Cowboy Church has come east

O.K. Picture this, I am sitting in a cattle arena in 90 degree heat with a huge fan blowing across the sweet scented sawdust (and other ingredients) floor. Our heads are bowed and a cowboy preacher has just explained the plan of salvation and asks for everyone who just prayed a prayer asking Jesus to come into their heart for the first time to raise their hand as a sign of faith. I felt a movement right next to me and the middle aged lady was raising her hand.
At that moment the Holy Spirit flashed my mind back several months ago to a prayer for God to lead me to someone who might have a passion to help us bring this Cowboy Church Concept down east. He laid on my mind my friend David Barnes. David is pastor of Bible Missionary in Wilson and loves horses and people. I called him and asked if he would have any interest in just going with me to hear a guy named Jeff Smith talk about what God was doing with Cowboy churches. He did and God has griped Davids heart to the point that August 29, 2006 at least six people came into the Kingdom of God because a church service was held in a cattle arena.
Pastor David's folks got on board with him and folks from the "Cowboys for Christ" got on board and have made this church called "Downeast Cowboy Church" a reality. I hope you will pray for them, maybe even pray for God to show you ways you can be used creatively to touch lives.
If you wanted to "mosey on in" sometime, they are meeting Tuesdays at 7 at the Wilson American Legion fairgrounds. You can wear your hat and boots, but I promise you when you step in you will find that sawdust floor is just as sacred as the carpeted floors.

Inviting people does work

I had the good pleasure of worshipping at Pleasant Hope Church in Wilson this past Lord's Day. I discovered that the day I had chosen was their "Good Neighbor Day"

The point was to be a good neighbor and invite someone to church. Now, I know this is a simple concept and one that so many folks can dismiss with,"I have invited people for years and they still don't come." But you know what, it worked. Their Sunday School attendance was up markedly and they even surpassed their goal.

The pastor, Brother Wayne Ellis even recognized people that had invited someone and they came and they stood up. The general impression that I got was that all the invited folks felt pretty special that someone had cared about them and had invited them to come to church.

I guess when all our gimmicks and plans and stuff gets boiled down it still equals to one person reaching out to another person in the name of Christ. I have a suspicion that the after effects of this week will linger on for that church. I wouldn't be surprised if the ones who invited someone and they came, will probably do it again this week. And I would not be terribly surprised if some one of the ones invited, doesn't share that experience this week as well.

Is there a mission?

My family loves the water and fishing is one of our favorite family things,especially the males of our clan. I love to be gliding along in the water and see the spray come up beside the boat and look back over the stern and see the impact of the motor grinding it's way through the water. I look over at the bank and see a crash of a wake against the shoreline.
You will have to allow me some grace, maybe even a little slack, but I just can't help being a little down. Here I am part of a group that we call "the Body of Christ". People implicitly called and sent to radically turn the world in God's direction, that is who our group claims to be. We even have little slogans that we fall back on, like "I can do all things thru Christ who strengthens me". But truthfully I am having a hard time looking behind me and seeing the wave of where we have been. I don't mean to be unkind to my kind, but somewhere along the way we have got to wake up and start telling ourselves the truth. Church, as most of us are doing it, is a wakeless event. That would not be so disturbing if it were not for two issues.
One is that there is so much need around us for us to be on track with the mission of Christ, you do remember that don't you "to seek and save the lost" And they really are lost. They are disconnected from life and nothing is working for them.
The other is that while we smile and quarrel about which style of song of praise to sing to God He is cringing at the sound of it all because the song is meant more to entertain us than to exalt God.
I truly fear that the worlds thinks that we have no mission. Or at least if they think we have one it is all about us and nothing to do with them.
If you stood near Jesus you would get blown away by the wake of His passing thru. Whose world are you rocking?

The crushing factor

I don't know about you, but I have become more and more hesitant to watch television news. It is not that I am trying to hide my head and not face a real world, it is that I have a hard time controlling my emotional response to the spins and twists that are more predominate than the actual news stories.
I get particularly on edge by the disproportionate fear of the future that is created. Whether it is about global warming or the latest ramifications of the Middle East crises, I keep hearing the wrong cause for the weight that seems to be crushing down on our world as we know it.
It is true that we are in perilous days. We are facing fears in America that the rest of the world has had to live with on a daily basis for years. But it is not weather, or tragedies or even Islamic theorist's that is the weight bearing down on us that so threatens us.
What is it? It is the current chapter being written as a prologue to the words of Isaiah. It is a world that has turned it's attention away from God and pretends to act as if what we chose to do with God has no consequence. The most fearful issue out there today is the failure to factor in God. It is made even worse in the light of His continual extension of Grace. Our fear does not come because God is pulling out thunderbolts to hurl at us. Our fear comes because we are taking chain saws and cutting away the foundation that allows us to stand.
Isaiah spoke the words of warning that we need to hear and repeat even today. Our hope, our safety is the privilege of cooperating with God.
It is God who remains in complete control, let us renew our trust not in His power, but in His nature for it is His nature of love and grace that saves and keeps us.

I have not posted anything in the past few days because I have been involved in teaching a Vacation Bible School class for 3rd and 4th graders. Actually I have been team teaching with my wife Gray ( as usual she does all the work and I talk a lot and play with the kids)
This is the first year in several years that I have gotten the privilege of actually teaching kids. In my role over the past ten years as a pastor of a multi staff church getting to that contact place of teaching the classes just didn't happen. Boy did I miss it and wow, what great fun this has been this week. Tired, yes, but I discovered a long time ago that the best energy in the world is Holy Spirit energy when I have used all mine up for His name sakes and He kicks in His graceful power.
A couple of observations. First is the wonderful memories that flow through my mind. Gray and I actually started ministry together teaching a sixth grade VBS in Franklin N.C. We saw seven of those boys and five other family members come to Christ and were baptized. From that we started doing backyard Bible Clubs and then one day God stepped in and said " Let's do this full time." and here we are. Precious experiences with Christ have come along. I see in my mind the dear elderly lady who let us use her front yard to do a Backyard Bible Club and 24 neighboring kids came every day and watching her stand by with tears in her eyes as she saw the kids listening to God's word.
The other is the extremely high level of interest of the kids in our class this week in the Bible and the application to life. I am amazed at how much these guys really get it when we talk about Jesus and their living their life by His plan. I am more confident than ever before that the church is going to not only survive but thrive. Our practices and methods may not survive, but a future generation committed to Jesus and following Him, that has the bright hope.
I appreciate the Lord letting me have this shot and will be doing more. But I am even more appreciative of you folks who are out there week after week in Sunday School, Mission Groups etc. Leading children to Christ.