Now when I say the words "cowboy church", what pops into your mind now? I would bet that on the surface you would have a puzzled look on your face and be asking, "What are you talking about?" You might also think that the mere thought of a cowboy in church would be like that of Madelyn Murray O'Hair accepting Jesus Christ as her Savior at a Promise Keepers rally.
But don't discard the concept of a "cowboy church" so fast. In fact, it is a whole lot closer to reality than you think--and it is now growing here in Texas as an emerging trend in evangelicalism that should be carefully watched. Why? Because it may be soon coming to you where you're at before you know it.
One of the purposes of this article series is to illustrate just exactly how these currently regional trends in religion may soon dramatically impact the state of evangelicalism here in America. It is in this editor's opinion that the next place where "ground zero" will be for the next few years in American religion WILL NOT be in its major cities. In fact, it will probably start in a place most people won't expect it to come from.
Why do I say what I just said? I respectfully submit to you the fact that the first four books of the New Testament illustrate that Jesus Christ did not start his official ministry within Jerusalem proper. In fact, the disciples he chose and the region He used to launch his ministry from was of all places Galilee--consisting of mainly fishermen. This editor projects that the next wave of spiritual revolution will follow in similar fashion here in Texas--only this time through its farmers and ranchers and rodeo cowboys. Whether or not you like it, Texas will be the White Sands equivalent of the next American Great Awakening.
It is with this in mind that we at the Suite have decided to start this new series by pursuing an in-depth exploration of the "cowboy church". Together with the kind editorial assistance of my fellow Contributing Editors Dan Ellsworth (Christianity--Christian Humor) (denoted by the initials DE) [ http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/chri... ] and Kathryn Morse (Managing Editor--Religion and Contributing Editor for Christianity--Catholicism) (denoted by the initials KM) [ http://www.suite101.com/welcome.cfm/cath... ], I took the very unique opportunity to interview Pastor Shawn O'Hearn of the Tomball Cowboy Church to try to gain a little bit of perspective and insight for you on this new thing called the "cowboy church".
