Ever been to a rodeo? You know, horses running in circles, manly men wearing tight jeans and others draped in drag and makeup? Oh yeah, and tons of dirt. And then there’s that stench.
Sounds like fun, eh? Actually, they are a blast.
Well, during the off-season (whenever that is) and on some ranches in the south, these open rodeo arenas are finding a more heavenly purpose.
Note this inspirational story from the Baptist Standard. So, if this is light-hearted and full of God, why the post on the Wall. Call it cynicism or even pessimism, but note this quote from the story:
Cowboy churches attract people who haven’t been in a church for decades. Some of the people the congregations baptized had never been to church in their lives.
Hmmm… anyone else get that. These are churches that are attracting the burned, scorched and the lost. Why?
Maybe this statement from Louis Sneed, pastor of Parker County Cowboy Church in Aledo (Texas… look it up sometime).
“We’re reaching people who are not phony, who are not putting on an act, who are not hiding who they are,” he said. “They are beer drinkers. They’re good people. But they’re just not fitting the lifestyle of most churches.”
That ‘lifestyle’ is devolving less like the gates of heaven and more like the stuffy confines of a country club. The larger the social arena… er, church, the more of farce it seems to the church member. Hundreds of millions of people call themselves ‘Christian’, and more than half say that smelling like ashen remains of a three-alarm fire. In short, most of us have felt the burn from a church and vowed to not return.
Thank God, he created a trait for only called ‘omnipresence’. When you feel like backsliding, God doesn’t wait outside in a line. No, he goes in the club and meets you at the point of your need. So, for these cowboys that are leaving the flames aside and taking Jesus at his word… and for a horse ride, good on ya’ fellas.
Yeehaw! In Jesus’ name, of course.
The Writing on the Wall 