HOW THE CHURCH NEGLECTS IT'S CHILDREN( Have some cookies and kool-ade and leave us alone)

Greetings from the country Yall! It sure has been raining a lot- too wet to lay any brick or stone. And the Goat barn is all clean- so today is a good day for philosophisin' and frettin"( or maybe a little of both).. yep the old agrarian agitator is agitated again .. ya see, we JUST started a NEW YEAR and LOTS of Churches have been looking ahead ; making plans; deciding what is REALLY important to focus on for this year!! As we know, SOME things are a GIVEN( or as the young folks say: a No-brainer..)Churches need to Preach the Word and administer the sacraments- but the question for EVERY CHURCH MEMBER IS: "HOW SHOULD I USE MY GIFTS IN THE BODY OF CHRIST?"That's right... we know that we are to use our gifts to build up the body.. and it seems to me that LOTS of folks are missing the boat.. or should I say they are sitting IN the boat when they should be getting out and walking... yep... there's a mighty sea out there.. and let me tell you about some folks that are waiting for you to extend your hand... You see them sometimes in the hallways at church( sometimes You JUST HEAR THEM).. yep... thats right it's the children of the church... and let me tell you a secret.. the children are NOT THE FUTURE of the CHURCH- They ARE THE CHURCH RIGHT NOW... and they NEED YOU (and YOU need them.. whether you admit it or not).. Oh, You know how things go...NOT MANY people want to teach children's Sunday School or Children's Church.. well.. let me tell you a little church secret.. I'm gonna whisper so come closer.. I do'nt want everyone to hear this:" The awful truth is... it's EASY to find people to teach ADULT classes.. and to attend adult classes.. it's just so much more fun sitting around talking about supralapsarianism for the TEN-THOUSANDTH time...and ya know if you keep going to that Adult Sunday School class for a few more years, you might discover the answer to the question, " How many Calvinists does it take to start a contentious theological argument?"( answer- ONE.. if he's alone, he will start an argument with himself)... Yep- it's the truth.. Not too many folks realize that the church is filled with little ones who need to be reminded that God is not only the God of their Parents,, He is THEIR GOD.. The children need to be taught the truth about God's grace... Dear Friends, when those children were baptised, you made a vow to help their parents raise them up in the fear and admonition of the Lord- even my mistaken Anti-paedo baptist brethren have their "baby dedications" when the congregation makes the same vows( by the way... add a little water to the baby dedication, mix with prayer, and you will be getting close to the correct ordiance:).. yep- you made a VOW.. but NO... You ca'nt spend any time with the children of the church, you have to make sure that the praise team wardrobe is color- coordinated, you have to sit in a class and argue with the arminian visitors about the Bondage of the Will for the millionth time... Guess what??? there's some little followers of Jesus who need you to love them... do'nt just drop off the snacks for the children's sunday school , pat them on the head and say God Bless you... why do'nt you sit down and have a snack with them( i recommend Cheese crackers and water)?.. You wo'nt be arguing about supralapsarianism... you'll be spending time with little souls that love Jesus.. and HE will be there with you...Ya might have to miss playing the triangle in the Worship Orchestra from time to time... but hey.. it will be worth it:) Shalom !

EVERY LIFE IS PRECIOUS( even if they never throw a touchdown pass)

Greetings nascar fans, paedobaptists, and manichaens! It's that time again.. yep its time for some dusty ramblings from the old cotton chopper!! It's been raining a lot down here in the country, but the clouds rolled away last weekend fer a spell!!! long enough for the old satellite dish to start working again- and I certainly enjoyed watching the March for Life on EWTN!! It's good to see our Roman Catholic friends taking the lead in proclaiming a culture of Life! We protestants could really learn a thing or two from them about taking a firm stand! Thanks Yall!I have been hearing the last few days that the superstar quarterback Tim Tebow is going to make a pro-life commercial that will run during the Superbowl. Tebow's mom was counseled to abort the child that she was carrying many years ago- the risk was too great.... well... we know the REST of the story-Mrs. Tebow KNEW that she was carrying a LIFE in her womb, she knew the right thing to do... and the baby was born and became one of the greatest college football players ever! Thats a great story... because it's true!!! Let me say that I like Tebow. I admire his unashamed witness for the Gospel of Jesus Christ- I could do with out the taking Bible verses out of context and pasting them under your eyelids...( Yeah I know... I'm a ultra conservative Christian so I'm SUPPOSED to LIKE THAT kind of stuff- SORRY- God's Word is not to be cut and pasted like a link on your facebook profile page- You are supposed to read it as a WHOLE- when Paul said," I can Do all things thru Christ who strengthens me", he was'nt talking about throwing a touchdown- it was about being content even when you suffer )- sorry but I digressed... ok where was I??? oh yeah- I like a guy that boldly proclaims Christ, speaks up for the PRO-life cause ... so Yes- I'm glad they did the commercial... I have'nt seen it yet.. and yet I am FEARFUL... - I hope that people do'nt get the wrong idea after seeing the commercial- I hope people understand the REAL reason we should'nt abort our children. You know what I am talking about.. some very well-intentioned people use the worst ever arguments against abortion.. you 've heard them.. "You should'nt abort your baby- what if he's the one who will grow up and find the cure for cancer, or be the next Bach, or Einstein, or do this great thing or do that great thing..."," why Mrs Tebow would have aborted the great Tim Tebow if she had listened to the doctors"!!... Dear Friends... are ya catching this??? can you see it??? That line of reasoning is from the Devil himself..." in other words.." Do'nt kill your baby and risk killing someone who will grow up to be a WORTHWHILE human being... " WELL... those of us who follow the Nazarene know the truth- the truth is : ALL LIFE IS PRECIOUS because we are CREATED in the IMAGE of GOD and we each have an ETERNAL SOUL- thats why the Scriptures command us " Thou shalt not Murder" .. EVERY SOUL is precious... every life is to be protected.. ALL human beings are "worthwhile"... I pray that THE TRUE message of the sanctity of life will be conveyed by the Tebow commercial... today, throughout the world countless numbers of children have been aborted... those little ones should have been allowed to live... no matter what they would have "turned out to be"... I hope Tebow goes all the way with this one and I do'nt have to throw the penalty flag... we'll see- ...

THE REASON FOR THE HAITI EARTHQUAKE??( Judging the Sin of the Suffering)

Hi friends! It's been a while since we've visited- but the earthquake in Haiti has stirred up the old Agrarian Agitator.. yep it's time for me to put in my two cents worth! So here we go again.. here's some crumbs from the poor man's table- maybe you'll find a little nourishment here... Ya never know! It seems that lots of folks are reaching out to the suffering in Haiti with prayers, food, clothes, money, and ALL kinds of help! That's encouraging... but it seems that SOME folks are speculating on the "WHY" of the earthquake.." why did this happen to THEM???.. ",. We see this often- a tragedy happens, someone goes through a trial or tribulation and it's not long till the self appointed prophets of judgement and doom tell us WHY it happened... "Why THOSE people must be REALLY EVIL- Yeah... that HAS to be it.. if only they were nice and respectable and righteous ( LIKE US) .. they would have escaped this tragedy" Thats what we hear... time and time again... When I hear that kind of response, I am reminded of the story of Jesus and His disciples when they were discussing "tragedies" one day- the story is found in LUKE 13- the following is the Clay Callaway Standard Version:

One day Jesus' disciples asked Him if he had heard about a couple of TRAGEDIES. It seems that some men were working on a tower and there was an accident.. the tower fell on them( earthquake???) and they were killed... and there were some men who were put to death by Pilate... YEP- those disciples loved "toting" tales of tragedy that day, they had an itch.. and Jesus KNEW it so HE started scratching..Jesus asked them ," Do you think that these men were terrible SINNERS and THAT's the REASON this Happened???" Before they could answer, Jesus gave them the TRUTH( He had a habit of doing THAT)... Jesus said" NO- BUT I TELL YOU THAT UNLESS YOU REPENT, YOU WILL LIKEWISE PERISH"

In other words, Jesus was saying, " Do'nt be examining the WHY- Do'nt be judging the "sin-status" of those who suffer... that is NOT the ISSUE... The issue is YOU... How is YOUR HEART??? Have you repented??? and IF YOU TRULY have.... guess what??? You will reach out in LOVE to those who are hurting. You will pray for them, you will give food to those who hunger, clothes to the naked, water to the thirsty. Remember when Jesus said," In as much as you have done unto the least of THESE, you have done in unto ME??" There are men,women, and children who were created in the image of God underneath the rubble in Haiti. They do'nt need you speculating on the "degree of their sin"- they need you to pray for them- they need food,clothing, and medicine. They do'nt need judgement- They need help. " Except YOU REPENT, you will likewise Perish"

" I'LL HAVE THE CHICKEN ENCHILADAS( With SOME GRITS AND GRAVY)!

Hi Kids! Thanksgiving is coming up and I am thankful that MY WORK is picking up! I have been doing some projects close to home... but soon I will be going back to LINEVILLE, Alabama... and I LOVE it over there!!! It's near Lake Wedowee, and I have been working over there off and on for a few years now.. Lineville is a small town.. you know what I am talking about- The TOWN SQUARE, THE traffic light( singular), the small country churches... it's SO relaxing... There's not a LOT of Yankees over there... you know what that means: People say Hello , wave, and talk to you for no particular reason( shocking.. I know)... It's so refreshing... A while back I was working in Lineville and I decided to drive into town and try out the MEXICAN restaurant(singular) in town. I pulled in the gravel( plural) parking lot and walked into the painted block building. My beautiful mexican wife has prepared several THOUSAND authentic mexican meals for me through the years.. so I was ready to give the Lineville Mexican Restaurant a try..ya NEVER know.... also I was looking forward to practicing my southern flavored Spanish with the servers...I walked in and saw a beautiful young lady sitting behind a counter- She had long black hair, dark complexion- "allright- I thought, she HAS to be Mexican.. I get to practice the old espanol today" I smiled, walked toward her and said ," Buenas Dias".!!!!.. and what happened next... almost gave me a heart attack... I heard a voice.... a southern voice... ( even more southern than mine- if thats possible).. She said" well Hey there- how YOU??? Now... think COUNTRY, think CAUCASIAN, think HILLBILLY( think Clay Callaway)... thats the voice I heard coming from that lovely Hispanic lady... She showed me to my booth, and told me about the chicken enchilada special( SPAY-shul.. she said)... Now most of the time THAT LOVELY SOUTHERN accent is telling me about FRied chicken, biscuits, grits, and gravy.. it AINT telling me about enchilada" Spay-shuls"- Her voice was lovely... I soaked it all in... ordered and asked her about her "story"... YES her parents are from Mexico- her dad came to Lineville to work - and SHE was born there, grew up there, went to school there- the only Latin girl in Lineville. Naturally she picked up the southern drawl of her hometown.. in her home they still speak spanish( mexican accent) but with the customers... its all SOUTHERN!!... I enjoyed the enchiladas... but more than anything I enjoyed hearing her story... I went away thinking about this experience... Her raven hair and dark complexion was a reminder of those proud warriors who suffered the invasion of the men from Spain - men who changed their language and their culture. HER southern accent told the story of another "people" who were also proud warriors- They TOO were invaded.- by men from the NORTH who changed their culture and way of life... and Yes... the YANKEES had SOME success.We have become "UNFRIENDLY"... LOTS of southerners DO'nt say Good Morning or HELLO. they wo'nt ask "HOW YOU"? or HOW'S Your FAMILY?..But the INVADERS did'nt completely conquer us... - SOME OF US held onto our beautiful southern drawl.... " Next time you are in LINEVILLE, ask for the Enchilada SPAY-SHUL"....

King David Danced a Mean Electric Slide( thats why His wife was Jealous)

Many of you know the story of King David of Israel. He threw a mean sling-shot and he worked magic with his lyre. His songs were healing balms for the melancholy soul of King Saul - and his Psalms are with us today. Everyone likes to talk about the episode with Bathsheba- The Rich King , the OTHER woman, the AFFAIR. The "young and the Restless" ain't got nothing on the David and Bathsheba story... yep- we know our King David stuff... but I want us to think about the "dancing episode"... Do'nt remember that one.???. well, here goes.. David and His men were bringing the ark of the Covenant to Jerusalem..The people were singing, The cymbals were ringing, the timbrels were timbreling.. and they were praising the Lord with loud music-( David and his Posse didnt lead worship at the Presbyterian Church in Jerusalem- they musta been pentecostal)- The Bible tells us that "David danced before the Lord with all his might, and David was girded with a linen ephod". Now David's wife, Michal was looking from her window and she saw her husband, The KING of Israel dancing without his KINGLY WARDROBE, leaping and jumping, like a COMMONER... it says that Michal"despised him in her heart"- so after offering sacrifices, David passed out party favors to all the people: A cake of bread, some meat, and a flagon of wine( you dont have to bring your own bottle to King David's parties... he a swinging host). After receiving their goody bags, everyone went home to check their facebook status.... and King david went home to check on the MICHAL status... and it was a big dis-like symbol from her... She Nagged him about" getting down with the people", she said that he UNCOVERED HIMSELF- David "let his hair down" , threw off the kingly robes, and started praising the Lord with his dance... Michal was a stickler for decorum and propriety.. Michal do'nt allow no dancing praise around here.. well, David did'nt care what Michal do'nt allow- gonna do his dance anyhow! and he told her so...David said" IT was BEFORE THE LORD... and you ai'nt seen nothing yet... at NEXT weeks party... I'm doing the electric slide... so there..." I LOVE this story of David and HIS dancing... Now in FULL disclosure, I have to say that I do NOT believe DANCE is supposed to be an element of a "New Testament Worship service- you and I will "argue" about this later( in another blog-lol)... I just like to focus on the dancing!!! Maria and I have been doing a lot of dancing lately... mostly with my friends from my youth( High school friends) and we are having a wonderful time... when we dance, the concerns of life are put upon a shelf... if only for a while- - we throw off our Kingly Robes of formality... and we put on the linen ephod of joy and happiness... we become like children... is'nt it funny.... children express their joy by dancing... and how do WE( the brilliant adults) respond," You stop that now... you are acting silly"... Our wise little friends are trying to teach us something.It does'nt matter if you look silly( or if you are old, or overweight, or not graceful,...i.e. past 40 -can I get a witness???).The lesson is this- "If you are happy and you know it clap your hands( and move your feet)....."- OH yeah !!!thanks Kim for teaching Maria and I the "to the left to the left" dance... maybe NEXT time.... The Electric Slide..

Barbara Walters is My Professor( man, I am so smart)

Hi Kids! it's me again- YEP, things are kinda slowin down here on the farm. Most of the crops are gone- we still are picking Peppers but The corn stalks are dry and ready to be used for decorations ! REFORMATION DAY is soon approaching... which character is your child going to dress up like??? Luther?.... or Calvin??..... I am thinking about going as the Bad guy, ERASMUS- His costume is easy, I just gotta find a monk's robe and a copy of the Vulgate and I'll be ready to fill my bags with candy.. I am so excited ... yep.. things are not as busy lately. Maria and I went to Birmingham for the Callaway Family Association meeting last week and we had a wonderful time. I did NOT take John Calvin's laptop with me so NO INTERNET for FOUR DAYS( Idid'nt even miss facebook.. not in the least, I can quit anytime I want, I only do it recreationally...ok Ya got me.. I was miserable).. well... no internet means ya gotta find an electronic screen of some sort to stare at.. so I looked desperately around the Motel 6 room and I FOUND IT.. yep.. my old friend , The TELEVISION was waiting there for me. The continuous splash of colors and noise baptised me with comfort.. the TV shaped void in my heart was filled with images , information, and endless chatter- and for a little while I was happy... I was really happy the day I channel surfed and landed on " The View"....yep.. The Show started by Barbara Walters . You all know it- It's the Show hosted by a bunch of Bossy women that appeals to Bossy women... well.. I digress...it was good to see Barb again- I grew up watching her. She told me the news when I was young.. and I liked her.. and then as I got a little older, I started noticing that Barb( and a lot of her friends on TV) started telling me WHAT and HOW to think.!! Their "air" of intellectual superiority slapped me up side the head through the Tv screen. Why... during the George W. Bush administration, Barb even told me how RIDICULOUS President Bush's religious views were.. Barb constantly belittled, laughed, scorned, ridiculed, and scoffed at GW's belief in a PERSONAL GOD that you can TALK to, a GOD that has revealed Himself thru His Son Jesus Christ, a God who speaks to your heart through His Word and through yearnings in your heart. Barbara told me that NOONE ..(.especially the President) should be making decisions based on conversations with God, spiritual feelings, and the like.. she urged GW and ALL of us to think RATIONALLY and leave the "spiritual stuff" aside when we are making decisions- and BOY did they all laugh... Barb and her TV friends yucked it up every day about all this "faith" talk from GWB.... well... THINGS MUST HAVE CHANGED... because the day I visited Barb and the View they were talking to one of Ms. Walter's friends,... and this lady has a UNIQUE gift, a unique belief.. Barb's friend TALKS to dead people.. yep.. it's true .. and Barb must have changed her VIEW on Spiritual "things" because she cautioned the audience that her friend really believes this stuff .. it's very precious and dear to her .. so.. we must respect her.. and we should'nt laugh.. or make fun.. it's like her faith. It's brought peace and harmony to her life and to the life of her family. so we should repect her.. even if we disagree... Thanks Barbara.. for teaching me so much.. I'm so smart now.. I know WHICH beliefs to laugh at.. and it'sALL because of you.. in closing.. I gotta say it WAS really cool at the end of the show when Joy Behar asked the Dead talking lady how Michael Jackson is doing now..... Good News Kids.. MJ is a-ok... he is watching all of us.. and he is happy... Hey are yall laughing about MJ??? ya better watch it... I'm calling BARB.....

WHERE HAVE ALL "MY" CHILDREN GONE?(long time passing)

It happens about every three years... without fail- someone.. or some THING comes and takes them away. My wife and I have to say good-bye.. and it's tough- sometimes we have them for 3 or 4 years... and then they vanish... Maria and I are starting to get used to this strange thing that happens... ( well, not REALLY)... you see one day, we are hearing wonderful stories about dolls, jet-planes, boat rides, birthday parties, puppies, and kittens. The "boo-boos" on elbows and shins are proudly displayed as red badges of courage -" Mr. Callaway, I went ALL the way to the top of the monkey bars- and I was'nt even afraid!" They tell me about their friends at school and in the neighborhood- they tell me what's going on at home( yep... they tell me everything- so watch out!)We laugh together ..and we get "watery eyes" together..... and THEN??? they disappear... they go away never to return... I think of them often..- There is one little girl in particular that I could always count on for a laugh and a tear- One day, we were doing the lesson on King David, and when you're teaching 6 and 7 year olds, you have to be creative when you are explaining the sin of adultery... so I said ," King David walks around on his roof after sleeping all day, and he sees a beautiful woman down below at her house . He thinks to himself," She's beautiful, I think I will take her from her husband and make her my wife.." before I could finish my pasteurized, G-rated, version of David's fornication, that little girl raised her hand and said, " That was'nt the ONLY thing he was thinking Mr. Callaway!!!-He was also thinking" OH BABY!!!"... needless to say , I turned my face away so that she could'nt see me smile- I held my laughter back, and continued with the lesson.. besides- she was right.. David PROBABLY was thinking OH BABY!!! The Honesty and transparency of my little friends brings laughter. but this little girl also brought me tears when she told me one day, " Mr. Callaway, It's hard when you are little and your parents don't want to stay together"...Watery eyes.. mine and hers... This little friend of mine went away with the others... sometimes in the hallways of the church I see older children that look like them.. they are taller, their voices sound different, the clothes they wear are different from what my little friends wore... and besides.. they CA'nt be my little friends.. my young friends always shouted to me across the hall, " hey Mr. Callaway", they'd wave and smile.. they'd run up to me and hug me... these boys and girls that I see now across the hall??? well..They hardly ever talk to me,,,they are busy talking to their friends... they look almost grown up... I bet they NEVER talk about puppies and kittens and jet planes.. uh oh.... watery eyes...