Texas Baptist Forum

Reaching cowboy culture

Dale Person shares the same opinion about cowboy churches (March 15) held by many men I look up to in the ministry, but I must respectfully disagree. For starters, plumbers, doctors, and lawyers are a profession. Cowboys are a culture. You’ll be hard-pressed to find even a large minority of professional cowpokes in a cowboy church. It’s about people who identify with the cowboy culture—like being Greek, or from Samaria or Jerusalem.

All churches naturally congregate with like people—whether it’s based on race, socio-economic similarities or causes. The cowboy church culture is just another stratum of society.

Our church started the Cowboy Church of Leon County a few years ago. Within the first year, half of their members were people who had either never been to church or had not darkened the doors of a church since they were children. The cowboy church here has had a tremendous impact on our county and on the kingdom.

Like all things, it has to do with leadership, and the Cowboy Church of Leon County has tremendous vision and leadership.

Joe Dacus

Leona

Jesus & social justice

Fox News figure Glenn Beck recently stated that if your church and/or pastor teach social justice, you should discuss the matter with your pastor. If the pastor refuses to change, then you should leave that church. Beck says “social justice” is just a code term for socialism and communism. For emphasis, he held up posters with the hammer and sickle and the swastika.

Ironically, at about the same time Beck was making his comments, Selma, Ala., was preparing to observe the 45th anniversary of “Bloody Sunday,” when civil rights protestors were brutally beaten on the bridge.

The Bible contains many teachings promoting social justice. This was one of the major themes of Jesus’ teachings. So, if one follows the teachings of Beck, you should leave your church if it teaches from the Bible.

Many are concerned—and rightly so—about the sexually explicit content of many TV programs. If you go into your doctor’s office and the TV is tuned to Jerry Springer, will you be concerned? I would hope so. But how many are concerned when you see the TV tuned to Fox News with figures such as Beck spewing forth his comments against America and Christian teachings?

Carl L. Hess

Ozark, Ala.

Consistent principles

I am not the biggest fan of the tactics of Southern Baptist Convention leaders, which tend to be too rigid and draw too many lines in the sand. When moderates talk about the importance of soul competency and freedom of biblical interpretation, I am generally right there with them.

It bothers me, though, when I see them violating these same principles. Much rhetoric coming from moderates has tended to link Christ’s teachings on personal compassion and ethics with what is essentially a “progressive” political agenda and is hostile to political conservatives. One is certainly free to believe that political agenda is best, but to make it mandatory requires taking Scripture way out of context. Jesus’ teachings are not public policy prescriptions and do not easily translate into them.

I do not believe one has to be a political conservative to be a Christian, but I do think one can be. It is just as wrong for moderates to be hostile to those who disagree with them as it is for the SBC leadership to do so.

What is essential, anyway? Can we truly not be united around our mutual acceptance of Christ as Lord and Savior and our commitment to evangelism, mission and ministry, regardless of our differences on things like taxes, government spending and military policy?

What was the moderates’ resistance to the fundamentalist takeover about, anyway? Was it genuinely about resistance to excessive dogmatism, or was it merely preference for one type of dogma over another?

David Rodgers

Texarkana