Spared for a Purpose
From the Archives: 2008
By Ed Pilkington
For His own plans and purposes, the Lord has unveiled Himself to me little by little. Sometimes the path has been joyful and sometimes painful, but each step of the way I have come to know Him more fully.
Born in Pine Level, a small town in eastern North Carolina, I was dedicated to the Lord while I was still in the crib. My parents were poor tenant farmers, yet God had plans for my father. He went to work for a pharmacist in town who saw potential in him. My dad became his apprentice and after one semester of school in Chapel Hill, he became a fully licensed pharmacist. My parents gave me my spiritual roots.
At fourteen, I accepted Christ as my Savior but not as Lord of my life. I wanted to make my own decisions and choose my own path. I felt I was saved so I could handle the rest. In high school, I was determined to be “cool”. I was the “original” Fonz from “Happy Days”, ducktail hairstyle and swaggering gait. But my life wasn’t a comedy. I was arrogant and full of myself. One day in the hall, the high school drama director grabbed me by the collar and pushed me up against the wall. Cliffton Britton challenged me. He said, “Can you even read, Pilkington? I dare you to show me after school this afternoon and try out for a play.” I was insulted, so just to show him who I was, I showed up with about 200 students and auditioned for that play. Within one sentence I knew I would become an actor. Clifton grinned, “I knew you had it in you!” Later the two of us wound up at “The Last Colony.” I had been running with a bunch of rough guys headed for trouble. The Lord rescued me through drama.
At East Carolina University, I delved into Pantheism and the Occult. I wanted to experience the supernatural — my aim was to encounter genuine spirituality. I found out Satan was real and it frightened me, so I then turned to Zen Buddhism in my search. The pull of drama led me to Ithaca, NY. My wife, Pat, who was a singer, and I, an actor, made our lives there. I was determined I was a Christian, but still searching for whatever that meant. I became a Christian Unitarian and the search continued.
Pat became pregnant and we moved back to North Carolina. I was offered a teaching job at Elon College and was there four years in charge of the theater department. While I was there, I became a Zen Buddhist archer. In 1969, small colleges were going under financially, so Elon did away with its drama department. In 1970, I came to App State as co-director of Theater. By 1976, I became the Director of Theater, President of the North Carolina Theater Conference, Vice-President of Southeastern Theater Conference and Director of “Horn in the West”, the third largest outdoor drama in the nation. I was on top of the world, or so it seemed. On the outside I had it all, but on the inside I was joyless and empty. As an actor, I hid it well.
We were attending Alliance Bible Fellowship and in a Bible Study. The pastor spoke about God as three persons —Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I had to face the fact that I was spiraling out of control internally. The pastor also said that salvation was a by-product of Christ’s lordship. I had accepted Him as Savior but never as Lord.
On April 16, at 4:15 p.m., overlooking “Horn in the West” grounds, I gave up and submitted control to Him. At that point, He gave me a vision. I saw a huge red balloon growing bigger and bigger and I knew it was going to burst. Then I saw a hand reach down with a pin and it pricked the balloon. Instead of it bursting, it imploded and awful, yucky, green, vile smelling stuff began oozing out of it. I had never felt such an incredible peace while feeling an indescribable joy. I drove home and told Pat. Her response was, “Do you have to keep crying so much? Can’t you stop saying ‘Hallelujah’ and ‘Praise God’ over and over?” After this, the Lord sent me to grad school in Chapel Hill and during that time Pat came to Christ. Together, He began using us and brought our children to know Him.
In my arrogance, I began to think that perhaps I might be the replacement for Billy Graham. If Billy could lead 5,000 to Christ in one meeting, then surely I could lead 10,000 to Christ with my dramatic ability. When I mentioned this to my pastor, he admonished, “Ed, don’t do that!” So, I stayed at App State and led scores of young men and women to Jesus. I discipled many of them and found great fulfillment as I experienced the strong presence of Christ there on the campus.
I was at App State thirty-one years, and eight years ago I felt led to retire and go back to acting. I was scared but determined to be obedient. I became a union actor so that I would be recognized professionally, and as confirmation that my calling was to act, the Lord opened doors and provided roles. Today, Pat and I feel led to minister to folks in the artist community whose world is very different then the commercial world.
Along the way, there have been evidences of God’s protection and healing. Pat has endured cancer twice, and I had a quadruple by-pass performed on my heart. A little over a year ago, I was in a bike wreck at the bottom of Shulls Mill Road. A truck ran over me, breaking my pelvis in four places and fracturing my shoulder. I was taken by helicopter to the hospital in Johnson City, TN. It was a long, hard, painful rehabilitation, much more difficult than the heart attack. By God’s grace and much prayer, I have recovered. I also discovered the fellowship of His suffering. Pain opens doors in your life you have never walked through. I experienced absolute dependence on God.
Pat and I are excited about the future. We know God has spared us for a purpose. We feel young, focused and alive. We have real anticipation for what come next and our ears are listening for His call.
