Wow PHil,
As I was reading your post, I was waiting for the happy ending, which, of
course, now I know, wasn't there.  I'm sorry.  I'm sure that you have many
unsettling thoughts right now.
Peace to his memory.
Kathy


At 08:12 PM 7/17/2005, you wrote:
>Today I experienced a sudden shock.  Back during the last two years of the
>seventies, I was still traveling and preaching in churches as a guest
>speaker when I was asked to preach in a church camp.  That would have been
>the summer of 1977 I believe.  There were several pastors there and Sandy
>and I had our first son and he was about 8 months old.  He hadn't quite
>learned to walk yet but putting him in a walker, he could push himself
>around.  This was a junior high camp in western Colorado.  A very nice
>pastor by the name of Rayburn Cox befriended us and we spent many hours with
>him.  The old Assemblies of God camp was nice and had nice cabins and we
>greatly enjoyed our time that week.
>
>During the time spent with Pastor Cox, I told him that Sandy and I had been
>discussing, and praying, about moving to a smaller town than Denver.
>Perhaps, I suggested, something close enough we could still use the Denver
>airport.  For example, Idaho spring is about 25 miles from Denver up higher
>on the way into the mountains.  I had preached in a little Baptist church
>there and we really liked the people.  Rayburn turned the conversation
>around and said, "Why don't you consider moving to the western slope.  My
>church is in a town of 800 people and we have about 60 members.  The nearest
>airports are in Montrose, 40 miles away with 5 trips a day to Denver, and
>Grand Junction is only 60 miles away and they have connections just about to
>anywhere."
>
>One day, Rayburn invited me to ride with him back to his home.  The little
>town of Hotchkiss wasn't far away, maybe 40 minutes, and he wanted to check
>on mail and to see if anything was needed at the church.  I went.  We had a
>wonderful visit.
>
>On the way back, Rayburn flat out asked me to start praying about moving to
>the western slopes of Colorado.  He booked me for a week of special revival
>meetings in his church for that next April of 1978.
>Sandy and I had several meetings scheduled during that period of time in
>California but the last one in the group was in Rayburns church.  Flying out
>of San Francisco, we transferred planes in Salt Lake City, and landed in
>Montrose Colorado.  Rayburn picked us up.
>
>We had one of the most wonderful times that week with Rayburn and his
>family.  Our son became very ill in the middle of the night and was so hot,
>you could hardly touch him.  As Baptist, we weren't too sure what we
>believed about healing but we believed enough to lay hands on our son and
>pray and ask for the fever to go down.  In moments, his fever went down and
>he was able to rest that night.
>
>During the week, Rayburn began talking to me about if I had been praying
>about moving to the western slope.  I had, of course, but not seriously.
>Rayburn asked me to consider becoming his assistant pastor.  He said the
>church could not pay me a lot but I could continue traveling, if I wished,
>and I likely would find other support from other western slope meetings.  I
>had a lot of money from all the weeks of meetings we had been in and so I
>could easily put 500 dollars down as security or a good faith promise.  A
>man in the church was a builder and he had a vacant six month old house he
>had to let go and he was willing to sell it at cost.  We needed a little
>over 3,000 for a down payment, which we didn't have, but when the meeting
>was over, we flew home and within days, the money came in.  Thirty days
>later, we moved to Hotchkiss, Colorado.
>
>Rayburn was a man who taught me just about every thing one needed to know
>about church ministry.  He let me participate in everything.  I soon became
>their youth pastor and discovered just how much fun working with teenagers
>really was.
>
>Many other good things happened in that little town and church to Sandy and
>I but unfortunately, some bad things happened as well.
>
>Rayburn was a church builder.  He could win people to Christ faster than
>anybody because he honestly loved people and they could feel it.  Resigning
>his church where we lived, he moved two another small town, built a church
>to about 150 members, and personally led nearly every single person in that
>church to the Lord in the process.  I personally learned more about the
>ministry from Rayburn than any other pastor.  By the way, he was about 8
>years older than me.
>
>A number of years ago, Rayburn became involved with a multi level networking
>program that nearly ruined his life.  It took him out of the ministry for a
>few years but he eventually gave it all up and moved to Michigan and started
>a church there which he pastored for 8 years.  In 2002, he and his family
>moved back to Meeker, Colorado where the 150 member church was he had
>pastored back in the late
>eighties and early nineties.
>
>I have a letter on my website which I wrote to Rayburn when he became
>involved with the multi level outfit.  He and his wife did not receive my
>letter well.  My letter has been on the internet since about 1991 or 92 I
>believe.  I get at least one email a year from people who have read it and
>believe it helped them make the right decision concerning MLN involvement.
>It is also on a Finland website and I gave my permission for it to be
>translated into Finish four or five years ago.  It is still on that website
>and many others, including the first one I learned about in Australia.
>
>Since I have not heard from Rayburn for close to 15 years, I often hunt for
>him on the internet.  I also have prayed for him hundreds of times.  Nearly
>every time I think of him, which is nearly weekly, I ask the Lord, Do you
>want me to call him?  The Lord never answered and I never felt the feeling
>that I should make contact with him for some reason.  The truth is, I was
>closer to this man than any man I have ever known.  I knew he loved me but
>I'm not too sure how much he loved me after getting my letter begging him to
>reconsider giving up his church and ministry.
>
>Today, I logged on to google and typed in his name.  A western slope
>newspaper was the first hit and it was Rayburns obituary.  He was out in the
>mountains hunting not far from his home and had a massive heart attack and
>died.  He was 57 years old.  He had 5 or 6 children, all grown, and 18
>grandchildren.  Over the last 15 years, he had blood pressure problems but I
>sure didn't want him to die that young.  At least I'll get to see him again.
>Fortunately, when I see him again, he won't be mad any more.
>
>Phil.