Tuesday, September 21, 2004
The Cowboy Way
From the Mail Tribune (Jackson County, Oregon)
Away from the polished and formal settings of manyof today’s churches, faith flows in a Lake Creek barn
At first glance, it looks like a combination hoe-down, barbecue, family reunion and mini-Grand Ole Opry.
But when the sermons get going in Red Rock Cowboy Church’s barn at Lake Creek, you know you’re in the middle of some serious revival religion.
With fiddle and guitar backup, three female vocalists belt out gospel favorites, such as "Uncloudy Day," "Keep on the Sunny Side" and "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," while churchgoers — up to 150 on Saturday evenings — clap and extend hands to heaven.
"I wanted to take us back 50 years, where you’d see a gathering of guys, the sort who’d go off and build a barn together," said Albertson. "I’m not after the domesticated sheep of the city. I’m after the wild sheep in the hills.
Worship leader, guitarist and cowboy Bill Jones of Eagle Point had gone decades without church — until May 10, 2003, the day when "I knew this was the place," he said.
"Why is it working?" Albertson asked. "Well, you drive downtown and see the bars full and the churches empty. It’s because people just want to be loved. They get it briefly at the bars, but it’s false. The churches are empty because they forget to love you."
Read the article
Mail Tribune
Away from the polished and formal settings of manyof today’s churches, faith flows in a Lake Creek barn
At first glance, it looks like a combination hoe-down, barbecue, family reunion and mini-Grand Ole Opry.
But when the sermons get going in Red Rock Cowboy Church’s barn at Lake Creek, you know you’re in the middle of some serious revival religion.
With fiddle and guitar backup, three female vocalists belt out gospel favorites, such as "Uncloudy Day," "Keep on the Sunny Side" and "What a Friend We Have in Jesus," while churchgoers — up to 150 on Saturday evenings — clap and extend hands to heaven.
"I wanted to take us back 50 years, where you’d see a gathering of guys, the sort who’d go off and build a barn together," said Albertson. "I’m not after the domesticated sheep of the city. I’m after the wild sheep in the hills.
Worship leader, guitarist and cowboy Bill Jones of Eagle Point had gone decades without church — until May 10, 2003, the day when "I knew this was the place," he said.
"Why is it working?" Albertson asked. "Well, you drive downtown and see the bars full and the churches empty. It’s because people just want to be loved. They get it briefly at the bars, but it’s false. The churches are empty because they forget to love you."
Read the article
Mail Tribune
# posted by Dave Sichak @ 9:48 AM 
