42 • June 2018
Gene Henderson and son Chip Henderson Following the Father The evening sun shone through the office window of Chip Henderson, senior pastor of Pinelake Church, but the room was already lit with an uncommon quantity of Light. Chip and his daddy, Gene Henderson, retired pastor, sat near each other, bonded as father/son and as God’s “called” – to “proclaim good news to the poor, freedom for the prisoners, recovery of sight to the blind and to set the oppressed free.” Even though the two preachers share father/son kinship, their callings from God have no similarities. Gene wasn’t raised in a “church-going” family, but he remembers joining the church at age ten and feeling relieved that he had “fire insurance.” It was at age 21, while he was sitting in a church service with his wife, Dorothy, that he heard God’s voice calling him to preach. Not knowing what to do or how this could be, he asked a friend how he could know that it was God’s voice speaking. The friend suggested they speak with the pastor. During the meeting, the pastor began by asking about Gene’s salvation. Through the working of the Holy Spirit, Gene realized he had never given his life to Jesus and made Him Lord. While the pastor and his friend prayed about Gene’s preaching call, Gene prayed for Jesus to save him and be Lord of his life. The meeting ending with Gene as a new child of God. Gene went back to church the next Sunday, and the call came to his heart again. It was the third Sunday when Gene finally responded to the call. During the invitation, he told the pastor who had just preached from Amos 4:12 that he didn’t even know where Amos was in the Bible, but God was calling him to preach. The obedient 21-year-old left that service, surrendering his life to pointing others to Christ as one called of God to preach. The following week he preached his first sermon from John 21 entitled: “I’m Going Fishing.” Chip’s life as a preacher’s kid, along with his four siblings, was spent in the church. Missing any church function was never an option or negotiable. For every service, youth choir practice, and potluck, Chip was present but not necessarily fully engaged in spiritual growth. Even though he was saved at age 14, it was his freshman year at Mississippi State University during spring break when God began to deal with him about his spiritual walk. He had chosen pre-dentistry as a major but found his commitment to academics wasn’t as serious as he needed to become an orthodontist. He remedied that by choosing his roommate’s major, community management, which required less commitment. A Bible study that he joined on campus continued to guide him closer to Jesus. After completing the study, his leader said he must go and lead one of his own. The more time Chip spent in the Word, the more he grew in love with Christ. “When I spoke about Jesus and the Word, something came alive in me and in the audience,” he said about his early days of speaking and sharing. The call to follow in his dad’s life work began to grow, and Chip began praying and asking God for a sign. He had to know for sure and from God. On a weekend home from college, he was in church on Sunday, listening to his daddy preach. It was a sermon with a sign. Gene preached about the Jews asking for a sign that Jesus was who he claimed to be. Chip responded to God’s call and within a short time was asked to work with the youth in a Winona church. Chip decided his call would be in youth ministry. However, God’s plan went beyond Chip’s plan and expectations. On any given Sunday, nearly 11,000 are in attendance across Pinelake including the church’s satellites campuses in Starkville, Oxford, Madison and Clinton. That’s growth only God could bring in the 20 years since Chip became senior pastor to a congregation of 700 Pinelake members. But every successful story has its mentors. One of Gene’s was Billy Joe Pierce. He taught Gene that you could be a Christian and still have fun! John Taylor is a favorite mentor of Chip’s. The Mississippi State college student taught 8th grade Sunday School to Chip and his friends and instilled a love for the Word of God in those young men. Chip was also impressed that a Christian could be cool and athletic. Now that Chip and his wife, Christy, are parents to three children of their own, they are intentional in being godly parents and exemplary role models. Of course Chip’s most influential mentor was his dad. He said this about his daddy preacher: “Dad was real, and he followed Jesus for Jesus and not for a job. He taught us to always pursue God. And, my dad always pulled for the people in the ditch – the ones most people want to run from or keep at a distance. He and I agree that when you are at your worst, God is at His best.” Gene is obviously extremely proud of his son, but he refuses any credit. “I would do Hometown Rankin • 43