Luke,

         How are you doing? No offense taken here! You have a good point! We need to minister or at least plant seeds to our co-workers, friends, hunter friends and strangers that do not want to attend church for whatever good reason they think they have. If someone is in church for "show", they are there for the wrong reason and might as well just stayed home anyway. God does not bless that attitude. The reason we go to church is because we DO NOT have everything in order. I attend Victory Life Church in Brownwood, TX. We are one church - six locations. We are non-denominational. It's the most loving and accepting church I've ever been a part of. Here's a link to our  ministries.   http://www.duanesheriffministries.org/  Duane Sheriff is our senior Pastor from Durant, OK. He's awesome and he's a serious bowhunter. God's outdoors is absolutely awesome! 

BBD! Shane

Luke - what a refreshing post.  You are right on.  It saddens me when people believe church is that way.  True Christians are to be Christ-like and reach out to non-Christians.  I feel closer to Christ than ever when I am in a tree hunting the game he has provided me.  I see Him in the sky, ground, vegetation, and every little critter that runs by. 

What I don't understand is people that say they are Christians yet they don't put an effort forth to be Christ-like as He instructs us to.  Our faith in Christ is all that matters but if it's true faith we should also strive to follow His word.  I'm as much a sinner as anyone but I try my hardest to be as much like Him as I can.  Those who do not, confuse me about saying they are Christians.  I'm 33 years old and I've had two people I know in the last year (36 and 40 yrs) die without a minutes notice.  I don't want to be in that situation and not have spent as much time as possible being Christ-like.  Either way, any money I have won't matter -  only the legacy I leave behind to my family and my future in Heaven will matter.

OK ok I"ll quit preaching.  It's just been on my mind a lot lately.

Hunt Hard. Fish Smart. Explore Texas.

Allen I couldn't agree more!

A couple of good quotes about church goin':

"The most important of the Lord's work you will ever do will be the work you do within the walls of your own home."

and

"Don't refuse to go to church because there are too many hypocrites there -- they've got room for one more!"

"Life's too short to hunt with a beardless dog . . ."

Good quotes! 

Hunt Hard. Fish Smart. Explore Texas.

I like that last quote alot

Excuse me guy's, I certainly don't mean to offend anyone and I don't want to be a party pooper but religion and politics are really a couple of things that should be avoided in this forum if we can. People believe different things and these can be distracting and devisive to out members. Let's keep it to everything outdoors in Texas. I agree that God created many things that are awe inspiring but when you mention "church" it gets off topic from then on. Again I hope I didn't offend anyone.

"Hate me if you want to, Love me if you can" Git-R-Done!

SuperG,  No offense taken. But, with all due respect, I will not apologize to anyone for letting Christ live in me and be seen. It doesn't really mater what church we all attend as long as they believe in the same thing, GOD, JESUS and the HOLY SPIRIT! All three which are one. You don't have to agree with us, but if we don't put God into everything we do, we're taking advatage of him and he will ask us "Why?"  when it's our turn to enter the gates. He has blessed me so much to be able to have the outdoors to hunt and fish or just enjoy it. Allen is 110% right! I see him in everything. I see him in TexasHuntFish.com. God Bless and Good Hunting and Fishing to all.

BBD! Shane

No offense taken here either superg.  I'm glad you chimed in and love reading your posts.  If this post was under General Hunting or Exotics I believe it wouldn't have a place but under "Back at Camp" I believe we can talk to other fellow hunters and fisherman about what's on our mind.  I think it's neat to talk to other members about their belief in Christ and how they see Him outdoors.  It's something I'd talk about around the campfire and feel it's nice to bring it to this forum as well.  Jus tmy two cents but I think it's got a place here.  I just looked at all the subjects in this cateogry on the forum and a good amount of them have nothing to do with hunting at all (Steve Irwin Dies, How to Survive a Heart Attack, The Navy Drill Team, etc.).  At least this subject is illustrating hunter's feelings when they're outdoors.  If someone doesn't want to read this thread they don't have to - just as I don't like reading threads about people shooting 2.5 year old bucks and not letting them mature.  Does that make sense?

Hunt Hard. Fish Smart. Explore Texas.

This kind of struck home when I planted at the ranch last week and then  in our bible study today we studied a chapter from Luke that was about a parable Jesus taught:

³ He spoke to them many things in parables, saying, "Behold, a farmer went out to sow.

⁴ As he sowed, some seeds fell by the roadside, and the birds came and devoured them.

⁵ Others fell on rocky ground, where they didn't have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of earth.

⁶ When the sun had risen, they were scorched. Because they had no root, they withered away.

⁷ Others fell among thorns. The thorns grew up and choked them.

⁸ Others fell on good soil, and yielded fruit: some one hundred times as much, some sixty, and some thirty.

⁹ He who has ears to hear, let him hear."

Just thought I'd share it...

Hunt Hard. Fish Smart. Explore Texas.

Isn't it amazing how a parable told 2,000 years ago that was meant to connect with the people of that time still affects us and moves us today? How great is our God? He is truly amazing.

Guys, I'm glad to see that this posts has been well received.  It is a topic that can get very heated and turn personal and I hope that does not happen.  It is very personal to those of us that have excepted Jesus as our Lord and Savior. 

We have a bond with each member of this forum because we each love hunting, fishing and the great outdoors.  There are some of us that are very passionate about our relationship with Jesus for what he has done for us and we live to serve him in all we do.

There are several services that I use on a daily basis and I like to share with others when I have a chance.

Because "1Pe 5:8 Be alert, be on watch! Your enemy, the Devil, roams around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour."

BSafe is an Internet filter,the best hands down, here is a link to their endorsement page.   http://www.bsafehome.com/endorsements.asp

SkyAngle is a Christian Satellite TV service with programming the whole family can enjoy, plus radio programs, only $14.00 month.  Here is their endorsement page.

http://www.skyangel.com/About/Endorsement.asp?IdS=00272A-832B2F0&x=002|003|001&~=&q=&p=

I have been using both services for years and I am very pleased with both.

I thank each of you for being tolerant and giving us a chance to communicate special interests of ours, that would come up around our camp fire.

"A country boy will survive"

Some guys are too preachy for me, some wear there religion on their sleeve; at the opposite end of the spectrum, some guys are too secular for me, some cringe at the mention of anything divine.  While I may or may not agree with everything posted in this thread, I don't mind saying that it seems fair game under this forum folder topic.  It speaks of the outdoors as God's creations and how some find spiritual strength through nature.  In fact, the original posting member points the finger at fellow Christians and calls for them to evaluate whether they are practicing what they preach. 

Anyone who replies with a personal attack or is even blatantly disrespectful would be out of line, but just because the discussion includes religion (or politics, for that matter) it should not, IMO, be labeled as inappropriate on this forum.  I am not offended by anyone's comments thus far, including SuperG's view that religion and politics should be avoided.  But, obviously it struck a chord with some members here and it does relate to hunting and fishing in Texas. 

I could be wrong about all this, and I guess the most important point of view is the one that Jason has about it all.  It is his site and he rightly gets to say what is fair game, so perhaps he will weigh in and settle the matter.  But given that MOST Texas hunters and fishers are somewhat religious and somewhat politically conservative, I would expect the common ground in these topics to be discussed from time to time.  And if there is a left-wing atheist or Jewish member who wants to chime in respectfully, I say let him or her be heard.  I might give even more careful consideration to that person's view if I know we share a passion for the out of doors.  But if that person's view is that he does not like talking religion whatsoever therefore no one else should, I'd say, as was already mentioned above, skip the thread if it is not your cup of tea. 

You know, hunting itself is quite offensive to many, yet here we have a wonderful forum in which we can meet and respectfully discuss something that is near and dear to us . . . that's my two cents.

"Life's too short to hunt with a beardless dog . . ."

Genesis 27:3
Now therefore take, I pray thee, thy weapons, thy quiver and thy bow, and go out to the field, and take me some venison.

BBD! Shane

Guy's. I didn't mean that God couldn't be spoken of. That's not what I meant when I spoke of this forum. I just mean that specifics shouldn't really be discussed. By that I mean the differences in religion. Catholics believe differently than Baptists, Methodists believe differently than Mormons. The there are Budists and Islamics.  I happen to be one of Jehovah's Witnesses and I know my beliefs are different than anyone else's here. What I meant was that when we get into too many particulars it can cause problems or misunderstandings. I would never ask anyone to apologize for thier faith or what they believe in. I also agree that Jehovah God created all things and they all obviously show His wisdom, power and love for His human creation. I just think we should all (including myself) be careful of how we bring our thoughts out. Just my opinion of course. Again if I have offended anyone at all, please forgive me, it was not my intent.

"Hate me if you want to, Love me if you can" Git-R-Done!

No offense Superg! I don't think any less of you. I appreciate your comments.

BBD! Shane

Thanks Shane, like I said I in no way intend to offend anyone, want anyone to apologize for their faith, or even to not speak of God at all. That's not my intent. I just think we should keep it very general. A good example would be talking about going to deer camp in "my Chevy truck". We all know there are Chevy lover, Ford lovers, Dodge lovers and so on. They all belive they have the best truck and no one should speak of another truck, but if we say we're loading up "The truck" and heading out everyone can deal with that. I know a truck doesn't even come close to speaking about God but it was the first thing that came to my mind. I hope I don't sound too preachy...uh oh I'm rambling..time to stop. Hey, good hunting on the 30th to all those that will be "flingin sticks at the critters" that week end.

"Hate me if you want to, Love me if you can" Git-R-Done!

SuperG --

Clearly discussions of religion CAN be heated and cause divisions among those who participate.  I'm not sure what you mean when you say that we should avoid specifics but that we can discuss God generally.  I am not trying to trap you in words or make more of it than what you meant, but your initial post suggested you were already uncomfortable and I am just trying to understand better what it is that you meant.  Anything particular in the thread above that specifically got to you?

To be clear, I am not offended by anything you or anyone else has said in the thread thus far.  I like hearing everyone's viewpoint on the issue.  I also hope that I did not come off as attacking you -- I disagree that religion and politics should be avoided but would agree things could get out of hand if the dialogue is not respectful.  Frankly the initial post got more activity than I would have predicted, but personally I am glad to see it! 

"Life's too short to hunt with a beardless dog . . ."