Would Jesus Dance Country-Western

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Would Jesus Dance Country-Western?
By Hal Haralson, Attorney in Austin, Texas

The "Broken Spoke" is a famous South-Austin landmark. It is one of the oldest continually operated country-western dance halls in Texas.

This "honky-tonk" boasts a parking lot that isn`t paved, low ceilings and country music — lots of it.

James White, the owner of The Broken Spoke for years, has hosted such country-western notables as Willie Nelson.

What`s this got to do with Christian Ethics? Read on.

The religious leaders of his day criticized Jesus for spending too much time with "sinners." Cussing fishermen, prostitutes, tax collectors and the like.

They must have felt comfortable around Him. The religious leaders did not. Peter, still cussin` after three years, would have left otherwise.

I lived next door to Dwayne Adams in a small South Texas town. We played tennis each Sunday afternoon.

Dwayne was good at tennis. I could beat him only on rare occasions.

Dwayne was a rancher. He was married, with two children. He was a good provider. Martha took the children to church every Sunday. Dwayne never went.

We talked about cattle. With my ranching background, it gave us a mutual interest. When I tried to inject the subject of religion into our conversation, Dwayne became very quiet.

Our tennis match usually ended about 5:00 and Dwayne dropped me off at my house. He knew my wife Judy and I went to church on Sunday evenings.

On this particular Sunday, Dwayne spoke as I opened the door to get out, "Why don`t I go get a six-pack and we can drive down and look at the cattle?"

We did. We looked at cows and calves until nearly dark.

As we entered the driveway to my house, Dwayne began to talk about himself as he had never done. He talked about his relationship to God, his childhood and growing up in the church. The conversation lasted over two hours.

It was as if Dwayne had invited me into his world. When I did not make him feel uncomfortable, he allowed me to know his heart.

Jesus said, "I came to bring sinners, not the righteous, to repentance."

So He spent His time with sinners…not the righteous.

If Jesus spent the weekend in Austin, would he spend more time at First Baptist Church or at The Broken Spoke?