June 19, 2000
Love for hunting gives pastors firepower
___By George Henson
___Staff Writer
___TAFT--David Vernon has two business cards. One identifies him as the pastor of First Baptist Church in Taft. The other identifies him the man to see if you want your ammunition reloaded.
___Vernon is just one of three pastors in Blanco Baptist Association who allow theiroutside interests to help bring outdoorsmen inside their churches.
COMRADES IN ARMS in Blanco Baptist Association are Ron Walker, pastor of First Baptist Church in Mathis (gunsmith); David Vernon, pastor of First Baptist Church in Taft (reloader); and Lee Bevly, pastor of First Baptist Church in Skidmore (taxidermist).
___Vernon gives his pastoral business card to people who come to his church, many of those being women without their husbands.
___"Many times I'll ask about their husbands and they'll say, 'He's out hunting,' so then I hand them one of the other business cards to give their husbands," Vernon explained. He also gives the cards about his reloading sideline to men he meets in the community.
___"I just work on building a sense of trust--that I'm not going to try and beat them to death with religion," he said. "It's not set up as a business, but just as a way to help people who ask me."
___Vernon said his hobby has allowed him to develop relationships with many people he otherwise would not have met.
___"Baptist preachers are usually thought of as dull, dry and boring, and so my reloading makes for some interesting conversations," he said. To add to his conversation starters, he also traps wild hogs that are eventually sold in expensive Northern restaurants.
___He admits, however, that many of the men he attempts to reach either don't make it inside the church, or if they do join, do not become as active in the church as he would like.
___Vernon is sure, however, that he has been given an avenue to minister to those outside the church.
___"People have conceptions of Texans as tall, wearing boots and having guns--and around here that's all pretty much true," he said.
___If a hunter has his ammunition, Ron Walker, pastor of First Baptist Church in Mathis, can help with a firearm. Walker is a gunsmith.
___Walker said his love of guns opens up a new mission field.
___"Sometimes I can get people closer to the Lord, when they find out their pastor doesn't look down on them for being gun nuts," he said.
___Walker also acknowledges he is not successful in getting every person he deals with into church.
___"I still consider them my flock, though. When they need someone to preach a funeral, I'm the one they call," he said.
___Walker attended the Knob Creek Machine Gun Shoot recently. The Kentucky affair is the largest in the world, with more than 10,000 people showing up for the weekend event each year.
___"That particular element of our society is overlooked by our churches," Walker said. "The church does not show them much regard, but they are still souls who need to be won."
___The makeup of those attending the event might surprise some, Walker said. The militia crowd is there, to be sure, but so are doctors, lawyers, millionaires and just a lot of men who enjoy the outdoors and firearms.
___All these people need to know Jesus loves them, Walker said, and that's why he seeks to communicate the gospel message along with firearms advice.
___Lee Bevly, pastor of First Baptist Church of Skidmore, also develops relationships with outdoorsmen through his hobby of taxidermy.
___"We live right in the middle of hunting and fishing country, and when they get to know you're a preacher, it opens up a lot of doors," Bevly explained.
___Bevly said his hobby, which he began learning at age 15, is just a reflection of who he is.
___"I'm just an old country boy myself," he said. "I'd never fit in at a big city church. If they found out I was a taxidermist, they might think it was gross, but here it opens up a lot of doors."
___
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