MuddyPuddles

Have you ever heard about the dog and the tractor?  Or maybe I should say the dog the farmer the tractor and the cotton.  My father was a farmer but not "the" farmer.  "The" farmer was his dad, my grandfather.  He had come from a long line of farmers dating back to the 1600's when they first immigrated to America.  When I was interviewing some “Oldtimers” last week, Leonard and Rita, Leonard told me about a farm related event that took place between him and my grandfather (“Papa”) many years ago. 

The family farm was about a mile from the cotton gin at Petty, Texas, near Lubbock .  The way things generally worked was that the farmer would bring in a trailer load of cotton (usually containing about a bale) and park it on the lot next to the other full trailers.  The two men working the suction hose of the gin would alternate getting the next trailer from the line while the other one was sucking the cotton out of the previous trailer.  Once a man had sucked all the cotton out then he would take the trailer back to the lot so the farmer could pick it up and take it home to fill again. 

Leonard happened to be one of the ginners in the rotation at the time of my story.  He said that my “Papa” drove his little Allis Chalmers tractor up to the gin lot with the trailer in tow and parked it to be ginned.  He then got off and walked home.  When Papa’s trailer was next in line it turned out to be Leonard’s time to get it.  He started walking toward the little tractor when out from underneath it came a growling noise which stopped him in his tracks.  Then Papa’s big red husky dog stepped out from under the tractor and bristled at Leonard and wouldn’t let him get near it.  Enjoying the current placement of his skin and bones, Leonard decided to skip Papa’s trailer that day. 

The next day when Papa came to get his trailer he noticed it was still full of cotton so he asked Leonard, “Why didn’t you gin my cotton?"
Leonard said, “Well Bob if you’ll take your dog home when you bring the next load I’ll gin your cotton.”
Papa laughed and said, “That dog wouldn’t let you get on that tractor, would he?”
Leonard said, “No, he sure wouldn’t.” 
So Papa took the husky home and Leonard ginned the cotton and all was well once again.  And now you know the story about the dog and the tractor.  

God Bless, Dennis

I’ve spent several days this week on the road and doing family research for my book.  I’ve interviewed several people who are in their 70’s or 80’s and who knew my grandparents and my father when he was a boy.  I have discovered quite a bit about my grandparents that I hadn’t known before. One of those things was about the fact that my grandmother was a very devout member of the Church of Christ .  I knew she was a member, but I didn’t know how “devout.” It became obvious that everyone knew exactly where she stood in those matters.  I got the idea that her mother was even stricter than she was and was even a little obnoxious and judgmental about it. 

One of the couples I interviewed was my 82 year old cousin, Royce, and his wife, Jewell Dean.  Jewell Dean said that when she started dating Royce, her mother warned her about dating a Church of Christ-er .  (One of the other interviewees, Leonard, informed me with a grin that the term that she probably  used was more likely to be “Cambellite” rather than “CofC-er”.)  She said, “Don’t be dating a Cambellite or you will start going to the Church of Christ .”  Jewell Dean assured her mother that she would not convert to the C of C, and she didn’t. 

I took the opportunity to ask her “What was it about the C of C that made you and your mother feel this way.”  She said that she had visited there a few times and they told her she was going to hell if she didn’t become a member of the C of C.   They even told Royce, who was a member, that he was going to hell if he continued to date this girl who was not a member.  He said he thought that was a little harsh.

The other couple I interviewed, Leonard and Rita, had similar experiences.  During the course of our discussion Leonard, with a grimace on his face as he shook his head side to side, said, “They drove away countless numbers of people with this condemning attitude.” And I think he is right.  There is no telling how many people “we” have driven away by our self-righteous, judgmental, “two by four between the eyes” approach to evangelism. 

Our “good news” has often been, “You are going to Hell if you don’t become a member of the Church of Christ .”  I can barely contain the joy that wells up inside me as I think about this approach (for those of you in Rio Linda, I’m being facetious (in other words, I’m joking about this approach bringing me joy.  It actually discourages and frustrates me.)) 

As I look back over my own experience in the Church of Christ and think about what caused us to take such a confrontational approach to “evangelism” I think it was about the fear we had about missing any opportunity to spread the “truth”---not so much because of our desire to spread the truth but more out of the fear of our own guilt if we didn’t.  We thought about “What if I don’t say something and that person gets killed on their way home?”  So, to cover ourselves from this possible guilt and sin, we would choose to force-feed this “gospel” on anyone who came into our sphere---whether they wanted us to or not.  That way we were covered and if the person didn’t respond appropriately, then the guilt was on their shoulders instead of ours.  If they die on their way home we can say we tried to reach them and they just wouldn’t respond.  In reality, if they didn’t physically die on their way home, they may as well have in regard to our ever being able to reach them with the true gospel.  We’ve totally turned them off.

I still see some of that attitude today.  There is this uneasiness that creeps in to many of us if we allow anything unusual to slip by.  When someone visits the assembly and does something a little unorthodox, we generally have someone who is willing to “straighten them out” that same day---even if it means that this person will never set foot in that building again.  We are willing to lose their soul for the sake of our traditions or orthodoxy and in the name of “defending the faith” or in the name of doing things “decently and in order”.   And that’s just wrong. 

Our efforts should be more about loving those with whom we come in contact.  It should be about treating them the way we would like to be treated if the roles were reversed.  It’s about meeting needs.  God Bless you as you reach out in love to those around you this week.  Dennis      

Hello my friends,

I know it’s been awhile since I’ve posted and I’ve had several people inquire as to my state of being.  I want you all to know that I am doing well.  I feel incredibly blessed.  My heath and the health of my family is good.  I’m making great progress on my book.  (It’s really been time consuming.  I’ll let you know when it is published.  My goal is by the end of the year.)  Outreach church is doing wonderfully.  Ten days ago we had a record attendance of 98.  It was awesome.  We had nine visitors and the rest were regular members.  We have such a mobile group that usually more are out of town because we usually average somewhere in the sixties or seventies.  We are doing something that is kind of unusual in our worship planning.  We didn’t know how well it would work or if it would work at all, but it’s been working fantastically.  Each week a different couple plans the services from start to finish.  They decide who is going to lead singing, who is going to preach, who is going to lead prayers, who is going to lead communion thoughts.  They even decide what order to do things.  They can pick the songs if they want or they can leave it up to the song leader.  The results have been so gratifying.  Each week is fresh and uplifting and encouraging.  We’ve probably had at least ten or twelve different speakers this year, and each one has been good.  All but four have been our own members.  I’ve not heard one critical remark about any of the services this whole year.  I’ve not felt critical of anything that has happened this whole year.  It has just been so positive.  I never thought I would be so fulfilled in the worship services in this little town.  I’ve heard others express the same sentiments.  We all feel very blessed to be a part of Outreach.  I wish that each member of each church in this town (and in your town) could feel the same, but I know that it doesn’t always happen that way.  I know that what we have is rare.  I pray that God will continue to bless us and that we, through him, can maintain this Godly Spirit each Lord’s day.  God deserves the credit for what has happened.  I don’t think any of us could have worked it out this well.  I doubt if I will mention what’s going on at Outreach in this much detail any more.  I know that some could take it as arrogance or something like that.  It’s not like that at all.  I just wanted those of you that have been following our situation but have no connection other than this blog to know that it is going well and that there is hope for you if you are in a struggling church situation.  If any of you ever want to discuss your situation with me or just “talk”, I have a new email address.  It is quicksand@dishmail.net.  Feel free to contact me if you would rather not comment on the blog.

I will try to begin posting a little more regularly again.  I appreciate you all.  God Bless.  Dennis