Cowboy Church

Val would be proud of me. I just got back from church. Cowboy church. If you think I’m kidding, check out http://www.cowboychurchofelliscounty.org.

The service is a little more, shall we say, unstructured, than I’m used to. First a little background. Cowboy churches are springing up all over Texas (though when I say “springing up”, there are currently only a dozen or so). Their premise is simple (as stated by the pastor of the church I went to):

"Most people only know two ways to do church. They know the traditional style with the hymnal, organ, piano, carpeting and padded pews and stained glass and lots of committees and the contemporary music churches with drum sets on the pulpit and folks in white shirts. Our floor is the same dirt-brown as the sand out here, so you can come to church straight from riding or feeding your stock. We don't pass an offering plate because a lot of people think churches are just out for their money. There's a little wooden church on a table in the back where they can leave an offering. We don't ask people to come down in front of a crowd and accept Jesus; we let them drop a note in a box in the back and tell us if they want us to call. We get people who will not go to church anywhere else, people who haven't been in 30 or 50 years. They've got issues. They may have a divorce, a child in jail, a drinking or a drug problem. That's why a cowboy church sermon is different. We preach about love. Our people already know their lives are screwed up. They need me to tell them there's a God who knows this and cares and wants to help them get back on track."

Cowboy church is a spirit, not a place, and they often attract people from “buck-out” sessions, where they’ll put on a rodeo (every Thursday out back at this church), and then feed everybody afterwards.

The cowboy version of the Ten Commandments, by the way, are these:

Just one God.
Honor yer Ma & Pa.
No telling tales or gossipin'.
Git yourself to Sunday meeting.
Put nothin' before God.
No foolin' around with another fellow's gal.
No killin'.
Watch yer mouth
Don't take what ain't yers.
Don't be hankerin' for yer buddy's stuff.

The service I attended started with a bluegrass band playing religiously-themed songs (nothing I recognized, so none of the usual hymns). Then followed a PowerPoint presentation of the recent Youth Mission trip to Arkansas. Then a prayer, followed by more country-religious songs. Then the sermon. I would say it was fairly typical TV-evangelical style, except that the pastor was amusing: not bible-thumping, not too erudite, but easy to listen to. There was a playroom for children right at the back of the church, and parents could drop them off there or bring them into the service at any time before or during the service. They served coffee and doughnuts before and after the service, which finished with everyone singing “Happy Trails”.

Corny? Maybe. I’d have no hesitation going back another day. It doesn’t fit completely with my idea of religion, but then I’m not sure I’ve found anything yet that does. It’s about people, about fellowship, about love and respect for each other, about simplicity, and not about money or pomp and ceremony or putting your beliefs above anyone else’s. And this comes pretty close.