Grady, Alabama

Where on earth is Grady, Alabama? Why am I going to these places out in the middle of nowhere? Well, those are both good questions. Let me see if I can answer them for you, and a few others as well.

Where is Grady, Alabama? Grady is just south of Montgomery, Alabama. The church that I was in however, is not in Grady, Grady is just the closets town to where this church is. On top of that, Grady only has about 35 residents. I told the pastor, "You are not out in the boonies, you are on the edge of nowhere."

However, in this little nowhere place, over 80 people gathered from all around to meet on Sunday morning for church, and they continued to come through Wednesday evening.

Now this is what is known as the "deep south". I thought Texans had an accent - Texans don't hold a candle to the Alabamian accent. I thought Texans were rednecks. Okay - a lot of them are! But so are a lot of Alabamian's. Yet, there is something to be said about this simple life. There is nothing like walking out at night and being able to actually see the stars, or to hear the rustling in the woods (which starts just five feet from where you are standing), then see a red fox scurry out in the night looking for something to eat.

Why am I going to these out-of-the-way places? Another good question.

ANSWER: Because people are people. No matter where they are, no matter what their color skin, no matter what their country ... people need the Lord. So I go.

What did I find here? I found a great group of people who love their pastor (who BTW, has been here for over 28 years). I found familes who are struggling, lives that are broken and people who are no different than people in "the big city." I found people who like the quiet of the country, and are willing to drive an hour one way each day to work so they enjoy this peacful area during the off times.

I also found a pastor who has committed his life to reaching people. A man who cares about broken lives and wounded relationships. I found a man who is committed to helping young pastors get their feet on the ground and willing to help them get a new church started from the ground up. In today's world where every other pastor is simply looking for the next church to go to that is going to pay a little more or where he is going to get a little more recognition, in Grady, Alabama (or some place nearby) is a man who just wants to stay put and minister to the people that he can reach out and touch. And touch them is what he is doing.

Several times he pointed out a man or woman and said something to the effect that "He was hooked on meth - but when he got to know Jesus - his life changed." They have started a support group in their church to help the people of the area who are hooked on meth. Meth is the "white man's drug". Even though there are many blacks in Alabama, and racism is still very real (BTW, the blacks of Alabama are just as racist, if not more racist, than the whites - but that is a whole different discussion that heavily revolves around 'The Right Rev. Jessie Jackson' - and I say that with absolutely not respect for the man), Meth is dominately a drug that the white man uses - and it is destroying their lives. Yet there is a little church on the edge of nowhere, with a pastor who has gained the respect of the community who is reaching out to make a difference in their life.

Will I go back to Grady, AL? In a heartbeat! In fact, I am already scheduled to return. I loved these people. They are geunine. There is no pretense in what they do. They just greet you with a smile and a "Howdy" that will melt your heart. Community Baptist Chrurch is just that - a church for the community.

Pumpville, TX

This past month I have been close to home. I preached for Bro. Mike Marcellus in S. Austin the first week, then at my home church the next week. The third week I was in Pflugerville (the "P" is silent for those of you who do not know) then this last week I went to Pumpville, TX.

You may ask - "Where is Pumpville?"

Good question! Pumpville is down my Del Rio. It is about 15 miles for Langtry. Now for you history buffs, you may remember the name "Langtry." The town of Langtry was named after a fair maiden, actually an actress. Yes indeed. For years, she was sent letters by the man know as "The Law West of the Pecos" - That's right, Judge Roy Bean. The "Jersey Lily" was aware she was supposedly the town's namesake - for Judge Roy Bean had been sending her fan letters for years. She couldn't find room in her schedule to visit the town. When her train finally did pull into Langtry - Roy Bean was dead.

But what about Pumpville? Well Pumpville is a ghost town today - literally. There is a church, abandoned school house (complete with the small house the school teacher lived in), the grocery store that is about to literally fall apart and one other house, recently relocated on the property for the purpose of the "traveling pastor" to sleep in on the weekends. THAT'S IT!

Yet on Sunday morning at ten o'clock AM, this ghost town comes to life when anywhere from 10-20 people gather for church. Ranchers from all around begin to make their way to the little church in the ghost town. They will bring enough "viddles" for lunch after church, then when church is over - Pumpville returns to its natural state - a ghost town.

Their pastor travels over three hours one way each week and has for over three years now. Some may think this a bit foolish, yet the nearest church is over fifty miles away. So this gives the ranchers around Pumpville and great place to come to church in a much shorter time. You never know the lasting impact that is going to be made on one life as a result of this. The median age in this church is probably in the late 30's to early 40's, being that they have membership ranging from in the 80's to 2-years-old.

So that has been my month. Tomorrow I head East to Alabama for two weeks then to Kansas for Sat. thru Monday, arriving home on Tuesday just in time for Thanksgiving. I will post more later - but don't look before Thanksgiving as it will probably not be here. :-)