that when I study a chapter such as Philippians chapter 2 which speaks of the total humility of the Lord Jesus Christ, I realize that Jesus was not a self-promoter at all. He was not flashy. He did not call attention to Himself. Neither did Mike Pinkerton. So, I am not exaggerating when I write that Mike Pinkerton was very much like Jesus, and was far more like Jesus than I am. Here's what's sad: The flashy ministers...the self-promoters...the "charismatic personalities"...THEY are the ones who often get buildings named after them and who get big "write-ups" in Christian magazines and on-line after they die. (Listen, I'm not saying everyone who gets that sort of treatment is a flashy, self-promoter; Billy Graham will be honored that way, and he truly deserves it. It's just that too many heroes of the faith like Mike Pinkerton die and seemingly nobody knows or cares.)

When a great Christian dies, I am often very sobered, and I wonder, "Lord, who will take his or her place?" I am sorry I can't be at Mike's Memorial Service; but I ask sadly and with deep soul-searching, "Who will take Mike's place?"