LESLIE – Leslie Baptist Church held its first horse whisperer event Sept. 30 here on the church’s grounds, helping the congregation triple its attendance to 110.
The big event included a free lunch and drew people from Catawissa, Union, Washington and Gerald. One person from New Haven professed saving faith in Jesus Christ.
With a goal to reach the unchurched, the morning began with music specials and congregational singing inside the church’s newly reconstructed auditorium. The congregation then moved outside to the corral where straw bales were used for seating.
The trainer/horse whisperer was David Kenyon, who is also pastor of Deer Creek Church in Cuba. He presented a parable on how a trainer and a horse could show the relationship between a loving God and a man.
Kenyon and his horse, King, helped guide a nervous 5-year-old gelding into the corral. The younger horse had been donated for the day to help show the other key component in this teaching. The younger horse had been “broke” and then turned out to pasture for three years. Normally an “unbroken” horse is used, symbolizing a lost soul. This time the horse was compared to the young and/or un-churched Christian who was away from God.
Kenyon constantly stroked the younger horse and spoke of how the horse has three parts—his head, his shoulders, and his hind-quarters. The head must engage the trainer. The shoulders must soften to provide forward movement toward the trainer. And the hind-quarters, which Kenyon called the horse’s “heart,” must provide the power to move him.
With Bible verses and the help of his daughter, Stacy, Kenyon said he would not expose the horse to more stimuli until he was ready. When the horse looked soft and not tense, head lowered and licking his lips, the blanket, the saddle, and eventually the burden of weight with his daughter on his back would be introduced. God treats us the same way. He does not put more on His children than what they can bear.
Kenyon then removed King’s bridle and began to guide him with the light touch of his hand, showing how the Christian can be when close to God.
Those who attended that day made several positive comments, calling the presentation “excellent” and “very enjoyable.” One 11-year-old was led to the Lord after listening to the Bible storytelling.
Pastor Chuck Tedrow had instructed the church to pray for specific requests concerning the event. One major prayer was for God to show up. Church members felt that He did. God used creation and a colt to teach people about His love.