A comment on the previous posting, received from Pastor Gary McLendon, was a gift to me this morning. A little sip of Living Water that came just when I was feeling pretty parched. As a lady said recently to me on the phone, talking about another such occurance…”Isn’t that just like God?”
I usually mention the portraits of the angels when I am talking with our audience at the beginning of the program each night, but I don’t have time to elaborate about each of my models for those angels. Gary McLendon was one of those angels.
Gary was pastor of a small church in Ralls at the time we were building Ragtown Gospel Theater. As in so many small rural churches, the pastor must supplement his income with a full-time job. His uncle, our ranch foreman, Mark Wright, thought Gary would make a solid hand on the construction team. From the beginning, he was more than a construction worker.
We watched as Gary’s sweet, jovial nature permeated that crew. He drove 40 miles every morning, and arrived at the site before most of the rest of us did. Through bitter cold, withering heat, and the whole gambit of challenges that we all faced, Gary was steadfast. I realized one day how much we counted on Gary to keep everything on an even keel, among the crew members, and how good he was at his job.
A few days ago I was walking along the upper passageway from the sound booth to the backstage area, and for just a moment I stopped, and I could hear the banter of Gary and the rest of the crew. Those echoes of good-natured jabs and snippets of songs were only in my mind, each of the crew having left months ago, as construction was winding down. My day was brightened by the memory.
Gary could change the mood of the whole crew by breaking into a song …and he would do it at any moment the Lord moved him. Those songs lifted us up and carried us over some rough patches many times. Jesus lifted us up, using Pastor Gary McLendon’s clear voice and gentle demeanor.
Much of the anointing so many people sense when they come to Ragtown Gospel Theater is because the Lord spent a lot of time there, working in and through that young carpenter and pastor.
When I painted Gary’s portrait, I tried to capture that humble spirit and gentleness. I am old enough to be his dad, but Gary taught me a lot about being a Christian man. I look at that third angel every night when I am on the stage, and he inspires me to sing from my heart.
Bless Y’all
Chip
Recent Comments