by Gary Farley | Jan 4, 2005 | Opinion
The settlement and development of rural America was driven by a social vision attributed to Thomas Jefferson. He believed that our nation would become primarily characterized by the majority of people living and working on small farms. Nearby, typically within three...
by Gary Farley | Dec 9, 2004 | Opinion
It is a festive season in rural America. During the week of Thanksgiving many communities held ecumenical worship services. Families gathered to express their gratitude to God for his abundant blessings. Now most little towns are holding parades in their downtown...
by Gary Farley | Nov 11, 2004 | Opinion
The greatest story of “church planting” in America may never be told. We have waited too late to gather the data. I am talking about the explosion of new African-American congregations in the rural South in the decades following emancipation. There were...
by Gary Farley | Oct 19, 2004 | Opinion
The weekly pastor’s prayer breakfast is a wondrous thing to me. On a recent Tuesday, 13 gathered for a breakfast of biscuits, sausage and ham, gravy, jellies and peach fried pies. Good. Good. Good. After some good-natured ribbing of the associational moderator...
by Gary Farley | Sep 15, 2004 | Opinion
For a week in August a mission team from Venezuela worked in our area. The team visited with Hispanics in several communities and in multiple settings. A sawmill owner allowed the team to present the gospel at break time; a soccer match concluded with a picnic and a...
