Earl was born April 22, 1923, the fifth of six children, into a nominal Christian Baptist home in Brewster, New York. He was baptized and became a member of the Baptist Church as a teenager, but had no assurance of salvation at that time. He graduated from Brewster High School in 1941 and joined the army in January, 1942. He became a second lieutenant in the Ordnance Corps in June, 1942, and served in the European theater during the war. At the end of the war he came to an assurance of salvation through the ministry of a chaplain. It was then that he decided to prepare for the ministry and he entered the National Bible Institute in New York, and graduated with a Bachelor of Religious Education degree in June, 1950.Earl married Marion Driggers on June 25, 1949, and they were assigned to serve as missionaries to Africa with a Baptist mission board. However, while studying at NBI, they became convinced of Presbyterian doctrine and resigned from that board. Earl then attended Faith Theological Seminary, from which he graduated in May, 1950 with a Masters of Divinity degree. While in seminary he, with others, founded a Bible Presbyterian church in Wilmington Manor, Delaware. This church is now part of the PCA. Earl and Marion were then accepted under the Independent Board for Presbyterian Foreign Missions to serve in Portugal working with Francis Schaeffer. When visas to that country were denied, they were assigned to Brazil, where they served for seven years. They taught in the Conservative Presbyterian Seminary and Earl for a time directed the school. He also helped found a church near the school. For health reasons they returned to the USA.
While in the states, Earl founded the Faith Bible Presbyterian Church of Villanova, PA, and was very active in the Twentieth Century Reformation Movement headed by Dr. Carl McIntire. Earl left this new church for health reasons and proceeded to serve as pastor of two churches Nebraska. From there the family went to Chile for eight months and again returned to the US for health reasons. Back in the US, he again became pastor of Faith Bible Presbyterian Church, which he then served from 1968 to 1975. While there he and others founded Westminster Biblical Missions in 1973, and he became involved in a new work in Pakistan. In 1976, the family moved to Bristol, Tennessee, where Earl and Marion taught at the Graham Bible College, and where Earl served for a time as academic dean. In 1980 it became necessary for them to move to Tampa FL in order to care for Marion’s aging parents. While in Tampa, Earl served under PEF as conference coordinator and in a street ministry. For the past few years he has not been able to actively serve under PEF but is thankful for the privilege of helping from time to time.
In Tampa, Earl taught at Clearwater Christian College, pastored a small Presbyterian congregation, and from 1991 to August, 1993 he served as assistant pastor of Senior Ministries and Visitation at the Seminole Presbyterian Church. He resigned from this position in order to give more time to the work in Pakistan. Marion served as organist of the church and was actively involved in its life and ministry.
The Pinckneys have two sons: James, a CPA residing in Wheaton, Illinois, with his wife and three children; and Daniel, formerly a missionary under Mission to the World, helped plant a church in Quito, Ecuador. Dan s wife, Iara, is from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and they havave one son. Both sons graduated from Covenant College. Daniel is an ordained minister in the PCA and studied at Campus Crusade for Christ seminary in California, and later transferred to Reformed Seminary in Jackson, Mississippi. He served as a missionary under Mission to the World in Quito, Ecuador for seven years. He is currently Pastor of Missions at Fourth Presbyterian Church in Bethesda, Maryland.
In January, 1995, the Pinckneys moved to the Presbyterian Retirement Community in Quarryville, Pennsylvania. Earl has served as part time assistant pastor of outreach at the Faith Reformed Presbyterian Church of Quarryville. He is currently on temporary leave of absence to serve as pulpit supply at the Faggs Manor Presbyterian Church of Cochranville, PA. Marion is the choir director of Faith Reformed Presbyterian Church, as well as organist and pianist for the choir of the Quarryville Presbyterian Retirement Community. Earl continues to serve as Field Secretary for the work of Westminster Biblical Missions in Pakistan. Earl and Marion made a trip to the field in Pakistan in October 1996.
Earl is currently a member of the Susquehanah Valley Presbytery of the PCA. He has also served for a year and a half on the board of directors of the Barnabas House—an addict recovery home in North Wildwood, New Jersey. Earl and Marion continue to keep busy with family, church and community, and they love their new home in Quarryville, Pennsylvania.
Posted on February 19th, 2007 by Rev. Eric Bristley
Filed under: Biographies, Pakistan
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