The Horse Is Dead -- Dismount!

The Horse Is Dead – Dismount!
By Larry Linville

The church in the days our nation was young
was moving to the frontier.
The settlers gathered in make-shift churches
as they wanted the gospel to hear.

They said those days, as the people moved west,
the reason the church always grows,
is because the first things you ever saw
was Circuit Riders and crows.

Horses were so important in those days
as the churches were all started
at distances which were determined
by horse riders not faint-hearted.

I don’t see horses at churches today.
I see many cars instead.
But many practices are still the same
although the horses are dead.

Film strips and mimeographs are gone too
as the computer takes their place.
Videos make the gospel so real
as modern day means of grace.

God’s message of love and grace hasn’t changed,
but it is always renewing.
Instead of just being read from a page
it’s now there for the viewing.

So today, in the church, the horse has died.
It’s time to dismount and move on.
God continues to guide us in our work
and helps us release what is gone.

© Copyright 2009 Larry Linville (UN: larrylinville at Writing.Com). All rights reserved.
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