Following Jesus As Lord

It Has Taken Me Places That I Never Could Have Imagined

The Journey, Winter 2023

Written by Paul Pierce

“By faith Abraham, when called to go to a place he would later receive as his inheritance, obeyed and went, even though he did not know where he was going.” Hebrews 11:8

As remarkable as it may sound for someone growing up in the South, in the so-called “Bible belt”, and attending a university that at its founding had been a Methodist men’s college, I had never really heard the Gospel until I was 18 years old. That all changed on a late afternoon in mid-September of 1978.

One afternoon while I was at the laundromat in the apartment complex where I lived with my mother, my twin brother, and my younger sister, a stranger who lived in the complex and was also using the laundromat had the audacity to breach my world and begin to share with me the gospel of Jesus Christ.

That stranger was Robert Murray Cunningham, Jr. Murray was a placekicker for Tennessee Tech and had relocated to my hometown with an evangelical college ministry. In 1974, Murray kicked a 53-yard field goal, a record that stood for 42 years. He is inducted into the Tennessee Tech Sports Hall of Fame. Today, Murray lives in Tennessee and does missionary work in Kenya.

After Murray shared the Gospel with me, I did not immediately respond. I did not fall on my knees in repentance. But, and this is a key point, Murray and others at the ministry were praying for me and others. I believe it is that prayer which (along with the inherent power of the Gospel) enabled me to ultimately get born again.

I was born again when I attended an evening church service with Murray and an evangelist named Bob Weiner preached Jesus as Lord. In short, what got me born again was that Bob Weiner preached, in essence, that it wasn’t principally a matter of me accepting Jesus. The greater question, the affronting question, was whether or not Jesus would accept me. Of course, we know that he will, but I had never heard anything like the Lordship of Jesus. So, under conviction by the Holy Spirit, at the altar call I stood up, came forward, and gave my life to Jesus Christ. Then, I was water baptized, filled with the Holy Spirit, and spoke in tongues (Acts 2).

I hope what I share next heartens people and encourages them to continue in the things of the Lord. I’d like to report that I had a glorious college experience, graduated with honors, and went on to a stellar, noteworthy career filled with awards and acclaim. That is not at all what happened.

***Paul & Marcia Pierce on their wedding day***

After I got born again, I continued my classes at the university for about five years. I did not graduate in those five years. In fact, pursuit of my four-year degree spanned three decades.

While in school, I was completely self-supporting. The other phrase for that is, “poor”. I worked evenings and nights at a Krystal restaurant (are they still in business?) and later drove a forklift 64-hours a week at a manufacturing plant in a neighboring town.

My life was meandering along until one day I let a Christian brother borrow my car to teach someone else how to drive a stick shift. That was on a Fourth of July weekend. Later in the day after the picnic, I caught a ride back home so I could go to work (I worked seven days-per-week). When I arrived home, I saw a car in the parking lot that looked like mine, same color, but smaller. It was my car, rolled over, and totaled. My friend had wrecked my car and I only had two car payments left.

So, in desperation, I decided to join the Navy, not because of patriotism, but because the Navy had food, shelter, and offered a meager college fund if I joined for six years.

The thought of a six year enlistment was horrible, but I did it anyway and ultimately stayed 22-years. Along the way, I saw much of the world (it’s 70% water), visited 24 countries, lived in Italy for a while, and ultimately retired from the Navy.

***An early picture of Paul & Marcia Pierce (1985)***

I then became a management consultant for ten years with three different management consulting firms and (kind of) retired a second time. Then, I did a 5- year stint as a program analyst with the federal civil service supporting the Navy SEALs at a Special Warfare Group and retired (re-“tired”) a third and final time (or so I thought).

After earning my doctorate in Human Capital Management, I gained new work as a management consultant helping the U.S. Marine Corps helping modernize their information technology (IT) workforce at all their installations worldwide.

Along the way, I met and married my wife of 38-years, Marcia.

Marcia is very talented. She was an electronics technician in the Navy where she calibrated electronic test equipment and repaired “micro miniature” circuit cards. After retiring from the service, she became a yacht salesperson and bought, sold, and rehabilitated sailboats.

Now, she runs her successful craft business, The Pretty Paws Cause. Our son John works for the Department of Veterans Affairs in Portland, WA. Our granddaughter Olyvia lives in Portland, too, and our grandson Logan lives in Scottsdale, AZ. We have an extended family of five great-grandchildren.

After living in Virginia Beach, VA for over 25 years, we permanently relocated to greater metropolitan Foscoe in the winter of 2019. In some respects, the transition has not been easy. However, it is our wonderful brothers and sisters in Christ that we’ve met and bonded with here in the High Country who make our new lives here wonderful and truly worthwhile.