Pastor Practices Preachings
By Nawana Mos Britenriker
Ute Pass Courier
Thursday, September 19,1991
“Yes,”
said David Skipworth, his voice rising with the cadence of the words, “America
is beautiful, I truly must say. So let’s all join hands and keep her that way.”
Skipworth’s eyes sparkled beneath the brim of the cowboy hat he removes only
to salute the flag or pray.
He didn’t seem to expect a response from me, his only audience, as he finished the poem and resumed our conservation. But Skipworth’s attitude toward his poetry is as simple and natural as his belief system or lifestyle. “it’s just the way I am,” he said easily.
“The heart has its reasons,” French philosopher Blaise Pascal wrote, “whereof reason knows nothing.” And, although Skipworth’s life and pastoral styles might seem altruistic beyond reason to the average individual, he insists that he is merely following the dictates of his heart.
Living what he preaches: As pastor of The Cowboy Church of the Rockies and President of Cowboys for Christ, Skipworth makes an effort to live the life he preaches to his parishioners. He isn’t paid for his pastoral duties and says that he doesn’t expect to be. He says that when the congregation passes the plate at church or fellowship meetings he always invites people to give to or take from the money collected, as they feel the need.
“But don’t you lose a lot of money that way?” I asked incredulously. “Well,” he said, “you see, that’s not my problem and I don’t worry about it. The person who gives or takes has the responsibility for knowing what their own need is.” And although you might shake your head at the naivete of such a statement, you have to admit it’s a refreshing change from tele-evangelist show megabuck requirements have resulted in numerous condemnations ranging form simple hypocrisy to outright criminal charges.
The Past: Skipworth greeted me that afternoon dressed in chaps and jeans (the garb he says he usually wears), fresh from a morning spent breaking a mustang on “God’s Little Acres,” a boarding stable he runs situated on the outskirts of Woodland Park. As we sat at a rustic picnic table enjoying the sunshine and light breeze, he told me about his past, what he hopes for his future, and about his poetry.
Skipworth first came to Colorado in the early 1970’s as a guide and outfitter, he returned just four years ago because he felt churches in this area might need some help growing stronger. What he found, he said with a smile, is that most of the churches in the area liked things just the way they were. But, he felt there might still be a place for him here, perhaps in an unconventional ministry.
While in seminary in Fort Worth, Texas, he worked for a large funeral home and acquired his coroner’s license. To support himself in Woodland Park, he accepted the position of Deputy Coroner. His intent, he said, was to build a relationship with the community.
Skipworth found that the position required long hours for little remuneration and although he persevered for more than two years, he resigned a few weeks ago. He worked on the Flight 585 crash earlier this year in Widefield and admits that experience has made him pessimistic concerning plans for an airport in Cripple Creek. The rugged terrain and poor road system on the back side of Pikes peak would make a crash site there a real horror, he believes.
Cowboy Church: But Skipworth is not a pessimist by nature. He believes he has become an integral member of the local community in the last few years and intends to continue devoting most of his time to the newly formed congregation of the Cowboy Church.
The boarding stable he runs supports itself through fees. He breaks and shoes horses for the “little extra that we need. But we don’t need much,” he said. And he is willing to share even that with someone whose need is greater that his.
Skipworth has invited people to live on his property until they could find a hone of their own, or even to move in with him. He said when he and his family were living in Oklahoma they found that every night was devoted to some church activity.
“Oh it was fun,” he said, “but we were building a wall around ourselves.” Here in Colorado he has determined to “go where the people are,” and that doesn’t necessarily mean members of his congregation.
“I don’t want to set up a big sign that says ‘new church’,” he said “Too often churches wait for those who need help to come to them. We don’t intend to do that.”
The Cowboy Church of the Rockies holds fellowship meetings that include wiener roasts, campfires, singing and storytelling. They encourage those who attend to come dressed in the clothes that make them comfortable. Even a Sunday morning service will find the pastor dressed in denim and a hat, and many of the congregation will be similarly attired. Thoreau said “Beware of all enterprises that require new clothes,” and Skipworth would surely agree with that sentiment.
Poetry: His years growing up on a ranch and his love of horses and cowboys have influenced his involvement with Cowboy Poetry gatherings. When cowboys were riding the range long ago, a long and boring job that Skipworth insists hasn’t become any more exciting in the 1990’s, they occupied their minds by planning the evening’s entertainment. The people they worked with substituted for family during the long drives and the evening around the campfire were the forerunner of modern America’s penchant for relaxing in front of a television set.
The cowboys invented or perpetuated songs, stories and original poetry and performed them for their friends and working companions around the evening camp. In the last seven years, modern America has begun to resurrect the oral history inherent in those long-ago meetings and the Cowboy Poetry gathering has come into being.
A gathering, as Skipworth describes it, involves working cowboys or individuals involved in the livestock trade. The songs and stories are sometimes old favorites, but the poetry is the original work of the individuals across the nation.
Driving Force: “The cowboy,” said Skipworth, “is an American phenomenon.” And he believes that the values inherent to cowboys now and then were the driving force behind our country’s growth and strength. In keeping with that tradition, a Cowboy Poetry gathering offers an evening of wholesome family fun. Skipworth often lease a religious service as part of a gathering, or handles the invocation. At the gathering held this year in Colorado Springs, Skipworth asked a soldier from Fort Carson to Bring in the U.S. flag while he recited his poem “Old Glory.”
That poem is an epic-style piece that recounts all of America’s wars and the part soldiers and patriots played as they “fought to keep other people free.” He ends the poem by reciting the “Pledge of Allegiance,” his hat held over his heart. Skipworth plans to send a copy of the poem to President George Bush, to remind him of the flag’s importance to America and the American cowboy.
“Because,” he said, “a cowboy is a man who loves freedom and wide open spaces. When there is no more freedom in this country, there won’t be any more cowboys.”
As the interview ended, Skipworth said he wanted to leave me with one more poem. He began by recounting a short piece concerning a cowboy who had died and was presenting his life’s work at the gates of heaven.
“Well I’ve been a cowboy, for many and many a year,” the fellow offers. St. Peter turns and taps a golden bell. “Come in and choose your harp,” he says to the cowboy. “You’ve had your share of hell.”
So I left Skipworth with a smile - and a new respect for what it means to be a poet, a cowboy and pastor to an unusual flock. Maybe the world isn’t exactly ready for The Cowboy Church of the Rockies, but I think Woodland Park is.
Forest
Hill Farms Equestrian Center