Still Killin' Turkeys ... In Jesus' Name!

Here we are at the mid-point of the season, and we have taken 9 birds thus far. This is actually a picture of one I shot last week.

Now the deal was that many of you were to write in and tell me what the birds are doing in your area. And yet I still get contacts from you telling me that you are "reading things" but you aren't posting. Come on dude. Share the knowledge! I need it, too!!

Heading to Kentucky tomorrow to hunt with Jason Brooks, our Kentucky State Ministry Field Rep for Outdoor Ministry Network. He's a good guy. I hope we can capture a bird on film with him.

Jason leads a great outdoor ministry in his church called IBC Outdoors. Check it out. They have a super website, which is crucial to gaining awareness in your efforts to reach outdoorsmen.

Ministry & The Mundane

I know that many of you who read this blog don't often respond. The reason I know that is I've had countless numbers of you tell me things you saw here ... but you left no opinion. I also know that many of you who read this stuff are rooted deeply in your church ministry - whether paid by green dollars or by eternal ones!

Listen. Everybody's got opinions. So it's time some of you mute yelpers sound off.

I've been thinking about this topic lately, but didn't quite know how to address it. Maybe I can hammer it out, so here's what I'm wondering:

what is it about church and church life that frustrates you the most?

Since this is my keen idea, I'll start.

Perhaps my biggest frustration in church life is lack of spiritual maturity. So now I must already qualify my statement and offer the disclaimer that I'm not claiming to have fully arrived. No sir. What I'm saying is that for years as a pastor, I've noticed that there are so many people who operate in the church for ... literally ... decades ... and yet they still respond to situations in life as if they are spiritual infants.

A quick example: 5 or so years ago a friend of mine was in a leadership meeting with me. Many of our church leaders were there to hammer out some various leadership stuff. My friend, a worship pastor, asked this simple question, "What is worship?"

A lady, well respected, definitely dear in heart, and someone I personally loved, responded, "Well, worship is a time where you gather in God's house to be with your family and friends."

Would it bother you that this lady had been teaching Adult bible study for over 30 years, and was seen as a pillar in the life of the church? Here answer horrified me. For her, worship was nostalgia. Precious memories. How they linger. Dinner on the grounds. Sunday preachin'. Apple pie. This is what I'm getting at.

I see it in other areas. Tenured church members have their business dealings which are no different from any other non-believer. They treat church business as if there is no spiritual maturity involved. The respond to life pretty much the same ways a non-believer would.

I'll go so far as to say this: why is it that people who are the oldest in the faith often seem to emboy the greatest amount of spiritual immaturity.

Clarity called for once again: by "oldest" I'm not necessarily referring to age range. Sometimes, however, that has been exactly the case in my pastoral experience. Yet not always. I mean, there are people I've met who are 45 years old, and have been around the church since birth. And I see no real life change in how they approach kingdom work.

So that's me. Your turn. I mean it. Holler out.

And remember, the great thing about a blog is that you can make up a name and keep your anonymity!

Tres Dias

Tres Dias. Three days. The last three days have been incredible for us ... and glim for turkeys.



We've sent three toms on to glory in the last 72 hours.

Monday's bird came in on a dead run with another tom. Called him off of 4 hens. When I saw him, I just lit him up quick and hard with cutts and clucks. It was over in 3 minutes.

Tuesday's Tom was awesome. I was hunting with a buddy of mine, Chris Littrell, pastor of Trinity Baptist in Lawrenceburg, TN. Chris is forming what will be a first class outdoor ministry with his men at church. They've already had us make some sweet box calls customed designed for their church. So, I was running the camera, and positioned right over his shoulder. We saw this tom literally mating a hen in a road bed upon a ridge. It was wild. So all it took was come sweet yelps and a few aggressive cutts, and he showed up ready for his next adulturous affair. Funny thing is, I told Chris that we were going to let him get close if he kept coming. Well he did. We shot that bird at 15 steps!

Wednesday's Murder was equally as sweet. I was hunting with a fella I co-authored Into the High Country with, Jimmy Sites. Jimmy has a TV show, Spiritual Outdoor Adventures. Jimmy was running the camera, and I was the hit man. So we were hoping for a good hunt for his show, and man we got it. Birds have been henned up quite a bit lately, so we didn't even start hunting unitl 11am. Knowing that they would be a little more broken up by then. At 2:30 we got on 3 toms strutting with hens on a logging road. We eventually just put on one mack daddy of a hen/jake fight, just lit up the woods with a ruckus. These 3 toms crossed a creek to get to us! Shot him at about 30 yards.

Tres Dias. 3 for 3.

Switching gears: today's the birthday of my son Cole. He's a whoppin' Big 1 today. Related reports from unknown sources tell us that we're going to need to build an addition for our home to house all the stuff grandparents have purchased for this little fella. It leaves me wondering ... when I was a kid, 8 out of 10 times you walked out of a store empty handed. No toy guns, no new bike, no Stretch Armstrong or Bionic Man. Even last ditch attempts for a Snickers bar at the check out line never worked. Snickers only ran around 30 cents in 1979. And yet, they seem to be willing to globally finance anything for this grandbaby. No desire unmet. No purchase too large. They have become a toy mill. Spending huge wads of cash with huge smiles on their faces.

Where was I when the change happened???

Roll On Mississippi

Took my second Mississippi tom this week. Shot him at 12:55pm. Had been on him for 5 hours.

Today the Tennessee season opened up. Dad & I were filming together. We had a total of 4 toms come near at one time or another. They are just totally henned up right now, and you know, it's the same in Mississippi.

Each day will produce more and more action as toms start to break up.

So here's what I want to do.

For the next 40 days or so turkey season will be going on throughout the nation. And I know that many of you who read this are avid tom chasers.


Why don't we post our thoughts, in real time, as to what birds are doing. If you kill at tom, post it here. Send me a picture and I'll post it.

And tell us what you did that gave you the opportunity to sling some heavy shot toward his red head!!I think guys everywhere would like to talk about what the birds are doing. So help a brotha' out!

Tell us what's going on in your neck of the woods!