Cowboy Church

Howdy Partners! Why don't we saddle up and bust a wild Bronco for Jesus?

Here in the Empire State of the South, new Protestant Evangelical Churches seem to sprout up like weeds. Each of them have a different flavor or a different twist to attract people to them. In other words, if you don't like worshiping with the old folks down at First Methodist then come on over here to Spirit Filled Inter-Denominational Life Center and listen to electric guitars and wear your blue jeans and T-shirt and get a mocha latte at the Church coffee shop on the way out.

Apparently, one of the new things in the Evangelical world is the "COWBOY CHURCH." On my way to Court in a nearby city, I pass by a sign on the highway leading the way to a "Cowboy Church." The sign has the silhouette of a cowboy kneeling before the cross with his horse standing by and points the way down a rural road. I wondered what this was and asked a friend of mine, who is a former Southern Baptist Seminarian, what this was all about and he explained it to me.

I think that an argument can be made that the original "Cowboy Churches" were all those Spanish Franciscan missions in the Southwest. After all, the Spanish vaqueros were the first "cowboys." Look at a map of the Southwestern United States and what do you see. Towns called "Santa Fe" (Holy Faith), "Los Angeles" (The Angels), "Sacramento" (Sacrament), not to mention San Diego, San Francisco and others. A good argument can be made that the original "Cowboy Church" is the Catholic faith brought by the Spanish to the American Southwest.

Of course, any movement that leads unchurched people to faith in Jesus Christ is a good thing. So let us pray for our separated brethren in the Cowboy Churches.